There are many things I’ve come to appreciate about travel, but one aspect I truly enjoy about it is the constant absorption of new things.
Not so long ago I wrote about the feelings of going back home. I visited my home in Puerto Rico, the place where I lived for most of my life and where I created so many memories. Yet, I felt like I wasn’t home. I was a visitor at my own home.
I often though; “why am I feeling this way?”
It was hard figuring it out at first. Even my mom commented; “you’re looking at the bigger picture. This place feels small for you.”
I think she’s right.
There’s nothing wrong with Puerto Rico or the place I grew up. I love them, but I love even more the possibilities of looking outside and experimenting new things and places.
I’m really grateful to have a life that allows me to travel and always keep stretching my boundaries with each new experience around the world. But, it wasn’t always like that.
Having grown in Puerto Rico, it was almost inevitable to develop an insular mentality towards life and the world. Nothing wrong there, it’s just what we are used to.
We Puerto Ricans are very proud of our island. Who can blame us? But without knowing, in my best opinion, this mentality alienates us subconsciously from what surrounds us. Everything else seems to be far, foreign, and out of reach. What matters to us is concentrated, within reach, just here.
Honestly, I admit that during that time I couldn’t care less about what happened outside of my 100×35 miles habitat. What was wrong with me? Well, nothing really. That was my reality.
In an attempt to cut the cord from insularism and to stretch my edges I decide to look outside. I move to New York, travel often, and place myself in different surroundings. All humbling experiences to me.
What has impressed me the most is that through this expanded view on the world, my yearn for home hasn’t diminished. It still calls me from beyond. Those are the moments when I fly back to my nest and gather that familiar energy that makes me want to go out again, even when everything feels different.
I know this sounds cliché, but traveling has turned me into a different person. I’ve grown and I’ve learned so much. Not only about the world, but also about myself. I’ve gotten an appreciation to certain high’s and low’s in life, about the relative comforts that life presents to different people, and about the importance of considering things that don’t necessarily affect me directly, among others.
There is this Mark Twain quote I like:
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.
This direct contact and experience of different cultures has provided me a better connection with the world. I have been sprinkled with sensibility. I’ve learned to be compassionate with the world and to be open to what the world presents me.
I feel like I’ve gone from simple roots to being globally naturalized; sewing the cultural threads straight through this global fabric that travel has given me.
Now, nothing is out of reach…
I went through something similar in my home town of 5000. It’s wonderful and I loved growing up there but it’s too small for me now.
It’s interesting what we experience as we travel. We expand our vision as we expand our physical borders, and it puts the place we come from in context with the rest of the world. That’s when we notice how small a place can be and feel, even when it felt immense before.
It happens the same to me. I’m from the Canary Islands, it takes you 1 hour to drive from the north to the south of the island. However, I grew up in a family of word travelers… so I would say I had it in my blood
I still love visiting Tenerife – it’s simple and beautiful. However, after spending there 2 weeks in a row I feel I have to leave again… it gets to be a bit frustrated. Just as you say… a bit small.
For many of us, home will always be that nest that recharge us to go back on the road again. Just like you, I have enough of “home” after a few weeks. It doesn’t mean that I don’t like it, it’s just that I like to be open to new things.
I’m yet to visit the Canary Islands. From what I’ve seen they are beautiful!
Here, here.
I like you that you wrote “What has impressed me the most is that through this expanded view on the world, my yearn for home hasn’t diminished.” I think this is evidence that you are not running away from something. Instead, that you are expanding and growing.
It’s about intention, and that desire to recharge before heading out again, at least to us, is evidence that the intention is correct.
I also love that quote form mark Twain (he has so much to teach). It really is true and is one of the – if not the most important – aspects of traveling for us. It gives you a new perspective of the world. It allows you to celebrate differences while recognizing just how interconnected we all are.
Thanks!
So so true! You guys can be my psychologists
Yes, my intention is not to run away; it’s to experience new things and to grow through travel.
I agree with you, Twain has so much to offer and so much to learn from. He hits the nail in the head with that quote. And like you say, once we are able to appreciate other cultures and differences, that’s when we recognized the various connections and how they relate to us.
Obviously continental U.S. is quite a bit larger than Puerto Rico but I sort of feel like this is the way that most people from the U.S. feel about the world as well. The article recently published on CNN with quotes from Gary Arndt and Matt Kepnes touches on some of the reasons why and is a pretty interesting read if you’ve got time.
