As the Juju Turns

What is Journey Juju? Why am I on this trip?

I think I will ask myself those questions a million times before all is said and done.

Journey juju, as I know it, is the magic of life while traveling. It’s those connections and sparks that help make your journey remarkable. Here’s an example.

When I arrived in Milan from London, I knew to get the #73 bus to downtown, where I’d take the metro. I had 23 euros with me from the last trip (tip – always keep some cash on hand for the next trip) so I thought the bus wasn’t a problem.

But when I hauled myself and my gear onto the bus, I noticed that other people already had tickets and were punching them into the controller machine (whatever that’s called). Shize! I didn’t have a ticket. I knew I needed to ask for help, which is how to initiate journey juju.

I turned to the man sitting nearest me. “Parle inglese?” He shook his head. “Non, je parle francais.” French! Just as good! Juju in action.

He explained that yes, I did need a ticket. I made to schlep back off the bus but he reached into his pocket and found a ticket for me. I offered him a euro but he refused. Journey juju to the nth degree! We chatted during the bus ride and I felt welcomed to Milan.

Then I went to Lisbon and my whole concept of Journey Juju started to shift.

Is Journey Juju all about good luck? Is it only about things going your way? Maybe not.

Flying into Lisbon was magical – juju for sure. It’s like San Francisco, on the water, cresting a hill. The sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds and a rainbow arched over the city. Glorious. I couldn’t wait to touch down. Which was when it all started going downhill.

I’d been told that a taxi ride was 10-12 euros. Worth it, right? I am always willing to pay more to get me and my stuff to my location when I don’t know where I’m going. It’s so worth it.

But traffic stunk, the ride was long and the driver surly. We got to my destination and he stopped at the end of the street and pointed up the hill. “Your street is up there.” It’s annoying to me when drivers can’t get me close to my destination. If I’m paying for a taxi, I want to be delivered to my door. Am I wrong?

When I asked him to confirm the directions, he started yelling. This guy had a short fuse, let me tell you. I told him he didn’t have to yell, but that didn’t stop him.

Then he told me the ride would cost 20 euro. I protested, he went on about the traffic, the baggage fee, etc. I looked for a meter in the cab and there wasn’t one. I recalled having read that one should look for a meter before getting in. Doh!

Whatever. I got out, got my luggage out, gave him the money and ignored his abusive ranting. I started the schlep up the hill.

Now, I had heard that my street was in the nightclub scene. But I wasn’t sure what that meant. Here’s what it meant:

Broken glass, crushed cups and pecking pigeons littered the street. Walls decorated in graffiti. At 8:00 pm, not a lot of people around, except for a handful of shady characters at the top of the street, watching me drag my baggage up.

There’s nothing more vulnerable than a woman dragging her luggage through the streets. I’d been warned about pickpockets in Lisbon, so despite the fact that I feel pretty safe in the world, at this moment, sweating and frustrated, I didn’t feel so great.

I got to the top of the street, and found that my place was the only one with no address above the door. I had to invoke the juju again and ask. I rang the bell, my new roommate Angel leaned out the window, and I was in. Phew.

Then the four flights of stairs. Then the chaotic apartment. It turns out that Angel is moving to Berlin on the 19th and a new group of people will be in the apartment. And they’ve already moved their stuff in and my room is fully full of someone else’s stuff. And the place has a bit of a doggy smell and… well, you get the picture. I’m not staying here.

So does this mean I have bad Journey Juju? Or does it mean that good Journey Juju is the external luck and the way you look at things? I’m not sure. I know that I am not terribly freaked out. I have several options for finding a place to stay for the last two weeks in May in Lisbon. It will work out.

And maybe that’s Journey Juju – faith that it’s all happening exactly as it should be.

Stay tuned for more Lisbon adventures. Will she find a better place to stay? Will she just go to a beach town and drop out, lying on the beach and eating seafood all day? Will she bail entirely on Portugal and split for familiar Paris? Stay tuned!

Comments

[Jenny]

I think this is meant to be. I think that this is your journey JuJu creating a new wonderful experience for you. I mean, you planned to do x,y,z...now you are thrown a curve, and by changing your plans will encounter someone, something,someplace as yet undreamed of! Trust your intuition, make some changes, and then you can revel in what your JuJu reveals to you!

[Kim in Marquette, Michigan]

Granted I have never traveled internationally--but my usual advice still fits--everything happens for a reason--but it is usally far beyond us in the moment. It is hard to be zen when plans fall apart.

[Margaret]

The Juju is alive and well! My experience backpacking in Europe is that the day after I was disrespected, ripped off and made to shlep my pack up the side of a mountain to a nasty room, everything turned around. I went to Florence and fell in love with the city. You're on the verge of something great!

[Cynthia Morris]

I think it's true that this is all as it should be and I just need to go with the flow. Luckily I'm doing that! For some reason, I'm less bothered than I would have been years ago. I'm chalking it up to being 40 and having that be an advantage to me!

[Melissa Grossman]

Hey Cynthia - When I read your opening question, it hit me like a ton of tiles (argh argh) that it's such a potent question, one to possibly keep asking? Each day, the answer might be different, even if the tiniest bit different, which is kind of marvelous in and of itself.

[Cynthia]

I'm finding that asking the question, "What am I doing here?" has ceased to be of use to me! I used to like really mulling something over and trying to make meaning from it - extracting some big picture message. But now I want to just be with what's in front of me and not worry about why, why why. It's new and strange but it feels right.
I think it's a bit of letting meaning come to me rather than making meaning.
So now I focus on just seeing and being with what is here now, and appreciating this wonderful opportunity.