History, Landscapes and Memories

Natchez Trace  National Park. It is a highway that goes for 444 miles, it goes through Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. It is a national park on its all and driving through it was just amazing. Once we were done with our trip on this highway we had taken a little taste of many of the landscapes that are waiting for us around USA. Plains, forests, swamps, hills, lakes and rivers were the main course of this part of our journey.

In our first stop we found a flag half way up, signal of the national mourning caused by the horrible killing in a elementary school in Connecticut. That same morning there was a national moment of silence in memory of the kids and teachers that were victims there.

At the same stop, our legs were asking for a stretch. We walked only one mile of the long trail that Lewis and Clark walked. What did we find? Not much, just a forest that seemed infinite and a lot of fresh air, which was needed.

The great Tennessee River!

That night we made it to Tupelo, Mississippi. There, we slept southern style, with family, music and stories.
The next morning we had the privilege of meeting a character that will be impossible to forget, Charlie. A man that is eighty something years old and history is in his blood. He is known as the John Deer Man, he has collections of anything that has the John Deer stamp on it. The most incredible thing about him, is his skill to restore old, rusted and consumed by time trucks and make of them a master piece for museums and collections.
During a couple hours Charlie let his memories show through his eyes and shared them in detail, without any doubt, it was an honor to meet him.

Later on, we went to gather some water from a spring. It was something really exciting for the boys to see a natural source of water. For me, it was just a moment to remember my childhood at my family's camping house, we used to walk to a little forest next to the house and I was the first one to run and check that the four springs were clean and full of water... Great memories!

We continued our trip down to Texas on the same highway, where we found a bunch of fake landscapes, the ones you find only on postcards and National Geographic magazines. Above, it is a historic site, along the trace there are mounds made by the native people that lived in the area a long time ago to honor their ancestors.

Later on, we had the chance of hiking for 30 minutes in a real swamp, one of those that has real crocodiles and water and mud and all those cool things that are real and make a real swamp!

Finally, we went through the Ross R Bammet Reservoir just in time to see the sunset. I was driving and as soon as I saw that scene coming from behind the trees I had to pull over to enjoy the moment and save it on my camera.

We spent hours going down on Natchez Trace National Park, but it was worth it to stop on each site to enjoy the landscapes that we saw for almost 380 miles! 

Historia, Paisajes y Recuerdos.

Natchez Trace National Park. Una autopista que recorre 715 kilómetros, pisando los estados de Tennessee, Alabama y Mississippi. Es un parque nacional en su totalidad y manejar en él fue asombroso. Una vez terminamos nuestro viaje por esta carretera habíamos saboreado muchos de los escenarios que nos esperan alrededor de los Estados Unidos. Praderas, bosques, pantanos, colinas, lagos y ríos fueron los platos principales de este tramo del viaje.

En nuestra primera parada encontramos la bandera a media asta, señal de duelo nacional debido a la reciente masacre en una escuela primaria en Connecticut. Esa misma mañana se celebró un momento de silencio en memoria de los niños y profesores que perecieron allí.

En la misma parada, las piernas pedían un estirón. Caminamos solo una milla del largo camino que recorrieron Lewis y Clark (Famosos exploradores en la historia Americana). ¿Qué encontramos? No mucho, solo un bosque que parecía infinito y mucho aire fresco, el cual hacia falta.  

¡El Torbes en el fondo con el nuevo puente terminado en la revolución de mi comandante al mando! Si claro... El río Tennessee, majestuoso.

Esa noche llegamos a Tupelo, Mississippi. Allí nos hospedamos en la casa de un familiar, el cual nos acogió  con su familia al estilo sureño, con mucha comida, música e historias. 

La siguiente mañana tuvimos el privilegio de conocer un personaje que será difícil de olvidar, Charlie. Un señor en sus ochenta y algo que lleva historia en su sangre. Conocido como el hombre John Deer, posee colecciones de cualquier cosa que tenga la estampa de John Deer. Lo mas increíble, es su habilidad para restaurar tractores olvidados, oxidados y consumidos por el tiempo en piezas de colección. 

Durante un par de horas Charlie dejó que historias de su vida pasaran frente a sus ojos y las compartió con lujo de detalle, sin lugar a dudas fue un honor haberlo conocido.

Luego fuimos a recolectar agua de una naciente, para los niños fue algo emocionante ver una fuente natural de agua. Para mí, fue recordar parte de mi infancia en la casa de campo de mi familia, siempre que caminábamos al pequeño bosque cercano a la casa, yo iba a revisar si las cuatro nacientes estaban limpias y llenas de agua... Buenas memorias de cuando eramos felices y no sabíamos.

Continuamos el descenso a Texas en la misma autopista para encontrarnos con mas paisajes de mentira, de esos que solo se ven en postales y revistas de National Geographic. Arriba, una reserva y sitio histórico indígena, a lo largo del parque hay montículos que fueron construidos por nativos americanos para honrar a sus antepasados.

