[ Pokhara ]

For those of you who don’t already know, I launched a Patreon crowdfunding campaign in late June, early July. I spread the word amongst immediate friends and family, and online acquaintances who have been following my exploits as The Transglobalist over the past few years. I pitched my travels as I see them: a politically and socially aware, near-real time reality show unfolding on social media. Anthony Bourdain meets Bear Grylls.

 As of this evening, the first milestone of that campaign—the make or break amount of $650 per month—has been reached. This is huge. The featured image above provides the essential data:

• 38 patrons
• $673 per month
• $650 Goal (1-of-2) – reached!

Yet this says nothing at all, nothing whatsoever of the data’s meaning.

The surface interpretation is simple: reaching the $650 per month milestone means I can go to Africa. It means when I wake up in the middle of the night, alone in the savanna, my most likely source of panic will be insufficiently distant hyena chatter, not nightsweaty dream-memes captioned “Insufficient Funds!”

No small thing, that.

What matters most, though, is the unambiguous acknowledgment it represents; evidence that people are out there—listening, watching, caring—and finding value in making real connections across vast geographical and cultural divides. People believe in what we are doing here at The Transglobalist.

And by “people” I mean you.

This thing I am about to embark upon is huge—one can call it “epic” without embarrassment or irony. And while this magnitude will remain abstract until the moment my loaded bike is traveling southward through Saharan sands, it is no less daunting for being theoretical. This milestone represents solidarity and community in the face of such enormity; it means I may be pedaling in physical isolation, but never alone.

And that, friends, is what those numbers actually mean. In those panicked, frightened moments when I sit alone, thinking of what likes before me, this simple goal turns those negative emotions into grateful tears, and renewed resolve.

To those of you who have contributed to this first milestone, thank you for your belief, support, and encouragement. I will do everything in my power to live up to your trust, continuing to immerse myself in the wider world with everything I have and am.

Namaste,
—jim