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Tag Archives: backpacking europe

Labor Day Love

Touch Remedies Posted on September 3, 2018 by Dawn BDecember 27, 2020
Happy Labor Day. It has been a while since I have posted anything, because I accidentally deleted all my photos from my phone. I didn’t want google photos to keep backing up my photos because I have a backup elsewhere. I told it to stop syncing, then deleted all my pics from the cloud in google. And…off my phone they went. Technology does not love me sometimes. But I didn’t want to post anything picture-less, and my photo storage wouldn’t give me the option to re-download to my phone. **Insert long dramatic yet slightly frustrated sigh here.** I now have my laptop back, so here we go!
I am on the bus, heading back to one of the most beautiful places I have encountered in Scotland so far….the Isle of Skye. I was lucky enough to have one of my co-volunteers in the hostel I was at in Fort William allow me to ride with her on her trip there. It rained almost the whole time, but I got these pictures.

Fairie Glen, Isle of Skye

Quiraing, Isle of Skye

I want to hike this island in a way that I cannot describe. There is so much subtle and untouched beauty here (as well as a lot of fully destroyed things by tourists.  Rant ahead:  Toilet paper DOES NOT DISSOLVE when you throw it on the ground.Think about how long it sits in a toilet without dissolving! Either cart it out like you would any other garbage or burn it in your campfire. My friend has photos of a beautiful area; behind every tree and bush you can see TP in the bushes. Gross. It is my new pet peeve and the strongest source of irritation for me on this trip when I camp or hike and there is TP stuck into the landscape.)

Phew.I feel better now. 🙂  After my 3+ hour bus-ride home, I hopped onto the volunteer exchange website and looked for positions available.I am lucky to be volunteering in Skye Backpackers Hostel in Kyleakin from today until September 17th! 5 hours a day, 5 days a week gives me 7 days of lodging and the opportunity to do hiking and sit in the beauty (and take more photos!) Tasks include cleaning the hostel, doing reception, doing laundry, and whatever else is required of me.

View out the hostel window my first day here


In 1882 the first Labor Day Holiday was celebrated in New York City. It was meant to honor the “working man” and to honor the “social and economic achievements of American workers…(a) tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.” Source:The U.S. Department of Labor.

I am still learning a lot about the work ethic of different cultures, (see my newsletter Cultural Similarities & Differences) and just met a woman who lives in Israel. She talked about doctors she nannied for who worked 12-hour days, 7 days a week because of the shortage of doctors, then talked about how hard she personally was expected to work in all of her jobs. The value of her area was to work hard, sleep, then work again. No real time to play or enjoy life.

When I visited San Francisco, they were having a problem because housing was so expensive, minimum wage workers could not afford to live, thus there is a huge shortage of service staff in the area. I also know farmers in Minnesota whose workers are trying to get citizenship and/or appropriate visas, but they keep getting deported, thus leaving the farm struggling to survive.NO answer for any of this is easy, but it makes me think a lot about my own values of how I work and how I want to show up in the world…for my clients and for myself.
I had a multi-hour conversation with a social worker from Michigan the other day, and he discussed how most people who are “on the system” want to get off of it and be independent, and how strongly they want to contribute to society. I feel grateful to be contributing in any way I can while I am here, while also taking care of myself. People as I travel also want to help. They want to make sure I have places to stay, see the best sites in the area, experience local culture, get opportunities for photos, and will often go out of their way to do so!

Managers and volunteers at the Chase the Wild Goose Hostel, Fort William

To summarize this random thought process- often working helps people place a value on their worth in society.They get to decide how they experience that, but I want to say Thank You to everyone for doing what they can, how they can.We all have a role to play, no matter how insignificant it can seem.I hope you can find some kind of fulfillment in your work-whether it is for pay, for play, volunteering, or tucked in the past.  Enjoy your Labor Day.

With Love,
Dawn

Getting on the Harry Potter Themed Steam train

Posted in Europe, Hiking & Healing, Touch Remedies | Tagged backpacking europe, HIking, Labor Day, touch remedies, Travel, Workaway | Leave a reply

Sweden vs Home: Preparing for the Next Journey

Touch Remedies Posted on June 17, 2018 by Dawn BDecember 27, 2020

This Swedish traveler just finished about an 18 mile hike on the ice age trail, which runs from Taylors Falls, MN/St. Croix Falls WI to Michigan. The purpose of this hike was to test out all of my gear that I’m bringing to Sweden with me for camping, make sure I’m okay carrying 30+ pounds on my back over rough terrain for a long distance, and to try to settle my mind.

