Bourdain

In my make-believe world, I get to travel sometime with Anthony Bourdain.
(... you know ... Travel channel ... "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" ... straight-talking kind of guy ... comes across as pretty laid-back ... will try any food ...)

No well-groomed resorts.
No five-star dining.
No luxurious spas.

Just remote places.
And real living.
Assimilating into the authentic lives of unfamiliar peoples, in their native lands.
Browsing their markets.
Enjoying their adventures.
Eating their food.
(Except no raw meat for me, please.)
Glimpsing their lifestyles.
Enjoying life.
Perhaps appreciating what I have at home more.
Yet taking it less seriously.

True happiness derives from family, contentment, confidence, overcoming challenges.
Not from American "things."

But I like my American things.
Is that wrong?
Maybe only if I expect them, demand them, need them.
And if it weren't for the rewards of the "American dream," I might not have the resources to travel at all.

I like being an American.
I like being a woman in America.
But I respect and appreciate those who aren't.
I'd like to meet some of them.