Family, Football, Swiss Smiles and Volcanoes

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Fifa, Family and Friends

I had the Cup in my hands!

A dream, a childhood fantasy, fulfilled for a fleeting flight of floating fancy!

No disappointed emotional reactions... no regrets of unfulfilled expectations, no suffering... just curiosity.

Hmmm! I must be getting somewhere!

Oh, well!

What did we expect way back when, would we expect it today?
Would we want it now?
What do we expect now for later?
Will we want it then?

Are there any expectations for right now? Is that even possible?

I was expecting to leave for Ethiopia via London last Thursday, thanks to Iceland, I had to re-direct, re-think, re-plan... at least I have learned not to re-expect!

So now, the metamorphosis of a small venture into a full-blown organisation with a re-arrangement of itinerary, dates and composition.

We are now going to be three intrepid Footballsmilesers as Jordi's girlfriend Vanessa is joyfully joining us on our journey!

She is a cheerful addition to the expedition, as we have already travelled together in India and Brazil with plenty of shared smiles and anecdotes to add to our travel notes!

With the cloud of canceled connections, Addis Abeba and Ethiopia have had to be sacrificed until another, sunnier day. The game is always full of surprises!

As with all clouds, there is that silver lining which is that I shall now be able to attend my dear sister's wedding on Thursday!
The date had not yet been fixed when I booked my original flights!

As part of my winding, word-spreading return journey from Goa, I managed to see most of my wide-spread family. This re-union culminated in an evening of wonderful avant-garde theatre in Paris for Easter with my uncle John as the main man in the play, befitting his new role as patriarch of the Arnolds.

For being such a homeless, wandering, wonderer, I have found myself to be deliciously delighted at being part of such and extended family of exquisite eccentrics!

Of course, I have also found a way to recreate familiar feelings in all the far-flung corners of the world I have had the privilege of playing in. My fortune has been to be adopted by families everywhere... Friends, family and football...oh, and some food too!

And now that I can fly with new wings to share footballs and smiles, I also wanted to share a chance to fly around the world, going against the rush, eating slow food and taking the time to actually talk over glasses of wine or fresh papaya pulp. Join Tripping.com and go back in time, stepping into a world where people come first and the machine stays in the volcano!

So, with high hopes, unexpected expectations and a happy heart, I leave for an African Adventure and playful philanthropy... who wants to grow up anyway?

Smiles and thanks for the Footballs!

May thy Cup be full!

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