A small waterfall on the hike in MN

I picked up the trail at Highway 8 and 35 in Wisconsin, hiked 8 miles into a camp near Lions Park, and spent the night there. It turns out all my gear works wonderfully, and I have enough strength and stamina to handle excursions such as this.  On the way back I took a detour on the Trail of Myths. This was a 2 mile up-and-down hike through some lovely old values with ferns, rivers, and lots and lots of up-and-down hill stretches.

Just another stream along Sweden’s hiking trail

One reason I wanted to post about this as well as posting pictures is the similarity of landscape between here and Sweden. As I’ve mentioned to many of you, there’s a reason why Swedish ancestors from Gotland settled here.   I included couple pictures of my previous hike in Sweden, as well as my current hike here in St. Croix Falls. It’s lovely to feel so connected to both places at once and realize that the similarities if I get homesick, all I have to do is run out into the woods and pretend I am back in Minnesota.

Unless it’s snowing. Then I can just look at the snow and pretend I’m in Minnesota.   I’m on the countdown and have 8 days until I fly out. It’s been hard to leave my massage clients and close my offices. I’ve started saying my final goodbyes to many of my friends and am facing the final goodbye to my family and those closest to me soon. However, I am confident this transition will go smooth. I’m excited to share with you everything that I’ve learned and am learning about as I explore culture differences in aspects including health, healing, and relationships. It’s become very clear to me that one of my specialties is to help people emotionally reengage in their personal, professional, and societal relationships. 

Guess-Sweden or Minnesota?

I’ve started studying how we view touch as an American culture and am curious to remind myself and to get a deeper understanding of how touch is viewed in other countries. I know Swedish culture has similar touch ideas but are also more relaxed about their bodies and body image.  There is not so much shame associated with physicality.

Healthy touch is  important for physical, mental, and emotional growth.  I am clear that I will have to do my own healing work around what happens when I am suddenly no longer able to receive the same level of touch that I am accustomed to (hugs from family, friends, massages, and so on). I know it’s a challenge for many people when they break up with significant others, have a death in the family, move away to college, and so on, but this will be my first real experience in many years dealing with a sudden shift in close relationships.  

Until I am there, I can only guess at what I will experience, how the meaning and feel of home will shift for me, and how much I’m going to have to use my EFT (tapping) tool to help process. I’m also curious how someone who loves communication so much will fare speaking Swedish.  It

Me & my gear after 16 miles

makes me happy to share my experiences with you as I travel, and look forward to the continued journey together. 

With Love,
Dawn

Nature of Relationships
Dawn with Hands on heart
Dawn
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Posted in Cultures and Communities, Europe, Healthy Lifestyles, Hiking & Healing, Touch Remedies | Tagged backpacking europe, eft Tapping, healthy touch, HIking, minnesota, touch foundations, touch remedies | Leave a reply

Researching Sweden + A Big Move

Touch Remedies Posted on May 8, 2018 by Dawn BDecember 27, 2020

April 28, 2018

Hiking the High Coast, 2017

I’ve been doing a lot of research about my upcoming year to Sweden. There is so much to research, including licensing, visas, and travel restrictions.  There are many options-do I get a job, work for room & board and explore, or go to school?  How can I learn what it is I want to learn in life, have fun and explore, stay within my budget, and still support myself all at the same time?

Some days Sweden + travel seems exciting and new and full of potential. Other days it feels scary, impossible, and as if I should just forget about it and stay here in the United States, where I can still travel and learn, although with a culture I am mostly familiar with. Yet I’ve realized that the feelings that I’m feeling are not exclusive to my travel plans. We all have moments of questioning our lives. Are we on the right track? Have we done what we want in life, or are we regretting choices?  What would have happened if….? Sometimes we feel stuck, hopeless, frustrated, angry, and a myriad of other things often all at the same time.

I’m a bit adverse to blogging, but it feels like this is something that’s going to be important to not only keep track of my own experience of life for my own learning process, but to share with others and to remind people that it is possible to heal. I feel like it will be a great platform to share how other cultures interact with each other through touch, emotion, and healing. I also hope everyone that reads these will either gain insight on themselves, learn something fun to try, or explore a concept from another area of the world. So here we go. I have given my notice for my apartment, I have given a minor notice to both my Workspaces, and most of my clients know I will be leaving town for a year. I only hope my experiences encourage others to be present with themselves and to grow in their own way as well.

With love,

Dawn

 

Nature of Relationships
Dawn with Hands on heart
Dawn
Nature of Relationships
Dawn with Hands on heart
Dawn
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Posted in Europe, Healthy Lifestyles, Hiking & Healing | Tagged backpacking europe, HIking, Schengen zone, the touch crisis, touch remedies, Travel | Leave a reply
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