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Published: October 28th 2008
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"Even if it would prove to be just once in my life, I was so lucky to have been granted the privilege of living simply and without clutter, free of the many artificial concern that flood our daily lives, and thus closer to the untouched truth. So much of our good natural instincts are smothered by society and many of our daily lives are directed by false goals, dictated to us by others. Even in this day and age, with our sophisticated technology and developed culture, it must still be important, just occasionally, to find a wild place, where the land and the animals that move through it speak the loudest, and the sun and the moon dictate the rhythm of our lives. Only through this can we remember our proper place in the order of things." -Guy Grieve
I arrived back in the United States in DC after a long flight with several stop-overs. I was tired and I couldn’t feel much excitement. I was greeted by Sportscenter and a Welcome to America video playing on the TVs in the customs line. It was the kind of video that uses a lot of powerful music and
smiling faces to inspire those arriving. I will admit I was a little inspired. I noticed McCain and Obama wear in the gift shop which looked like they were two opposing sports teams. It almost seemed foreign to me and I began to hear the voices of so many of the foreigners I met while I was gone saying “uh that is so American”. I realized that I was going to be looking at my country a little differently now. I found a seat to sleep for a few hours before my flight to New York and I continued to think about it all. For a while I was not sure what I was really getting out of traveling, but I slowly realized that while I was away, I heard the views and thoughts of so many people from around the world which I believe as the greatest education that I have been given. I stopped and thought about the places I saw, the people I met, the moments I experienced. I felt grateful for all that I saw, but it was good to be back.
I have been home for two months now but it only took a
few hours to feel like I had never left. I was surprised how quickly I began taking for granted the pleasures of home that I missed so much while I was away. Any food I wanted just a short drive away, a clean bathroom, a large selection of clean clothes, a dresser to keep my clothes in, my family. It all just became normal again. It bothered me that I could take for granted the luxuries I have in my life at home even after their absence for quite some time. But each time I look back, I am reminded.
Being away from the US has opened my eyes a little wider. I feel more in touch with the areas of the world where people aren't as comfortable and whose worries are not trivial but rather about survival. Peoples thoughts are not filled with buying unnecessary possessions, and only necessities. I saw places where it is normal to send your children out begging for food and money. In many countries there were so many sad sights of children begging or men who were missing limbs caused by war and landmines, but one instance I will never forget. As I
sat with Kuorch, a Cambodian tuk tuk driver, we watched a blind man softly playing the violin escorted by his young son door to door asking for money on a street in Siem Riep, Cambodia. Kourch, who became a good friend in the few days I spent at a guest house where he spent time, informed me that this father and son repeat this trip every day on the same streets. Each day he persistently and graciously made his rounds and played his tunes in order to provide for his family.
The view of Americans and America held by those from outside the US was one of the most interesting things I discovered while I was traveling. The country is often viewed as a tyrant and when it comes to Bush, a joke. Americans as wasteful, greedy and ignorant. Of course these are generalizations but there are many that make them and there is some truth behind them. People asked me all the time, "how did Bush get reelected? Is anyone paying attention?" I can only say that I know I wasn't and it is embarrassing when I realized that foreigners pay more attention to American politics than many
Americans. They are aware of how the government in the US affects the entire world, which is a fact that I never appreciated until now. While I was walking down a street in Chang Mai, Thailand a vendor asked me where I was from. When I told him he responded with excitement "Obama!" He asked me if I preferred Hillary or Obama and he told me what he thought of the current primary race. Even in Thailand the people were well informed about the primaries. It was interesting to see so many people throughout the world so excited about Obama and hopeful of the US changing some of its’ negative policies.
Now that I have been where I have been I cant imagine my life any differently. I remember a friend suggesting traveling to me during my senior year of college. It took a little while for me to break out of my education and career focused world for an uncertain alternative, but once I did it became an obsession. After researching and talking about it a great deal I knew I had to do it. It was a chance to step out of the mold of what I
felt I was expected to do in life and just take time to see the world and how others live.
There is an empowering feeling that comes with traveling from country to country with nothing but a large backpack. I realized that I do not need much to survive and that I can be satisfied with just the basic necessities in life. But, what I think I enjoyed most about traveling was the complete uncertainty and freedom. I remember the first time I was traveling alone on a boat in Fiji. I sat there looking out the window at the Pacific and realized that I was in complete control of life. It was only up to me to decide where I went from there. I had no idea what to expect at the next island, the next town or the next country. I could only imagine what I would see and who I would meet. I left home for an unknown which became an incredible experience that I will always carry with me... and that has made all the difference.
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