For me, it’s the memories of all that I saw and of the people I encountered while away from home. And there is the feeling that something from distant and strange places remains with me; something that becomes a part of who I am and how I understand the world. When I travel, I learn about the world and I learn about me. After looking back at several travel experiences, I discovered that:
Travel makes me happy
I’m happiest when in I’m in a car or on a boat or plane traveling somewhere. Being en-route anywhere excites and invigorates me. I began to think about this while aboard Trenitalia, the Italian high speed rail system, going from Firenze (Florence) to visit Venice for the first time. With the backdrop of Tuscany passing by and feeling the excitement and joy of travel, I wondered, “What exactly is the appeal of travel?”
Travel is a history lesson
I’ve visited many of the typical tourist sites - the statues and monuments, the historic buildings, the former homes and workplaces of the famous. This checklist doesn’t satisfy me - I search for more. I want to learn the back-story of history, of the tale pieced together from what remains. What remains now may explain how small communities developed over time into major business or industrial centers today; yet in other places, large and important cities have declined in size or importance. These observations of growth, expansion and contraction seem to be like a giant accordion being played again and again. Today I wonder about the future history of current locations.
Travel is a cultural lesson
Another travel interest of mine is seeing the many ways groups of people over time developed a concept of a being or an idea that is greater than them to believe in and to practice rituals in its honor. I enjoy simply observing and learning about who or what is honored, and how and why. And it is through travel that I’ve seen the plants and animals worldwide that provide food, shelter, clothing, and commerce for people. The opportunity to observe and learn about the context of current people, their beliefs, and lifestyles is at the core of a travel experience. The opportunity to visit and make these observations matters more to me than that checklist of must-see attractions.
Travel is a problem-solving exercise
I enjoy the mystery of being immersed in a strange place and of trying to make sense of the unfamiliar, of even being lost in a foreign land. So much is unfamiliar to the traveler: the words and sounds of life in another place, the taste of new and different foods that to the locals is their taste of home just as our home cooking is to us, and the exciting discovery that comes from being lost and yet found. There is so much to be learned everywhere.
Travel is how I learn and grow.
There is so much that I've learned by witnessing life in distant lands. These lessons are not from a curriculum with definitive right or wrong answers to an exam; rather, these lessons cause an 'Aha!' response, an emotional connection. Some of the lessons take place right there on the spot while others may happen after returning home when I observe a local custom through new eyes. The lessons of travel help me examine many of my pre-conceived ideas about life differently.
Why do you travel?