A house on the road

Originally written in Portuguese.

As we were about to begin this journey, we were faced with the challenge of condensing our lives into a backpack. Initially, the exact notion of what fits in 50l escapes us, but, when we look at the backpacks, still empty and thrown into a corner of the room, they seem small for what we imagine we will need. We're going to Southeast Asia... a far away place... We've been told that you can buy anything there, but at the same time... it's better to be safe than sorry. After all, the unknown requires preparation. In the days before departure, clothes and various objects begin to pile up on the room's bed and desk. The day before, all of this starts to go into the backpack - some more things go in, others, without a chance, have to come out, but in general, we head to the airport with backpacks stuffed with everything. Maybe it's out of precaution, maybe out of fear, but taking something more always sounds like taking a little comfort, a little more of home. We feel like we need everything and that “there” will be nothing.

We landed “there”, which is now “here” and the backpacks seem to weigh more and more, partly due to the number of things that until now we never ended up using. With time, we feel less and less like we have home on our shoulders and feel more and more at home, in the comfort of those who welcome us along the way, always with open arms. After all, “there” is a “here” that is much more familiar than we initially imagined. Not that we didn't know it in theory, but the body needed to be there to believe it. In fact, as we progress on our journey each road appears to be a commercial extension that continues until it is out of sight. The truth is that we never need long distances to find everything that, with our feet in Portugal, seemed so unique to us. At the same time, we also find ourselves in the stories of the people around us. Some of them with so little, and even those, welcome us with everything, wearing an open smile, and invite us into their worlds. When we arrive at a new place, we find ourselves reflecting, while emptying our backpacks... we thought we had to come carrying our house on our shoulders, but, little by little, the world is becoming our home. We realized that, after all, although “here” offers everything, we no longer need anything else.