Hey Matt! Thanks for pointing out that article. I read it and I agree with what they have to say. The American dream has such a great effect on Americans that they feel like there is no need to look abroad for something new. But at the same time, like Gary says, I also recognize that the US has a lot to offer within its borders. But still, I consider that traveling abroad is an experience that should not be dismissed by anyone.
Yes Matt, I read that and had to agree, but it’s also true about a lot of people, those that don’t venture far from their home or country.
And if they do, they carry their small place perceptions with them, and compare anyplace they travel to against those. I was going to blog about travelling to Mongolia with a 25 strong party.4 couples were retired farmers.Very rugged, opinionated people, but that is probably the character traits that made them successful. But when in Mongolia all they could say about nomadic families was ‘Why don’t they do this? Or that?”
Never ” Gee this is a whole new life and way of living”
So I began to needle them by responding “Why should they settle down and plow the country the way their government wants them to? Their way of life has kept them fed for centuries.Why expect them to change?”
Needless to say, we fell out.
Travelling as Norbert says is about opening up yourself to all that is new .
Leaving your predjudices behind, and the only expectation you take with you, is that you will learn new things.
I totally agree with you Jim. I’ve seen a few people do the same thing those retired farmers did in Mongolia. It’s kind of sad to see how they still wish to see things through a predetermined gutter and classify a place as “bad” because they don’t follow their expected parameters. I don’t mind questioning thing to understand how and why things are different, but questioning things as a way to impose (our) standards, is just wrong.
I think you should write that post. It can help present the different “channels” in which people experience a new culture and place.
great post norbert. you say, “I know this sounds cliché, but traveling has turned me into a different person. ” quite possibly my favorite cliché! such a great gift gleaned from breaking outside of our little corner (love the twain quote). don’t you wish everyone could experience it?
Thanks Lorna! lol It’s a cliché many of us have experienced first hand.
I do wish everyone could experience it. This is my utopic opinion… I believe there will be less ignorance if people traveled more, experienced new cultures, and took their time to understand them… at least at its minimum. Understanding others help prevent conflicts…
I wish I had a “hometown” to reflect on…you’ve made some really interesting points and reflections here. Beautiful post.
Thanks Andrea. It might not be a hometown, but I’m sure there must be a place that makes you reflect about it, about you, and life.
That’s one of the reasons I always give when people ask me why I love to travel. Staying in one place can give the illusion that I live in a tiny bubble and there is no more to the world than what is right in front of me. I don’t like that feeling and I would much prefer to explore the many different cultures of the world.
Yes, I can’t imagine myself staying in a single place for all my life without exploring what’s out there. There is so much out there! Why not enjoy it?!
I agree with you. As we travel it expand our vision and how our feel about things. I’m more willing to try new thing new food also. Everything has changed ever since I started to fly.
Ah, food is another good way to experiment new things and places. I have to try that one more.
Your own best quote is: I have been sprinkled with sensibility. Travel some more Norbert and it will become a tropical rain shower.
hahaha! Thank you Inka! I want that tropical rain shower!
it’s always nice to feel you are a visitor in your own place… there’s so many things you can discover and rediscover because you can look at the ordinary and make something new out of it. and being a world traveler teaches you to be one. great post! i feel the same way every day!
I agree. Now when I visit my hometown I look to do things I once thought to be so ordinary, but now I see how “unique to the place” they are that makes me want to try them as a visitor.
Thanks Monette!
I felt the same when I came back home few months ago!!! It’s so strange and weird to be back and now I’m learning the Bulgarian life again. Travelling is fantastic but one should come back home every now and then, so that one doesn’t loose him/herself and become someone else.
So true. Going back home after such a long feels like re-learning our “old ways”. I personally like to go back every once in a while, not only is my family still there but it also feels good to be there… at least for a while.
Perfectly written – I wish I had written it! ” I have been sprinkled with sensibility.”, are your words. This is the result of travel – we learn to accept, absorb and appreciate!
Thanks John! So true, travel teaches us to accept, absorb, and appreciate the things that surround us.
I love absorbing new things too. That’s why living overseas and/or traveling has always appealed to me.
