Our experience as travelers imbues itself in everything that we do. But what do we learn, really, when we take to the road and come home once again? Travelers will often say that traveling “changed them”, and certainly it has, but how? Here are a few of the lessons that I’ve learned while on the road these last five years. I’ve changed, and I don’t mean that I now dress in homespun and wear my hair a little longer, I mean that I’ve learned some lessons along the way that I hope all travelers have a chance to learn. Many of these lessons fade when we get home; this is inevitable. But pieces of them remain, and embed themselves into our character making us slightly different AND hopefully, slightly better members of both our own society, and the societies we visit. “Being” a traveler tends to mean certain things, let’s explore what some of these are.
Travelers tend to compare experiences and journeys which tend to be less quantifiable than the accumulation of material goods. Part of this comparison comes from necessity; most travelers only have a backpack of possessions, which tends to put us on a much more level playing field in the “who owns what” arena (MacBook envy still exists en masse). While this experience-centric style of valuation is often quickly eroded once one gets home, living in this way, even for a short period of time helps us realize that it is possible to live a less materialistic way of life. An important realization for many of us on our first trip is just how happy many people around the world are with less. I don’t mean to sound naive, and I’m not, but there’s a lot of truth behind this observation. I’m not going to renounce material good, I like nice things, but it’s also refreshing to realize that it’s possible to be happy with less. A traveler covets certain possessions: a good book, a bottle of clamato from home, an iPod full of music, and doesn’t have the ability to buy new iPods every five months when one gets released. The trade and barter scene is alive and well on the traveler circuit too, and once in a while it just feels good to give a t shirt or a bracelet to a new friend. Living this way is good for the soul, and might just prevent an impulse shop or two once home.
Anyone who has traveled by themselves for any length of time knows that it can get very lonely, very fast. For the traveler, making new friends becomes a necessity, one that can lead to interesting and new relationships that we might never have a chance to experience at home. As clichéd as it might sound, traveling teaches us to treat everyone as equals, because the people around you are, regardless of where they’re from, the people you will share your journey with. Traveling gives us the chance to make friends from other cultures, and, what a wonderful realization it is when you finally conclude that people are people no matter where you go. We have hopes, dreams, fears, jokes and journeys to share. One of the things I cherish most about the opportunity I’ve had to travel is the local friendships I’ve made. My Thai, Filippino, and Nicaraguan friends are as near and dear to me as anyone. What changes about the traveler is the way they begin to appreciate all people from all walks of life, and to carry that attitude back home with them. Increased tolerance is a gift that most travelers gain, and as frustrated we might get at trying to operate in another country, it gives us a little bit of insight as to how frustrating it must be to newcomers to our own country.
Along this same line, most travelers become a little bit more “worldly”. In the good sense, not in the “Ya man, the government should do something about those people man” sense, but simply in the sense that we are able to view and regard a bit more of the big picture. While viewing poverty, political oppression and civil strife are not akin to living under these things, a traveler gains important insight into what it must be like to live in that way. While I don’t consider coming home and trumpeting off to your friends about first world guilt any sort of learning, I do believe that the traveler who understands that there are many different hands dealt in this world is able to use that knowledge to shape his or her own world a little bit differently.
Of course other things change too, we get stupid tattoos and wear gaudy jewelry and learn to go days without showering, and this too defines us as travelers. But what really matters is that, as travellers we’re given a unique opportunity to be certain things: to be a little more tolerant, to be a little more open and kind, and to be a little less materialistic and naïve. Be these things. Be them where you are and where you’re going and when you get back from wherever “going” is. Be a traveler long after the backpack is hung up and you take off that silly necklace; be a traveler in your day to day existence: it’ll carry you through till the next time that necklace goes back on.
Traveler - Madison Schwartz wearing his traveler pants, traveler necklace and traveler hat...traveling on a camel.
Madison Schwartz has been leading trips for F&E in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and The Philippines for who knows how long. Besides being really tall he’s whip smart and deadly funny. This posting was taken from his own personal blog.
