Book Review: Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World by Rita Golden Gelman

In Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World, Rita Golden Gelman goes on a quest spanning the globe to find herself after the breakdown of her long marriage. The author takes to the world to find her place, both figuratively and literally. In the process, she makes connections with people from all cultures. She finds a commonality among the places that she journeys from Mexico, Israel, Indonesia, and Australia, traversing the globe several times in this pilgrimage. The concept of connection is the prevalent undertone that resonates in these places. Also, Rita finds that she feels the need to give back to the communities that contribute so much to her. At times she is more dependent on her fellow citizens than she feels she can contribute back. For instance, when she is gravely ill in Mexico she must rely on her host family, and when she is traversing mountains in Indonesia the author leans heavily on her women’s group. When she is able she participates in traditional ceremonies of the places she visits, immersing herself in the culture, or she teaches English to the citizens. While she is involving herself in the daily life of these communities along the way she learns their customs and language. She plays with and cares for the children in the areas she visits. Additionally, she participates in communal cooking and helps a few of the people to help to tell their own stories through writing.

The author has conflict not to impose her western cultural norms on the nations where she travels. She wants to be in the role of the observer, so she feels that it is important to accept the cultures for their own norms without putting her American expectations upon the society she is observing. The author has an advanced degree in Anthropology thus her interest is in the civilization that makes up the communities that she visits. In an effort to better understand these societies Rita seeks to immerse herself directly into each of the groups. By becoming a global citizen, she is able to blend into these different situations and broaden her experience even further.

As the author leaps into the great unknown without a plan of where she is going to stay she is daring in each point of her travel. Many of Rita’s travels are determined spontaneously. For instance, on a whim, she decides she wants to live in a Zapotec village based upon a visit to a museum. Even some of her physical undertakings are sometimes impetuous and she faults herself for not preparing better, even for those physical events she plans. Despite her ill-planned pursuits, Rita’s ability to act based upon her instincts leads her to have beautiful experiences around the world and to make deep connections with many people.

The author states that connection requires participation, which is a life lesson she learns early based upon her experience living in the Zapotec village. In this community, Rita experiences a connection to a sisterhood among the women. The impulsive connection unites each experience that the author has throughout the book. A connection is what bonds each person to another and connection brings together communities of people, much like the banjar in Bali who come together to support each other. The author states that we all share sensations of human emotions and a need to affirm sameness. Through her travels, she is able to gain friendships with people all over the world, cementing old friendships and gaining new friends. She defines friends as people with whom she connects.

Filled with vocabulary relevant to the different areas where the author visits, the book is educational about different cultures. For instance, huipils are blouses found in Mexico and Central America. These garments are made from rectangular weavings with openings from the head and arms. Each hupil defines a woman as each garment is different depended on each village. Also encountered in the author’s travels in Mexico is a comal. A comal is a rectangular steel griddle used to cook tortillas. In Israel, the reader learns that a cholent is traditional Sabbath stew. During the author's time in Bali, she stays in a puri, which is a compound of a royal family also thought of as a "palace." The adat of Indonesia refers to the tradition.

While the author is traveling in Nicaragua she encounters the political turmoil of the time. Given that her travels began in the mid-1980s, she experienced the tumultuous political climate taking place during the Iran-Contra affair. The author states “thank you for a country that honors the freedom of the press” referring to the United States. Nicaragua suppressed their press releases, by any means necessary, therefore the author was thankful for being a United States novelist where she had the freedom of the press to support her work and musings. Since the majority of the author’s communication takes place through the written word, this statement is rather poignant.

Another place where Rita experiences political turmoil is in Papua New Guinea. It is here that she encounters the OPM. OPM, which stands for Organisasi Papua Merdeka, is an organization formed for the freedom of Papuans against the Indonesians. Under United Nations order, West Papua New Guinea was brought under Indonesian order in the 1960s. This order led to the Indonesians flooding Papua New Guinea with immigrants, leading to the rebellion by the native peoples. The Indonesians are the police, army, businesses, government, and many teachers in immersed in the culture of West Papua New Guinea. OPM is a rebellion group to fight against Indonesians who seek to oppress the Papuans. The Papuans want to have their autonomy to protect the indigenous people instead of being associated with the overall Indonesian classification.

When Rita was traveling in Israel she made use of an international organization called Servas. Committed to building peace and understanding this organization is a network comprised of hosts and travelers from different cultures. She stays with a range of individuals from a woman whose family helped to hide Menachem Begin during the 1940s to a woman living on a kibbutz, a collective community-based in agriculture, among others.

One of the personal stories that Rita attempts to tell is the story of Dr. Birute Galdikas. While in Indonesia Rita has the opportunity to meet Dr. Galdikas and observe the orangutan camp at Camp Leakey in Borneo. The rescued orangutans of Camp Leakey come from a variety of sources. Some were kept as pets while others were orphaned by poachers. A percentage of the orangutans lost homes when the loggers cut down their canopies. During Rita’s stint in the camp, she tries unsuccessfully to connect with Dr. Birute Galdikas to complete a book about Dr. Galdikas’ work in the Camp and the Camp itself. After meeting once, Rita drafts a copy of the book. Following several complications, the publisher cancels the contract and the book is never published.

Another dimension that Rita encounters on her journey around the world in exploring her sense of self is the dimension of the spiritual. In Bali, she discovers the concept of two worlds, the sekala, the world you can see and the niskala, the world that you cannot see. The sekala is the world of the tangible, the world that we walk around every day. The niskala is the world of the spiritual. This is the world that we transcend when we pass on. In Bali, she learned to listen to spirits, the inner one that is a part of her and the ones from the other invisible world. She ultimately experiences serenity through a series of significant events that take place during her time in Indonesia.

When Rita returns to the United States for an extended stay she feels that she is closer to her family and making new friends, yet she has equally felt that she is losing her spirituality and the gained awareness she received in Bali. For instance, when she goes to REI and she buys “labels” she does not feel connected to her source. Ultimately, she decides to return to her nomadic lifestyle to get back to her newfound roots of self, spirituality, and connection.

Throughout much of the author’s travels, she practices what she refers to as “experiential learning.” This technique of learning through doing and hands-on learning is the ultimate in living in the moment. It is also a great way in which the author is able to connect with the people she meets and cultures where she travels. In the places she goes, she is repeatedly invited to take part in ceremonies and side trips that take her on other journeys. She says yes to each of these experiences she remains open and allows herself to be guided to each new experience. This practice allows the author to expand her horizons far beyond her wildest expectations. By continuing to travel the world, persistently learning and immersing herself in the cultures she encounters she has developed connections throughout the world, developing a legacy.