I lived in Vietnan for more than three years. The country only really opened to tourism in the 90s so the people can be insular and unaware of what the world is like. It’s understandable in a one-party state, where the government controls the media. But what used to infuriate me were the expats and travelers who would judge Vietnamese people for their lack of knowledge about the world.
I think I would have had the same reaction towards people who would judge the “lack of knowledge” of the Vietnamese. In fact, the ignorant are the ones judging with a lack of perspective on how things are. But, the ones that are open to absorb are the ones that understand things better and tend to appreciate them even more.
It always amazes me that there are people whdon’t have any wanderlust, who aren’t desperately curious to see the world, THEIR world. As soon as I was aware that there was such a thing as an atlas I buried my head in one till I was old enough to go see the real thing.
og course you have to live and let live but it baffles me…
I know!! I wouldn’t imagine my life without this desire to see the world. I understand traveling is not for everyone, but at least understanding and learning about your surrounding and other places should be something everyone should look for. But, my personal opinion is that everyone should explore at least a little bit of the world that lays outside their comfort zone.
Great post, Norbert. And the Mark Twain is such a classic – love it!
Thanks Cathy! Indeed, Twain is a true classic.
We’ve been back from our big, year long trip for almost 18 months now, and I still have trouble adjusting to “home.” Sometimes it just doesn’t feel like I’m in the right place. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my hometown. All my family and the vast majority of my closest friends are here. But I feel as though we changed soooo much over the course of our trip, and I truly do feel like I’m a different person. When we came back home, it seemed as though everything was the same, yet here I was, a completely changed man. I just have a different outlook on life compared to everyone around me, with the exception of my wife, and it’s really difficult. We’ve struggled often about what to do next. We change our minds on a near daily basis, and I’m honestly not sure where we’ll be a year from now.
It is so strange when you go back and you feel like you’ve changed so much, yet everything and everyone around you seem to look the same as before. For some reason it feel uncomfortable or that you don’t belong there like you did before. It doesn’t mean the place is bad, it’s just that you see things differently. I can imagine a year long trip can change a lot of things. I can’t imagine how I will see things after I go and return from my RTW.
I really relate to this post. I grew up in the Canadian prairies and while there’s nothing wrong with my hometown, now that I’ve experienced so much of the year, I can’t believe I lived there for nearly thirty years! And I can’t believe that it took me nearly 25 years to really get into serious travel.
It’s amazing how our perspective can change and how much travel can shift who we are and how we see the world.
Yes, it’s amazing how we evolve as we travel the world. Our perspective will always be changing as we experience new environments.
I think all of us travelers have the same feeling like you describe here. I am exactly the same, I now go ‘home’ to Slovakia and each time I go there, I call it holidays, not going home
I completely understand what you are saying. Traveling does change you and help you grow, no matter how cliche it sounds- it’s true!
People might say it’s a cliche… but it does happen, and I think we are true testament to it.
Great post Norbert. Exactly why I am struggling living in my home town now after being away for 8 years. It is way too small for me. I can’t even get a coffee after 4:30pm and I have a lot of problems relating to people that live here now which I am sure is reciprocal.
Thank you so much Caz! It’s impressive how one’s perception of a place changes over time; and how experiencing different places in the world makes one’s home feel smaller after it. It’s like it makes you crave for even more and in a way that makes you uneasy just staying put in that place we call home. Such an interesting travel effect that apparently many of us are experiencing or have experienced at some point.
Hi Norbert! I started reading your blog a couple of weeks ago and now I am hooked. This entry hit home in so many ways, I felt I had to write a response
I am originally from the Dominican Republic, but have been living and traveling abroad for quite some time. I can completely relate to what you say about “insular mentality” – among many other things (I kept thinking yes! yes! as I read your entry). It is also very well written, both in style and content: “In an attempt to cut the cord from insularism and to stretch my edges..” Great line, I look forward to reading more, thank you for sharing!
Here is a relevant quote I read somewhere and it stuck with me: “Home is where the heart is, that is what they say, but mine lies in pieces scattered along the way.”
Hi Ingrid! Sorry for the late reply, but I’m really glad you felt identified with this! Wow, I like that quote you wrote… I feel like mine is also scattered… so home is not just in one place. I’m glad I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to see many places of this world and to be able to grow through travel.
I’m sure you feel the same way too!