deartraveller

Dear Erica,

Speaking of chocolate cake ... I just got out of Broadway's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde : The Musical, WHAT a coincidence I know, (maybe that friend that asked you about the ups and downs of travelling got curious and asked the same to me ... juust maybe, so I went out searching for the new yorker way of watching it) I found it, watched it, loved it and then I, kind of, rationalize it.

I honestly believe each one of us has a inner Hyde, or Jekyll, (according to each personality) and I think you will agree with me when I say that travelling brings out some sides that we used to hide or didn´t knew we had, at all.

In a more intense way if you travell alone and only in those who are at ease with themselves, psychologically speaking, the shot of freedom given by entering on a plain and leaving every single person that you know behind is stronger than a pound of ice cooling you in a very hot day (a Jekyll feeling) or a bucket of chocolate ice cream crashing against the tv on a very very bad and heartbreaking day (a Hyde's moment of fury).

It's also very very similar to the drug that is used by Dr. Jekyll. He turned into a beast-like men and we turn into godlike-adventurers, believing that we are capable of turning into someone else when away from the daily routine that we where used to, whenever we want.

This shot of freedom that I'm talking about sets in motion a lot of thoughts in your head: ' Will I survive alone ? Can I make the most of this trip ? ' etc, but what some people actually look for is a fresh start or a time when ' I'll do everything I wouldn't do with my parents (or with an acquainted of any kind) '.

And that is when a Dr. Jekyll or a nasty Mr. Hyde appear and everything starts to crumble, like that superb apple crumble your mother makes that has two layers: the first being harsh and almost crispy and the second, the soft and sweet one.

Again just like a double faced men, coin or cupon for make-up stores. Yes, those who allow you to buy things with 50 percent of discount but that have those small letters saying that the new and semi-new collections are not included in it. Wonderful don't you think? I would turn into Hyde too!

But, as you said, what's wrong with that ? I actually find very relaxing to reliese my 'Hyde' sometimes, my karate classes become much more interesting, and when it comes to help out a Unicef's volunteer rescuing an incredible amount of kids from an almost certain death when in Africa just by buying some bottles of water, me version of Dr. Jekyll is always present.

If we do not get angry in the right moments it will start pilling up inside of us and when it comes to reliese that anger, Mr. Hyde will appear as our worst nightmare, don't you think? ( Some memories of our night beating up pillows and couches are flashing right now ... can´t stop laughing, despite not remembering the reason why we were so mad, was it about boys ?)

Well, this is my point of view my dear friend, I will now join my other dear friend for breakfast, who today looks like Hyde because he lost his bagage in the airport (so, probably, his bags are in Taiti or something like that) and the only store open was an oversize clothe one. You can imagine the amount of tears I cried of laughing so much.

Love you a lot,

Sara.

P.S: Please, please, please come to New York, ' concreet jungle where dreams are made of, there's nothing you can't do ... ' a bit of Alicia Keys for your entertainment (New York could very well be Hyde's lair !!), and we'll shop like crazy just like a few months ago. Yesss, I'm so homesick that I even miss that, and if you don't come I'll have to go with Gabriel so please!

The musical                                            The only shirt left 

Dear Sara,

Risking you thinking that my letters have turned into literature lessons by correspondence, I’m going to tell you about another book I’m reading: The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Well, in the book, Dr. Jekyll, a polite gentleman, a role model of the upper class, had a secret alter-ego, Mr. Hyde who incarnated everything he couldn’t be when he was Jekyll. They were two completely different personalities inside a single person: the bright and the dark side of someone. When I finished the book, a friend of mine asked me what I think the ups and downs of travelling are, because just like Jekyll, “it can’t all be butterflies”.

My mind quickly pointed me to the ups of travelling: “It’s the most wonderful experience you will ever live. Travelling all around the world, knowing different people, different cultures even if just by some days it’s so rewarding. The skills you acquire: you learn how to live on your own, to get around in cities you don’t know. Every single step of the way comes with a new life lesson. And the most obvious reason: you have so much fun!”

When it came to the downs of travelling, it was more complicated to answer: “The mosquito bites in Africa, the fear of being robbed, kidnapped or attacked by a serial killer (felt by the ones who watch too many episodes of Criminal Minds…. Guilty!), the poisonous animals in Australia, how tired you feel after walking through the cities all day, the difficulty of understanding the London subway, homesickness… However the worst thing about travelling around is that it has to end! To know that the wonderful time you are having in India, or Budapest or Brazil just lasts for some days, and that soon you have to return to your real life... If it was up to me, I would travel all my life!”.

Just like the drug Jekyll uses in the book to escape his reality, travelling can also be a way to escape our lives nowadays and, honestly: what’s wrong with that?

I miss you so much (and that delicious chocolate cake we had in Virginia too)!

With love,

Érica.