“I’m on a tour to study music with African roots. It’s not for...

“I’m on a tour to study music with African roots. It’s not for school or anything. It’s just a personal project. I want to travel alone for an entire year with just clothes and my drumsticks. I’ve saved $6000 and I plan to work along the way. My first stop was New York. I’ve been here two weeks and I went to ten concerts. I’ve already spent $300 so I need to be more careful. I’m about to catch a bus for Detroit. I found a place where I can live in exchange for a few hours of daily work. Then I’m going to Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis, and New Orleans. Then Cuba. Then Brazil. Then Peru. And after that I’ll go home to France. I want to learn as much about music as possible. But that’s only half the reason for the trip. I also want to learn if I can do it. I am a little afraid that I’ll get lonely, but that’s something I want to figure out. I want to know if I can be alone.”