My Favorite Kind of Travel

The reality of how little time I have left has finally set in. Yesterday when I was leaving the office and telling the girls all the things we had to do and we realized that we only have 4 days in the office left together… tears began welling in our eyes and I cracked.

I enjoyed the sightseeing in Europe, the beach-lounging in Mexico, the girl bonding in Australia, the spiritual quest in Costa Rica but this has been a different kind of travel. You are not whipping around, visiting each city for one day, in a comfortable tour bus, nor are you drinking with new found one-day friends in an unfamiliar hostel. You also don’t have to chase after something called “culture,” to show that you did indeed visit this place. In have been a culprit myself of collecting junk- key chains, photoframes, jewellery... of trying to get a picture of myself to capture this new environment for others to see...

This time around, I have become the culture. I will put no longer cringe at chillies in my food, I've started to speak at a new rate (after months of trying to be heard properly and competing with the British accent they are used to), and I will crave the cheek to cheek embrace with everyone I meet. This will be the proof.

I’ve discovered this new kind of travel now where you can settle in somewhere, build relationships with people, get to know another culture first hand, and work. Being busy with something meaningful is the key (and volunteering is so great because even if some of the daily tasks don’t seem meaningful your presence alone is probably making some impact).

Maybe I will again someday sip cocktails under the hot sun in a five star hotel, I will probably seek out natural wonders and shop in foreign cities, but what I have discovered here is something far better- it is like the next species in the evolution of the travel world. In the West we are either to busy to feel anything or we are desperately seeking… how do I live in the moment? Through this experience I have found the answer.

You don’t need to purposely do less or move more slowly through life to find contentment. You just need to find a place where you feel that you are achieving something and you need to be fully there. I guess what I'm saying is you don't have to seek out or reach for anything to be happy, you just need to take the chance and care for others, accept what they offer you and smile.