Chasing life (and noodles)
Agoura Hills man reflects on his travels abroad
By Jeremy Goldberg
Special to The Acorn

MEETING THE NATIVES--A gang of macaques checks out Jeremy Goldberg as he visits their protected Bali sanctuary. Goldberg wandered around Southeast Asia for over four months. He's developing a television show based on his experiences.

Well, it's all coming to a slow and painful end now. I fly out of Bali in about six hours bound for Australia. Two days there and then back to the pollution, traffic and chaos of Los Angeles.

What a ride it's been.

What started as a simple, spur-of-the-moment idea to explore Southeast Asia became a four-month odyssey across seven countries and through countless cities, towns and villages. I've experienced more than I ever anticipated.

I have been annoyed, amazed, depressed, impressed, despondent, lonely, scared, ecstatic, lost, angry, appreciative and astounded. I have missed loved ones and the comforts of home--carpet and toilet paper, to mention a couple. I have listened to a lot of advice from the Bobs, Marley and Dylan. I've enjoyed the local food and drink and my current ongoing relationship with rice and noodles has lasted longer than most of my relationships with women.

STRANGE ENOUNTER--Jeremy Goldberg meets an unusual fellow on the streets of Bali one night.

I have seen temples, pagodas, mosques and palaces. I have witnessed fistfights and late nights. I have watched spectacular sunsets and even a few unintentional sunrises. I have eaten chicken that tasted like pork and pork that tasted like chicken. I have played with monkeys and tigers and bears, oh my!

I have gained intimate knowledge of third world nations and found them to be full of more friendly, more appreciative and more content people than any developed country I have ever visited, including our own. In short, I met people from many countries and came to respect and enjoy them all, except perhaps the French.

I have been continually impressed with the kindness of strangers. I have learned to say "thank you" and "how much" in many languages. I have become more adventurous, more eager to experience new things, and more adept at recognizing what really matters in this world, such as Mexican food, loved ones, bagels, peanut butter and hot showers--but not necessarily in that order.

And, oh, the adventures I have had. In Vietnam, a street vendor threatened my life because I refused to purchase a cigarette lighter from him. In Laos, I rode on a bus so cramped that I had to share my seat with a chicken. In Thailand, I fell in love--with a curry.

In Cambodia, I toured the infamous Killing Fields and prisons used during the horrific Khmer Rouge regime. In Bali, I managed to find an 80-year-old potato farmer to give me a guided tour of a local temple for only one dollar--or rather, he found me. Apparently a short, blond, white guy with earrings does not easily camouflage among local Indonesians.

But throughout the mayhem of traveling abroad, and despite all of the unique sights, sounds and smells of the past four months, I have discovered that the world is much more similar than it appears. Yes, people talk funny in different countries. Yes, they wear different clothes and eat different foods. And, of course, they believe in different gods and worship in different ways in different buildings. I recognize this diversity.

But I've also come to realize that at a deeper and more profound level, people throughout the world are all the same. We all want to be happy, to believe that our lives are meaningful and for our children to be healthy. Although people go about achieving satisfaction with life in different ways, it's all a part of the same game. People are all chasing something, be it money, power, love or happiness.

As for me, I was chasing life. And I found it everywhere I looked. As a result, I have a newfound appreciation for my own place in the world, a heightened sense of perspective and a lot of great stories to tell.

Jeremy Goldberg, 27, is an Agoura Hills native who spent the past five years abroad working on a variety of marine conservation projects. The contribution above is a brief summary of an online blog he maintains in order to remind himself to continually appreciate all of the good and beauty on this deteriorating, yet magical planet. He's now back home collaborating with fellow Agoura Hills native Aaron Horwitz to develop a television show based on their experiences overseas.