Dear man, with purple pants and purple hair…you’re driving me nuts!

As I write this Harry and I are currently sitting on a 17 hour bus ride up to Iguazu Falls. We splurged and got the “suites” right in the front of the bus with huge 180 degree views and lay down beds. We were looking forward to a long bus ride to take in some scenery and take a road trip.  To be in a moving vehicle has almost become a bit of luxury as our legs have been our primary mode of transportation. But there’s an unexpected situation that is currently ruining my ability to relax and enjoy the ride….

Dear man whose seat was assigned next to me in the purple pants and bright purple hair….you are driving me nuts.

The constant whistling and drum playing on your tray, talking loudly on your phone, laughing every 5 seconds at the latest stupid Adam Sandler movie, and flicking the top of your Sprite can. I am hoping he falls asleep soon.

My name is Audrey. I have a deep, dark confession to make. I really dislike people.

As part of my RTW journey, I decided to develop some personal goals to make my time away more meaningful. One of the most private, is that I am desperately trying to change my perception of the human race as a whole. I find myself always struggling to find the best in people as I think that common courtesy has become a thing of the past. I don’t enjoy being out in the crowds or sharing spaces with others. Generally speaking, I find my happiness and contentment in more quiet solitude. I think that is why Harry and I find the idea of living someplace like Idaho or Montana so appealing. All we imagine is wide open, unpopulated, peaceful wilderness. Being one who worked in a helping profession, you would think being around people would be easy for me. Sadly, it’s not.

Sometimes being out in the world, I feel like the life gets sucked out of me as I watch ignorant people do things that I find hard to ignore. For example, in the past few weeks I’ve seen people leave their dog shit all over the sidewalk without picking it up, let their screaming child run up and down the hallways of our accommodation with no regards to the other guests, have someone continuously blow smoke in my face while dining outside, see young people refuse to give up their subway seat to senior citizens, and have neighbors leave their barking dog outside so that the whole neighborhood is forced to hear the damn mutt all day long. Folks another reminder that ONLY YOU love and find your kids and dogs so unconditionally adorable.

Am I the only one that feels this way?

I remember asking a fellow travel blogger if she felt that she could never truly express herself in her writing for the fear of being offensive, and maybe not so PC (in what I think is an increasingly sensitive, overly politically correct world). She stated that she always felt that there was a nice way to convey her feelings as she wrote. But I don’t think there is any kind way to say how much people get on my nerves. It doesn’t help that people today are scared to call things like they are. We are now taught, “don’t judge.” No one wants to call people out on their behaviors. They justify them. They make excuses. They use the overused, highly annoying phrase, “It is what it is.” I feel that on a global sense, it has become an “it’s all about me,” self-gratifying society.

These are very difficult feelings to manage while out in the world often relying on the kindness and good graces of others. We’ve already met a few wonderful individuals that have been giving me hope, but it is something that I am truly working very hard at. Harry and I feel extremely blessed to have this opportunity. We promised ourselves that we will always look upon, and share our experiences with a positive light. But we’d be lying to ourselves (and others), if we pretended things were perfect 100% of the time.  Being courteous, in a everly increasing uncourteous world, has been one of our biggest struggles thus far.

So for now, we continue moving forward in watching the world around us. We are taking in and reflecting on all the countries and different people that cross our path. I hope that at the end of this I will have made progress on my goal and will have come to soften my heart and patience for others.

The only thing that could spoil a day was people. People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself. – Ernest Hemingway

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