When I was 5 1/2 years old, I began over a year of travel with my parents that took me overseas to England and Europe, then back across the Atlantic down to Central America and up through Mexico, all before arriving back home, Northern CA. We moved around a lot, living for a while in ethnically diverse Berkeley of the 1970s. (Telegraph Avenue was hopping then with merchants selling their colorful wares.) We visited at least a few Native American Indian reservations. There were some other journeys too and peoples I met along the way.
I know that my openness to meeting and learning from others who are far different than myself stems in significant part from the various cultures and ways of life I was exposed to over extended periods of time at such a young age. In a sense, my own backyard was expanded early on to encompass whole other countries and peoples. And while I am often a homebody these days, feeling tired at times from a hard week’s work, in my heart I remain ever-open to meeting and welcoming an array of people into my life.
The Practical, Fanciful Pagan 
I love the line about “my own backyard”. From where I stand, that sense of your own backyard has made you the most interesting person I have ever met. You are a great teacher because of those experiences and have brought so much to my eager ears or in this case eyes that have opened my world to new experiences and ideas that have widened that small uncluttered space I choose to inhabit. I think of Dr. Seuss’s book, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” when you write about your adventures. Amazing!
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