Life is a Trip
Authors: Judith Fein
PRAISE FOR LIFE IS A TRIP
Life
is
a trip. Judith Fein’s globetrotting adventures remind us that we travel to be changed, in big ways and small. This book is immensely readable, steeped in a spirit of connecting with place, with each other, and with our inner selves. Get a massage in Vietnam, travel the land of the witches, and meet a joyous rabbi. You’re in the hands of a writer who has a keen eye and a singular voice.
Keith Bellows, Editor-in-Chief,
National Geographic Traveler
I don’t travel unless I have to. I don’t know Micronesia from a microwave. In fact, I find it annoying just to walk from one end of my tiny bungalow to the other, yet when I read J
u
dith Fein’s incredible new book,
Life Is A Trip: The Transformative Magic of Travel
, I found myself eagerly tagging along on one adventure after another. Ms. Fein doesn’t sim
p
ly move from place to place, she is moved by every place she goes, and she has the artistic and literary skill to move the reader along with her. This is an excellent book by a very ta
l
ented writer. And I read it without ever having to move at all.
Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of
Recovery, The Sacred Art
In
Life is a Trip
, Judith Fein provides a mouth-watering feast of journeys from Mexico to Micronesia, Vietnam to the splendors of Istanbul. Fein’s writing is as honed as the sharpest knife edge. Many a writer would give their front teeth to match her eye for detail. She d
e
serves great success with this book, not only because of its extraordinary sensitivity, but because it illuminates many lands in a new and remarkable way—from the inside out.
Tahir Shah, author of
The Caliph’s House, In Arabian Nights
Truth-seeking in travel appears to be Ms. Fein’s mantra. The scenes she reveals in this fa
n
tastic volume are delightful, vulnerable, and at times, painful. She catches the tender details of human interactions and the pursuit of spirit
u
ality with grace for her subjects. Her writing inspires trust and those who want to be both heart and mind inspired will not be left wan
t
ing. A wonderful read!
Shannon Stowell, President, Adventure Travel Trade Association
I have learned over my 30-year career that the injured and the sick must do more to restore their health than take pills and submit to surgery. More fr
e
quently than most patients and physicians realize, the heart, soul and human spirit must be attended to in order for healing to be complete. Through Fein’s travels, we see healing modalities from other parts of the world that pave the road for complete healing of the body and soul and are complementary to those that we are familiar with.
Life is a Trip
is a great read. I thoroughly e
n
joyed it!
Dana P. Launer, M.D., Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla, California
From irreverence, reverence. That’s the magic of Judith Fein’s writing. Her u
n
conventional view of the world and her grand sense of curiosity open doors to new adventures and unde
r
standing. She reminds us to look deeply into the di
f
ferences that keep the world fascinating and the similarities that keep us unified.
Life Is a Trip
is a journey of the heart, soul and mind, and we are much the better for it.
Catharine M. Hamm, travel editor, “On the Spot,”
Los Angeles Times
For Judith Fein, every day on the road brings a new chance to touch and be touched by a magical world. These beautifully written travel stories and r
e
flections work like 3-D glasses on a flat earth. More than a guide to tran
s
formative travel, this
is
transformative writing, as the author’s keen capacity for amazement help us to see the world and our own lives as amazing.
Danny Rubin, writer of
Groundhog Day
Although
Life if a Trip
is a short book, it is not necessarily a quick read. It is a deep and breathtaking invitation to a journey of appreciation. So take your time. Enter the world of transformational travel with Judith Fein as the most compassionate guide. You will travel with your ears, eyes, heart, and soul wide open. You will veer off the predictable track and venture beyond the course of a traditional guidebook. You will naturally become a part of the culture of the places you visit. The people you encounter, the habits you observe, the ways of life you absorb along the way, will change you profoundly. Yes,
Life is a Trip
is a wonderful read. It is a book of adventure, love, forgiveness, courage, friendship, respect, reflection, and challenge. More importantly, it is a guid
e
book to viewing (from a new perspective) your own life—the people in it and the choices you make. Through Judith’s willingness to get “up close and pe
r
sonal” wherever she goes, she gives us the courage to step onto paths that truly do transform us … not only while we are on the “trip” but also when we come home and re-consider the way we walk our own path.
Dale V. Atkins, Ph. D., NBC “Today Show” Psychologist
Life is a Trip
The Transformative Magic of Travel
by
Judith fein
Copyright © 2010 Judith Fein
First Printing by Spirituality & Health Books
Second Printing by Pudie Inc.
