“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
Helen Keller
Helen Keller
What makes a person want to travel? I have never really questioned my desire to travel, it has always been innate for me – something I don’t even question. It wasn’t a matter of ‘will I travel?’ – just ‘when?’
I feel as though I have been waiting and waiting and waiting to leave little New Zealand and go explore these places that I have dreamed of for years. To visit these places that I have read books about, watched documentaries on, and heard stories of – I can hardly wait!
Of course initially I thought that Barry and I would be doing our O.E. together, but I guess I got to a point where I felt that if I didn’t just drop everything now, when would I ever get the opportunity? We have talked about travelling since we were at uni together, but there comes a point when you can’t keep putting other things first.
There is a fantastic quote of Mark Twain’s: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – this is what I intend to do.
I think that Barry and I will always travel, but there is a big difference in my mind between a three week trip, spending a few days in numerous places along the way, and actually experiencing the highs and lows of living in a new place with a new way of life. The prospect of living in a new town, half way across the world thrills me. It’s all the little details which I get excited about – of course seeing the Eiffel Tower, the Coliseum, the Tower of London, I’m sure all of those things will be wonderful experiences, but I am just as much looking forward to wandering down to the market to buy groceries for dinner or catching the tube to work.
I also look forward to the clichés as much as I look forward to those ‘road-less-travelled’ experiences. A double-decker bus ride in London; a baguette and brie picnic-lunch in Paris; a Gondola ride in Venice (only if I can afford it!!).
My motivations for the trip are this: to experience something new – something different and to learn something while I’m at it… the following quote from Patricia Schultz sums it all up…
“With travel, our minds become more curious, our hearts more powerful, and our spirits more joyous. And once the mind is stretched like that, it can never return to its original state.”
I feel as though I have been waiting and waiting and waiting to leave little New Zealand and go explore these places that I have dreamed of for years. To visit these places that I have read books about, watched documentaries on, and heard stories of – I can hardly wait!
Of course initially I thought that Barry and I would be doing our O.E. together, but I guess I got to a point where I felt that if I didn’t just drop everything now, when would I ever get the opportunity? We have talked about travelling since we were at uni together, but there comes a point when you can’t keep putting other things first.
There is a fantastic quote of Mark Twain’s: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – this is what I intend to do.
I think that Barry and I will always travel, but there is a big difference in my mind between a three week trip, spending a few days in numerous places along the way, and actually experiencing the highs and lows of living in a new place with a new way of life. The prospect of living in a new town, half way across the world thrills me. It’s all the little details which I get excited about – of course seeing the Eiffel Tower, the Coliseum, the Tower of London, I’m sure all of those things will be wonderful experiences, but I am just as much looking forward to wandering down to the market to buy groceries for dinner or catching the tube to work.
I also look forward to the clichés as much as I look forward to those ‘road-less-travelled’ experiences. A double-decker bus ride in London; a baguette and brie picnic-lunch in Paris; a Gondola ride in Venice (only if I can afford it!!).
My motivations for the trip are this: to experience something new – something different and to learn something while I’m at it… the following quote from Patricia Schultz sums it all up…
“With travel, our minds become more curious, our hearts more powerful, and our spirits more joyous. And once the mind is stretched like that, it can never return to its original state.”
1 comment:
How exciting!! It's great to see you writing again. I can hear your voice when I'm reading your postings and feel the passion you have for both this and the travel. I'm so proud of you.
And I wanted to be the first "comment" (tee-hee)on your blog! Love you - guess who??
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