Luego, tuvimos la oportunidad de hacer una excursión de 30 minutos en un pantano de verdad, de esos que tienen cocodrilos de verdad y agua y barro y todas esas cosas cheveres que son de verdad y hacen un pantano de verdad.

Finalmente, pasamos por la Reserva Ross R. Bammet justo a tiempo para ver el atardecer. Iba manejando y cuando vi esta escena salir de atrás de los arboles que la escondía, me detuve a un lado de la carretera para disfrutar del momento y guardarlo en mi cámara.

Fueron unas cuantas horas descendiendo por Natchez Trace National Park, pero valió la pena detenernos en cada uno de estos sitios para disfrutar del paisaje que nos vio viajar cerca de 600 kilómetros.

Manuel vs The Depths of The Earth. Round 2

Have you ever felt lucky? Maybe privileged? Today I had one of those moments when you think "Manuel, you are really annoying, aren't you?".

After an exciting day at Hiden River Cave and a heavy emotional load last night, we woke up to to discover that some of the bags that were on top of the car were wet. Discouraging? A lot...

After taking a deep breath, check the bags and reorganize the whole thing, we started the day an hour late. But we kept the good attitude and continued with the plan to visit the biggest caverns in the world, the Mammoth Caves.

This tour was different from the one we took the day before in the other caverns. This one was completely guided and everything was designed just to walk and look.

400 miles of the cavern have been mapped, all of that in only 7 miles around the area. 5 different layers make this cavern a complex maze that hasn't been solved yet!

The caverns are full of history, that much that it even has pre-history! (Got it? No? Try harder!)

They haven't found any dinosaurs fossils because the caverns formed before they died.

At the end, this cavern was an experience of historic learning, really interesting and something that is worth to visit.

When we exited the cavern, I saw how a little waterfall turned the floor were it falls into a colorless scene, something from a horror movie. But you can still find beauty in a decrepit place.

Why did I feel lucky? Why did I admit I am annoying? Well, it took me a couple hours locked in my mind and a headache, but it is clear that an experience like this one will be full of obstacles and learning. When things don't go according to the plan they start turning gray. But again, it is cool to see the bright side of things. It will rain, plans will change and there will be misunderstandings, but at the end of the day I will have seen new things and learnt something new. That is why I am lucky... And I am annoying because that is in my blood!

Manuel vs Las Profundidades de la Tierra. Round 2

¿Alguna ves te has sentido afortunado? ¿Privilegiado quizás? Hoy tuve uno de esos momentos en los que piensas "usted si jode ¿no?".

Después de un día emocionante en Hidden River Cave y una carga emocional bastante pesada en la noche, despertamos para descubrir que parte del equipaje que se encontraba en el techo de la camioneta estaba mojado. ¿Desalentador? Bastante...

Luego de respirar profundo, revisar las cosas y reorganizar el equipaje, empezamos el día con una hora de retraso. De igual manera continuamos con nuestro plan de ir a visitar las cavernas mas grandes del planeta hasta ahora, Mammoth Caves.

A diferencia del tour que tomamos en las otras cavernas, este tour fue guiado completamente y todo estaba diseñado para solo caminar y observar.

400 millas han sido plasmadas en el mapa de la caverna en un área de tan solo 7 millas, 5 capas de cavernas que conforman un laberinto bastante complejo que no ha sido resuelto aun!

Las cavernas están llenas de historia, tanto que hasta tiene prehistoria! (Aplausos por el chiste por favor).

No se han encontrado fósiles de dinosaurios porque las cavernas se formaron antes que estos murieran. 

Al final esta caverna fue una experiencia de aprendizaje histórico, bastante interesante y algo que vale la pena totalmente visitar.

Cuando salimos, vi como el agua de una pequeña cascada había tornado el suelo donde cae en una escena sin color, algo de película de terror. Pero se puede encontrar belleza hasta en el ambiente mas decrepito.

¿Por qué me sentí afortunado? ¿Por qué admití que jodo tanto? Me costó un dolor de cabeza y unas horas encerrado en mi cabeza, pero está claro que una experiencia como esta, está llena de obstáculos y aprendizaje. Cuando no todo sale de acuerdo a lo planeado todo se tiñe de gris. Pero de nuevo, que fino es verle el lado positivo a las cosas. Lloverá, se cambiaran los planes y habrán malentendidos, pero al final del día habré visto cosas nuevas y aprendido al menos algo nuevo. Por eso soy afortunado... Y jodo mucho porque soy apellido Bueno!

"Eaten by The Earth"

Noon and still home, you could touch the tension in the air. Still, the whole family was working as a team packing and loading up the car to start our 13 hour trip....