Copyright © 2012 Judith Fein
Second Printing by Pudie Inc.
Pudie Inc.
POB 31221
Sante Fe, NM 87594
www.globaladventure.us
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without
the prior written permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America.
Back cover and interior photography by Paul Ross
Cover design by Sandra Salamony
Interior design by Barbara Hodge
Cataloging-in-Publication data for this book is available upon request.
First Printing 2010
ISBN: 978-09818708-8-5
Second Printing 2012
ISBN-10: 0988401924
ISBN-13: 978-0-9884019-2-1
10 9
8
7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
1.
His Way or the Highway: On the Road with a Maori Elder
2.
Yes, You Can: A Very Special Newfie
3.
Never Say Never: The Recipe for Success from a Maya Woman in Guatemala
4.
The Last Judgment on Mog Mog in Micronesia
5.
Searching for Forgiveness in Vietnam
6.
The
High Priest and the Camel Eater
on the Holy
Mountain of Blessings
8.
Meeting Maximon in Guatemala
9.
The Sorceress’s Apprentice in Mexico
10.
Tales of the Tombs in Israel
11.
In the Shadow of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul
12.
Happy Among the Hmong or at Home: Zen Travel
13.
The Other Side of the Pilgrims’ Road
in Spain
14.
Life after Death in Nova Scotia
F
or more than twelve years,
I was a Hollywood screenwri
t
er. By day, I spun tales of love, broken hearts, tragedy, triumph, and teen angst. I puttered around in a nightgown and brown fuzzy slippers that looked like bear claws. By night, I often went to screenings or swanky dinners, and my life was a swirl of pitching stories, drinking cocktails, taking meetings, negotiating co
n
tracts, and observing people so I could transform them into characters. Sounds glam, right? In fact, my experience was that it was a cutthroat, cruel, crazy biz d
e
signed to make a writer quake with insecurity and angst, and I felt as though my soul were being sucked out of me by an industrial vacuum cleaner.
One day, I woke up and knew I couldn’t do it anymore. No more pitching, agents, lawyers, waiting, pain . . . or income. Nothing. I sat at home, my mind pee
r
ing into the abyss, wondering if I had any talent or if I would ever work again. Months passed. The abyss grew deeper and blacker. I checked into a monastery in Arizona, took a vow of s
i
lence, and didn’t speak for a week. And then, a strange call from my sister.
“Hey,” she said. “There’s a new national show on public radio about travel. You lived in Europe and Africa for ten years, you’ve always been a passionate traveler, and you have a long background in theatre. Why don’t you record a story and send it in?”
“Why would they want me? The competition must be fierce. I have nothing to say,” I moaned.
For lack of anything better to do, I wrote the tale of my recent silent retreat—where I managed to get into a food fight with a nun, was almost arrested on a dark, secluded road, and fantasized about why the statue of St. Francis frowned. My hu
s
band, Paul, and I performed voice-overs, so we had a small recording studio in our home. I performed my monastic adventures in front of a mike and sent the tape to the show,
The Savvy Traveler
.
Four days later the phone rang. They really liked the piece, wanted to use it, asked me to be a regular contributor to the show, and gave me my first assignment. The pay was very low, the prestige high, and I loved it.
For several years, I traveled every chance I got and I tumbled into wild and wacky situations, which I recorded and then transformed into radio pieces. I earned about as much as a teenager who waters his v
a
cationing neighbors’ plants. Then an idea struck me: what if I parlayed the prestige into pitching travel stories to new
s
papers and magazines?
It worked, sort of. I sold a few articles to newspapers, and one or two of them asked me if I had any other articles. And the fact that I had a few outlets for my travel stories inspired me to do more trave
l
ing. I didn’t even know that what I was doing had a name—“travel journalist”—and that it was a bona fide way to make a living.
Since that time, I have written for more than eighty-five publications worl
d
wide and garnered awards for my articles. I write about food, culture, art, history, spirituality, luxury, off-the-beaten path travel, exotic destinations, people, celebr
a
tions, special events, and an
y
thing else I am lucky enough to discover. Paul and I have made travel films, given many talks, and he sells photographs from our trips. Sometimes we work fifteen-hour days. I basically have two states of being: on the road or on the computer.
One day, an editor said to me, “Your articles are different from other travel journalists’ because you really know how to tell a story.”
I grinned, and I thanked my years in Hollywood for teaching me how to do that—how to tell a story about a place and the people who live there.