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December 03, 2003
Travel as meaning
Going to SF has given me the travel bug again. Travel is more than just having fun and seeing sights to me. Meeting new people, seeing how other people live and think is extremely enriching. While traveling I feel that my time is being used in such a meaningful way. On the other hand, home life doldrums often feels like I am wasting away towards the grave. This trip was particularly damning as I spent my time with people that have traveled a great deal, all around the world. It appeared to me that their travels had made them more open minded to how other people live and think. They were able to adapt quickly to the various situations we got in with an air of calm collectiveness. They had been in foreign places before with the various problems that come with being in a strange place with strange people.I feel a painful ache to travel before things happen that might increase my responsibilities to a point that travel would be irresponsible. It seems irresponsible not to travel looking towards a future where travel may be impossible. Roundtrip tickets from LAX to London are only $350-$450. Once there, it is easy and inexpensive to move around Europe. There are air fares as low as $20 between nearby countries making it cheaper than taking the train in some circumstances. Europe is only one exotic place where people are different. There are places in the US I feel compelled to visit as well.
While seeing the sights is definitely one of my goals in traveling abroad, it is not the main attraction. As such, I would love to go to places for longer lengths of time, to meet and immerse myself with the people. I'm sure some of you would roll your eyes at this seemingly naive idea, but I can't shake it. I am sure I can find people I know, if by a few degrees, anywhere I'd go. Having that starting point makes it possible to meet other locals and get deeper than going as a sightseeing tourist.
What to do...
Posted by wonko at December 3, 2003 05:07 PM
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Comments
I have often fantasized about the same thing in traveling. More so, I have fantasized about traveling around the world and living in foreign countries for long enough to learn their customs and native language and then move on to another country with contrasting cultures and languages. I can't even fathom the thought of how much I could learn from this. Unfortunately, I don't think I can fulfill this fantasy because I'm married now. My wife doesn't maintain the same dream and therefore it can't quite work in the way I envision it. Maybe technology will somehow make this available in another type of way. Or maybe my wife will leave me, I can get a bedroll, and then hit the road. j/k. I love my wife.
Posted by: obigabu at December 4, 2003 10:08 PM
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