I’m going to India…

In just a few hours, my flight begins boarding to New Delhi, India. 

Delhi is not a sister city (yet), but it is a place I’ve long been fascinated by, and at the same time known almost nothing about.

If we think of cities as people, Delhi is the person at the party I might be afraid to talk to – the multi-instrumentalist wearing cool clothes I’m not sure I could pull off, laughing at a shared joke with all their friends. 

Through this radio show, I want to hear their story. To see what makes them tick. Even if I only have two weeks.

This will be the furthest east I’ve ever gone and, though I’ll be staying with one of my best friends from college, it will be a wild a new experience.

Especially considering where I’ve been…

My adventurous Aunt Bee and I in Gavarnie, France.

La France!

For the past 10 days, I’ve been in the Pyrenees mountains in the south of France. My aunt, to whom I owe much of my adventurous spirit, invited me on a hiking trip there to experience the alpine air and big-sky nature that neither us had ever seen before.

I brought my recording equipment with me, of course, and I kept my ears open for potential stories and lessons I might learn along the way. 

Among the stories I heard were that of Lydia, a hotel owner in Gavarnie, a small village with 80 year-round inhabitants, who told me about what it’s like to live in a UNESCO world heritage site, and what it’s like to leave. She was a Western Europe facilities manager for a Fortune 500 company before coming back to the village – which gives her a unique perspectives on both sides of the big city / small-town experience. 

Later, I stopped by a local radio station called Frequence Luz to talk with the team there. I got to interview one of their journalists, Sandrine, who moved from Quebec to follow her long-time partner. In other words, love brought her to France. Does it get any more French than that? 

These were totally unexpected improvised chats. I just pulled out my phone or recording device and started talking to people. 

I felt a special connection to each of them, especially considering they all came from small towns and were trying to make their way in the world. Their stories shared one simple truth I’ve come to find more and more through all my interviews: that life paths, as we call them, are often more like unexpected trails through the woods than straight Nevada highways.  

There are twists and turns and unexpected overhead branches and waterfall crossings and, sometimes, leaps of faith. 

I hope you’ll tune in to this episode to hear about some of those interesting paths in a new, southern French context. And since you’re an exclusive newsletter subscriber, you can listen just by clicking below the blue button below.

(It’ll be on KSVY this Tuesday too).

While I’m in India, I hope to talk to a few more people, to hear their stories, and to learn something along the way. I’ll be sure to let you know what I find out.

As always, thank you for tuning in.

Hola,
Francisco