Around the World

Upon crossing the threshold, I let the bag fall off my shoulder as I squirmed out of my worn-out leather boots and green winter jacket. Of course, such torturous, unalluring stripping was only to be finished with a gentle, yet dramatic toss of the coat onto the chair in the corner. There was no need for etiquette, only a repeated internal joke was an acceptable greeting at this point: “Hakuna!” I yelled from the corridor. “Matata!”[1] – followed a response from the illuminated kitchen. With that, the phrase was complete.

I stumbled through the living room, following this light. It led me towards the sweet smell of hot chocolate. The author of the not-so-unusual-but-still-favoured drink was my roommate Julia, who was fighting the emerging bubbles inside the brown mass with a wooden spatula, unconsciously biting her lower lip in the process. Her eyes moved to my face as she uttered, “Let me make this scene theatrical. Listen to this story; my spatula is a sword, and I a hero fighting this brown swamp monster! If I can remove at least fifty bubbles, the fairies of the forest will sprinkle their magic dust onto my sword. Only then will the poisonous beast be vulnerable to my blows, as it is vulnerable to fairy dust. As a reward, a drinkable trophy will follow!” My laugh followed this nonsense, I shook my head, but she smirked and continued her noble conquest. I took two cups and put them on the counter. She glanced at me with an inquiry swimming in the blue color of her eyes.

“You don’t need to ask – I’ll tell you off the bat. I’m still resolute…” and you know this already, but it’s still nice that you show interest. She shrugged her shoulders and removed the saucepan from the stove. While she busied herself with this, I leaned my back against the counter and crossed my arms. “Just like you, so did my parents ask the other day. I explained to them why I’m taking us to Greece this spring no matter what. Mind you, they offered to add some sum for the plane tickets.” I shut my eyes and rested them for a moment, as the memory of the following scene tired me. “Then I spent the next half an hour reminding them how I’m no longer living off of them and can function as a happily employed adult.” Recently, I came to better understand one older couple who were my neighbors when I was a kid. They used to tell me how, once you become a parent, you never really stop being one, carrying and worrying about your child’s wellbeing until the time comes for the dirt to cover you completely.

“I remember when Portugal was only a dream for us.” She mumbled with a voice as distant as her thoughts. “It seemed impossible. But we still managed it.” My heavy eyelids raised when I heard Julia pouring the chocolate into the cups. I looked at her while she busied herself with it. To pass the time, I started to braid my hair. “Well yes, but only because you decided to introduce this scary notion of saving your allowance and not going to parties when we were still in college. You ate noodle soups for a month!” I giggled and forced the braided strand of hair over my shoulder. She replied with “And immersed them in various spices. Boring my taste buds to death was not in my interest. But that was, in a way, the very charm of the journey.”

When she finished, I picked up our cups and walked towards the window where we both sat across from each other on a wide oak sill. “And soon, I’ll repay my ticket for that time.” I stretched out my hand and handed her the cup. “How long is this feat going to last?” she asked, then sipped the chocolate and made a satisfied sound. “Avoiding shopping malls for about a month, eating pasta and tomato sauce as if you’re a born Italian, and don’t you think I didn’t see the sad state of your boots back there in the corridor.” I gaped my mouth and answered “You truly do have eyes on your back!”. Now she’s sticking out her tongue at me. Mature. “Black Friday is over, and with it the stampede of wild people in their natural habitat, so…” I sipped my chocolate. “perhaps a month or so. I have already saved enough for the tickets and the hotel, but I’m still taking the number of souvenirs into consideration. Also, what if we meet some charming Greek men? We’ll need savings for the drinks in the clubs and the occasional expensive ride at 4 AM the next day.

“Tattoo expenses are on me then.” She winked. Well, our map of the world was coming together. It was my freshman year of college and I still remember that it was Thursday. Julia was sitting in the canteen while I was trying to convince that obnoxious student council president Greg about the trips our facility ought to finance for the students, as we were, after all, students belonging to the Department of Geography. Anyway, that fell through the roof, but my idea of traveling caught Julia’s attention. Behind Owen’s back, a high-pitched voice emerged from the crowd of people sitting by the table. “Hey, I have this tattooed map of the world on my back!” she commented. I looked at this pink haired girl and almost burst into laughter. She had multiple earrings, but only on one ear and the ends of her eyebrows were missing, so she looked like one of those dog breeds that only have dots above their eyes. I only replied with “Care to colour the places you visit?” Were it not initially for our mutual love for travel, our words would have never collided.

Naturally, with this lifestyle, some sacrifices are bound to follow. We had to give up on the latest trends and start wearing blue worn-out jeans and white shirts with stains on their sleeves. Julia was saving her salary last time when Portugal was only a distant plan, and now it is my turn to return the favour. This dynamic suits us, one saves their salary and the other one provides for the time being. “What about you?” I nodded towards her, raising my eyebrows, and looking at her sweater. “Well, Black Friday was an option for me, but the incentive wasn’t needed. Two weeks ago, my aunt found her old shirts and sneakers she used to wear. She’s a passionate gourmand of her husband’s kitchen, so none of those clothes fit her anymore. Naturally, she gifted them to me.” She stopped for a few seconds. “And there is also this small fact I omitted. She had to buy a new closet, so let’s say I offered to relieve her of the unnecessary rags.” I clicked my tongue. “You devil, you convinced her no one would want clothes in such a good state…” I scolded her playfully. She raised her left pierced eyebrow and whispered: “I worked my charms.”

[1] "Hakuna matata" – phrase from the Swahili language from East Africa, popularized by the Walt Disney animated film: The Lion King