Over the past week, Penn State held their 2010 International Education Week. Throughout the week, students were able to attend numerous diverse forums to become more informed of what the international world has to offer. Forums ranged from charity walks, workshops, keynote speakers, discussion forums and so much more.
After carefully reading through the descriptions for each forum, I came across a keynote speaker, Rita Golden Gelman. Expressed in her book, Rita proclaims, “I am a modern-day nomad. I have no permanent address, no possessions except the ones I carry, and I rarely know where I’ll be six months from now. I move through the world without a plan, guided by instinct, connecting through trust, and constantly watching for serendipitous opportunities.”
Through an ironic connection with Rita, I was greatly interested in hearing her speech. During my adventures living in Washington, D.C. this past summer, my roommate, Jennifer, was informed that her favorite writer and inspiration, Rita Gelman, was looking for an intern. Jennifer applied and graciously accepted the internship. Every night Jennifer would return home from Rita’s current residence and tell amazing stories that were passed down to her and of her time with Rita. After not meeting her over the summer and hearing of her presence on campus, I knew I had to attend.
Now I will pass along the stories Rita told during her speech. Be aware, you will develop a travel bug post reading.
Rita has been living through her nomadic experience since 1986. Prior her revelation for a new lifestyle, Rita was somewhat the average individual. Being the wife of a journalist in Los Angeles, Rita regularly lived a glamorous life. She attended multiple private parties, award shows and met celebrities often. However, this lifestyle was not satisfying for Rita.
After a shuttle flight to San Francisco, Rita met a woman who spoke of her amazing travels. These stories inspired Rita to start traveling herself. Knowing that her marriage at the time was not going as planned; Rita thought it was the perfect time to take a trip down the Tigris River. When she returned, she was extremely inspired and re-routed her attention towards further education in hopes to obtain her PhD in Anthropology at UCLA.
Close to her completion at UCLA, Rita and her husband decided to call it quits. After her divorce, Rita thought to herself, “What am I going to with the rest of my life?” She responded to her own questions with, “You are going to live your dream!” Even though she was extremely scared to set off all alone, she was extremely excited to explore without any plans. After planning out her life for the past decades she was excited to not know where she was going or what might happen when she got there.
From that day on in 1986, Rita has continued to travel all over the world and meet so many outstanding individuals. Throughout her speech, Rita commented numerous times how influential these people were to her life at the time and even more today. Surprisingly, she admitted that she was only truly scared one time during her travels which later she realized was not a scary moment at all. Rita writes about these amazing experiences and exotic places in her book, The Tales of a Female Nomad.
When asked for tips on traveling and knowing when to move from place to place, Rita recited four specific tips and a personal reflection of her experiences. Her four tips were: Smile a lot, talk to strangers, accept all invitations and eat all foods. Her reflection stated, “It is time to leave when I begin wanting to tell these people how to live. That is not why I am there. They are to teach me.” Another reflection she shared was the idea of depositing favors. She encouraged the group to not only give favors but also take favors as well. We all know how good it feels to give favors. Receiving the favors is just as wonderful!
Rita Golden Gelman has written numerous children’s books and has recently released a series based on her nomadic experiences titled “Tales of a Female Nomad”.
I wanted to leave my readers with an inspiring thought that Rita left her listeners with as well. Just think, in life you must always have three things. These are the three golden rules of life. You must always have trust, serendipity and risk. Without any one of these three ideas your hopes and dreams cannot happen.
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