Stateside to Central America to South East Asia

It's been awhile since I blogged just about anything. I think it's been sheer laziness and the hassle of having to pull out the laptop, turning it on, waiting for it to boot up, pulling up an editor, writing something, saving it, then waiting to find the next Internet connection where I can upload it. I tried with the iphone a couple of times but the amount of typos was just ridiculous so I gave up. At the moment I have a constant Internet connection so there's no excuse. Well when you are on the road WIFI isn't always available, then again, it depends which country you are in. On the most part I find it ridiculous that I can find more free WIFI hotspots outside the USA than stateside - where you have to pay. Most annoying is at the LAX where I fly out most off. I suppose that isn't fair as I constantly compare industrialized country airports to Singapore's Changi airport, which, as far as I know, is the best in the world. So, here I am- visiting family and taking care of affairs. I was just thinking about it the other day, that I literally have lived out of a suitcase (work or pleasure) for the last 9 years. It's when I embarked on this lifetime adventure of discovering the world. I've taken a new approach this time around. Instead of working in the corporate world in between then taking 2 years off at a time to explore, I will incorporate the working world into that model. So, in a nutshell, where I live and work IS part of my life adventure. An epiphany? Don't think so. It's just happened. At this very moment, I am living out of a suitcase. Well, the adventure is about to pickup, again, I think. So I left stateside and spent 3 months in Nicaragua to improve my Spanish and explore the country some more (I'd been there before). The decision to be in Nicaragua vs Buenos Aires was a no brainer, all I had to do was look at my budget. It's amazing how low my standard of living has gone since I sold my house with a pool and a spa and left to explore the world. Now just being in Asia and looking at some relatives they live an indulgent life and are so materialistic. What seem normal to me at one point, is now unnecessary to live by. Traveling opens up your mind to things outside your 'box'. I would say most people I know live in a 'box'. It's kind of limiting as I used to know. I lived in a 'box' once. Too concerned about keeping up appearances and going madly around in that not too common rat race, unless you are born into money or inherited a whole of cash. So, I left Nicaragua with good memories and new friends, from various walks of life. I think and dream in Spanish, still. I do want to return to live somewhere in the Latin world at another juncture of my life. I feel very at home and comfortable in the Latin world. more so than I do in Asia. Asia just seems too strange. I may appears Asian but my heart and spirit are long gone from being Asian. I guess it all started when I spent 6 months in Central and South America the first time and caught that Latin fever, whatever it was. After Nicaragua I passed through Australia to check out another place as a potential for a down the road extended place of residence. I'll get into that another time. So all this time I FINALLY realized that I miss the Arizona weather and hiking trails, but mostly the convenient and inexpensive cost of things in the US. When I look at the spending power from where I am at the moment and Australia - it really turns me off. I have lost all interest in living in these places. When I say spending power I do not mean converting the cost of something local to another foreign currency. I am looking at removing the unit of currency from in front the amount of the item, the cost of the item and earnings in local currency. The other thing I hear all the time from both Asians and Aussies is how inexpensive items of outdoor apparel & gear, electronics and yes, real estate, is in the US. Americans have it good and they complain. I'm part of that nagging club but you don't realize how ridiculous you sound until you have been out of the US. Yeah, this blog is nothing but a whole bunch of rants but I had to get something down or my creative mind is going go blank forever. I regret not having blogged more. The last thing I remembered leaving Nica was that the 6 Americans I shared the van ride to the Managua airport were talking about was how much they paid for their accommodation. When I told them what they paid in a week in accommodation was what I paid in a month to cover everything(lodging, food, entertainment and transport) they looked at me in disbelief. Everything between then and now has been a blur but that will change soon.