After a long trip we made it to our first destiny in Cave City, Kentucky. There, we woke up to enjoy of a new day full of new experiences and confront the first challenges of this adventure.

We went caving to Hidden River Cave. This is a cave where you cannot get bored. We took the classic tour of "on your right you can see that rock... And so on your left!"

Later on we took THE tour, the one the kids were waiting for, the one they were excited for. We walked into the darkness mud and water. Only with the help of our lights, helmets and the instinct to know where to step and where not to.

It was an awesome experience to walk, crawl and walk like Gollum to keep going during the three hours we were exploring. We felt the total darkness, yeap, felt, it is something without comparison. You cannot see anything, you can only hear your own thoughts, breathing and a drop of water falling in a far pond that is deep in the cave

Like expected, the boys ended up covered in mud, maybe some got in their brain.

. After this, I know what "eaten by the earth" feels like!

"Trágame Tierra"

Doce del mediodía y no salíamos, la tensión en el aire era tangible pero aun así seguíamos empacando y cargando todo a la camioneta para empezar nuestro viaje de 13 horas...

Luego de un largo viaje, llegamos a nuestro primer destino en Cave City, Kentucky. Allí amanecimos para disfrutar de un día lleno de experiencias nuevas y enfrentar los primeros desafíos de esta aventura.

Nos fuimos de excursión a Hidden River Cave. Una cueva en la que aburrido no se puede estar. Nos llevaron al tour clásico de "a la derecha podrán ver una piedra... Y a la izquierda también"

Luego nos llevaron al tour que esperábamos, el tour por el que los niños estaban emocionados. Nos adentramos en la oscuridad, barro y agua. Solo con la ayuda de linternas en nuestros cascos y del instinto para saber donde pisar y donde no.

Fue una experiencia genial, caminar, arrastrarse, gatear y hasta el paso de Gollum tuvimos que hacer para avanzar durante las tres horas que estuvimos explorando. Sentimos la oscuridad total, si, sentir, es algo que no tiene comparación; No poder ver nada, no escuchar sino tus pensamientos, respiración y una gota de agua cayendo en algún pozo lejano formado en la caverna.

Como era de esperar, los niños terminaron con barro hasta en el cerebro y su Au Pair de confianza terminó con unas vagas manchas de barro.

Sin duda alguna después de explorar esta caverna, la expresión "trágame tierra" tiene otro significado para mi...

Day 484

That's right, 484 days ago I left my home in Venezuela to change my lifestyle completely. I left people that was important for me behind, I left my college degree almost done, and the most valuable thing I left back there, in the beautiful land that was my home, was the fear for the unknown.

I came to the United States wanting to know a different culture, to learn new things and grow as a good person, the same stupid things everyone says when they leave the country to go and "find a better future". Yep, all those things have happened already, I met people, I've changed and I've grown, but still, it is unavoidable to feel a little bit scared when a whole new situation is about to get you.

During the last year and four months my life has changed considerably twice, and in a few hours is going to change again. My first change was to go from a college student on Information Technology to being an Au Pair in America. "Manuel, what the heck is that?" Short story, I came to United States to work taking care of the kids of a family that gives me a place to stay, food and money.

My second change was when I decided that I was tired of the situation I was dealing with in my life. On my eighth month I changed host families. I became part of a family that I loved and they loved me since the beginning of my year; way different from being just an employee on the previous house. How is it going with my new host family? Incredibly amazingly awesomely great! The different between both families is so big that I could write another post about it, which I'm not gonna do because is not worth it.

The reason of this blog is to share my experiences during the third big change that is coming. Today, December 18th 2012, we will start a trip that will last around nine months, that is my time remaining as an Au Pair here.

I will go around the country with my host family. We will leave on our car, stop at different national parks, go camping and then keep going! "Manuel that is great!", "You are a lucky one", "Holy cow that's crazy!" and "What!!?" are the most common reactions.

The idea started as a vacation that never became true for my host family. At the beginning of this year the idea started to grow and we got a trailer!

Two trips later and some ears pulled to my host mom from her family, and the trailer was sold because it was more useful as an accessory for Barbie's car

Now everything will be easier, we will camp at national parks and for some periods of time we will rent a house or cabin that doesn't kill the budget.

And that is how a new adventure begins, of course there are sacrifices that are necessary to achieve this goal. I will leave an stable life in the richest county of US, I have to say good bye to friends that I won't see again, I will change my relationship to make it through distance, and my social life as my privacy will be limited at times.

But my old man always tough me to look at the bright side of things, to hold the bull on its horns. I will get to know so many things and places that even Americans just dream to visit, I will travel more than any other Au Pair (I think I am the first one doing this) and I will learn grow even more.

One of my goals is to keep this blog updated, to share what is going on in my life and how I feel while I'm moving. I'm not an expert but I'll do my best to keep the writing clean.

Kentucky, here we go!