Hi everyone,

In my last newsletter, I told you about my arrival in the United States and the beginning of a new leg of my journey : A lecture tour around the USA and Canada to finance the rest of my adventure. Today, it has been exactly 2 years since my World trip by hitchhiking began. On this occasion, I would like to answer some of the most frequently asked questions.

2 years already

2 years of traveling is a lot and a little at the same time. To be honest, 2 years ago I thought 24 months would be the longest the realization of this adventure could take. However, traveling is like a drug : the more I travel, the more I realize how traveling is an excellent school of life - especially by being in contact with the local population - the more I want to keep on traveling.

2 years later, I have completed about one third of my world trip and I realize my adventure could take another 3 to 4 years.

“It is not how much we have but how much we enjoy that makes happiness”. With a backpack and the minimum in terms of money to survive, I realize it is possible to live happily with few things and short on money.

Don’t you feel disconnected from « real » life ? Don’t you think you’ll have a hard time to integrate again to a “normal” way of life ? Don’t you feel too lonely ? Don’t you miss your family, your friends ? What about meaningful relationships, don’t you miss them ? You don’t speak much about difficult moments you have gone through, are there any ? Where do you usually stay ?

These questions are frequent in the emails I receive. I perfectly understand how difficult it is for sedentary people to understand my nomad way of life. I will try here to answer all of them.

Am I disconnected from “real” life ?

My current status as a globe-trotter indeed turns me into a bit of a “marginal” (even though people taking a few months or even years off to travel are many more than you may think). However, I don’t feel disconnected at all. The only disconnection I feel sometimes is that my concerns are more global than local now, unlike most of the world population.

And in fact, what is a « real » life ? Why couldn’t a real life start with a better knowledge and understanding of the world surrounding us ?

Will I be able to reintegrate myself into the “normal” life ?

Without any doubt. I am perfectly aware that I won’t be a globe-trotter during my whole life and I will certainly use what I have learned during this tour to carry out other projects in the future.

Do I feel lonely ? Do I miss my family and friends ? What about meaningful relationships ?

There are more than 6 billion people on earth, today ; it is then difficult to be too much by myself. Every day, I keep on meeting new people, either by hitchhiking or in other situations. However, as you can imagine, those encounters are usually pretty superficial. So, yes, of course, I miss my family, my friends and meaningful relationships, but this is only one step in my life.

The loneliness of the hitchhiker

Have I gone through difficult moments ?

You can imagine that touring the world by hitchhiking means spending a long time alone - thumb up on the side of the road - walking countless kilometers through the world’s roads and of course a lot of persistence, patience, a positive attitude and resourcefulness. However, I don’t like talking about difficult moments : those moments are just “less easy” for me. It is a great fortune to be able to tour the world, one that is sadly not shared by too many people.

Where do I stay ?

My nomadic status makes me stay in all kinds of places range from the most horrendous to the nicest ones. Since I arrived in the United States, other than the accommodation offered to me through my web site, I was lodged several times thanks to a useful website called “the hospitality club” (www.hospitalityclub.org) whose goal is to bring people together. About 35,000 people offer others a place to stay in return for a few good stories. At times, I have also had to sleep outside...

I hope that I have thus answered some of the numerous questions I have received.

And for the year 2005...

As I explained in my previous newsletter, the year 2005 will be different from others since I will carry out a “lecture tour” around the United States and Canada. This tour has 3 main objectives : making money to finance the rest of my adventure, sharing my adventure and sensitizing the public to the problems too often forgotten in developed countries.

Below, two photos taken during lectures in Latin America :

In an indigenous school in Ecuador :

In a school in Peru :

Of course, nothing has changed concerning my original commitment to travel around the world without spending a single cent on transportation, and using hitchhiking as the only means of travel.

I plan to arrive in San Francisco by December 2005 ; from there I will hitch-hike by boat, aiming to reach Australia, a very challenging task.

For further details about the lecture tour, please click on the following link : http://www.sekoyamag.com/nouveausite/SPIP/breve.php3 ?id_breve=272

I would like to grasp the opportunity to wish each and every one of you an excellent year in 2005, I hope you will achieve all of your dreams and objectives. I especially hope that all the people of the world will learn to live in perfect harmony with one another during this decisive upcoming year.

I have a special thought for the victims and the families of the victims of the Tsunami in South-East Asia.

Bye for now

Ludo