Love letter to Cumberland

Cumberland,

How do I even begin to express my love for you? By dancing in your streets, hugging all your people, writing you a love letter? I didn't know which one to choose, so I decided to do it all. I left you this morning, after four months of bliss and sunshine. The winter months made me doubt my love for you, but that's a personal thing. It's not you, it's me. I'm a summer child and you definitely brought the child out in me these past months. Running around the forest, skinny dipping in the lake, digging in the dirt. 

Three seasons in four months, it felt like we were only together for five minutes when actually I lived a lifetime with you as my witness. I felt lost under all those layers of clothes, out of my element in the cold. You made me feel at home and lit the fire. I arrived by myself and I left with a family. Being part of a community is something I longed for dearly, and you welcomed me with open arms. My search for work got answered by four jobs. I got to write! For a living! And meet the most amazing people, collect their stories and be a sister in the Cumberland family. A wild woman in a bunch of even wilder women. A travelling spirit finding a place to rest. 

I fell in love and made dear friends. I'm leaving with a heart overflowing with love. My creative spark is alight, leaving books of poetry in island houses. The mountains cradle my thoughts. The trees clear my mind of any worries. The ocean's salty water attracts me every time, clothes off in a heart beat. Waves spit me back out on the beach, making me a better person. It's the combination of all of this, that makes me feel so good. But it's the people that make it a home. A place filled with love. A valley full of memories, I take them with me wherever I go.

And I will always come back.

Love,

Joke

Living on couches

Couch surfing is as simple as it is genius. You spend the night on someone's couch. The fun part is: you usually find yourself in a stranger's home, in a place you've never been before. Magic happens when you enter someone's home. You enter their lives and as you change into your PJ's you realise you are home. For one night you're living in someone else's house, being a part of a stranger's private life. Just like that. 

When people open up their doors, they open their hearts. It's incredible how generous and kind people are. You'll see when you try couch surfing yourself. I travelled around the world sleeping on stranger's sofas, floors, spare beds and I loved it. The night filled with stories, feeling the smooth transition of strangers turning into friends. Waking up and being confused for the first three seconds: where am I? Oh that's right, I'm in Simone's loft in Vienna. Or at Sue's farm in Tasmania. And you know you're in for an adventure.

Seeing the world through others' eyes is a very special thing. To be able to do this, you have to go deep. Superficial weather talk at the supermarket is not going to cut it. It won't open your eyes, stir up your brain, shake your soul. I want to be moved by stories. So I surf couches. I'm not in it for the free accommodation. I'm here to listen and learn. There is something vulnerable and loving about people opening their homes to strangers. It makes them share precious things. Like a home cooked meal, life stories and most important: time. Couch surfing forces you to connect. To spend time together, away from the digital world, living totally and completely in the now.

I missed it. Couch surfing has been a part of my travelling life for a long time, and after months of having a key to my own home, my feet started getting itchy. Not for faraway travels this time. For connection. For meeting people and sharing moments of truth. Get past the lines I throw at customer's faces: hi darling, how are you going? As a server, I hope you just say you're fine and order a burrito. As a human, I want to hear it all. The whole story. I want to sit down with you on your couch and listen and not once will we talk about the weather. 

So after three months of serving the community of Cumberland margaritas and beers, talking mostly about margaritas and beers, it is time to cut the crap and get to know each other. Hi, I'm Joke, I talk to strangers and collect stories. I traded my bed for couches, sleeping in a different home every night. Feeling like a traveller while working seven days a week at the same places. Getting out of the routine, into people's lives, one couch at a time.

Magical forest

Maple syrup to sweeten 

up the day

time changed and so did my mind.

Shifts in perception

following mornings spent 

in the forest

in the back yard 

of our house,

everyone's house.

The fire is on, warming our cold

feet after days of exploring

forest freedom

finding what we were

looking for all along.

Forest dwellers

adventures of full 

moon mountain walks

in the snow I'm covered 

by a blanket of warmth

keeping my inner fire alight

nothing can cool me down

the spark I have inside is

glowing all night

keeping the energy flowing

until the morning light.