Fluid Freedom

Flying away, away from my family, my friends, my partner and my comfortable life. As the distance grows, the hours pass by and the white culture that is my own disappears to something more exotic, a sense of calm grows over me. The stresses of suburbia, the pressures of how things should be, of expectations and assumptions; they give way to something else. I’m the exception here, the sore thumb, the one who doesn’t quite fit in… who never will, and it’s liberating. There is no conformity to abide to as I just cannot, it simply isn’t possible. My personality changes between my own, their assumption of how a ‘westerner’ should be, and their own culture. I can move between places, change my accent, my story, chose how much to say, what to withhold, or simply not say anything and glide by undetected, unnoticed, watching from afar.

I’m still tarred by my own brush, but here the black doesn’t seem as thick. The ‘shoulds’ aren’t as loud and its much easier to say ‘when I get home’. Funny that the ones you love, those in your most treasured memories are also those that cause the most stress, the most hurt and the greatest pressure to conform.

Everyone should, at some point in their life, travel by themselves; free from assumptions and expectations, to somewhere completely different, away from your own culture, your own kin and your own predispositions. Venture away from everyone and everything, into yourself and discover the calm within.

April 2015

The creation of a backpacker

Ahh backpackers. The only demographic to be described by how they carry their belongings since the carpet bagger.

We are an interesting bunch. We come from different countries, backgrounds, religions, financial situations, social status and occupations. Yet once you’re a backpacker, nothing that you used to do or be, matters anymore. In fact it seems to be an unwelcome juxtaposition of the real world to our new found freedom. Nothing to kill a conversation like finding out the chick wearing fisherman pants, teaching you slacklining is a strategic risk analyst.
Once you have traded your business cards for a one way ticket, a slow transition starts.
Some try to keep their old ways longer than others but even the most stylish backpackers eventually relent.“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

Firstly your wardrobe shrinks. Clothes that do not have multiple purposes are left behind in hostel rooms. Items with multiple purposes, such as a scarf/sarong/bandana, become essential items. Accessories that become common are zip off pants/shorts, soft shell jackets, fleeces, hiking boots. They practically go with anything.

Even the lightest feather weights a thousand tons on a long journey.

Cleanliness starts to become a sliding scale. The amount of times you can wear an item of clothing before it is deemed dirty all depends on a sniff test. Worn your jeans for the last 20 days? Yes.. Do they smell? Nope. Then they’re clean!
How often you need to wash is also a sliding scale. Have you showered this week? No. Have you been for a swim? Yes. Was it fresh water? No. Were you in there for quite a while? Yes. Then you’re clean!

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

You stop taking the little things for granted. Seemingly trivial things can literally make your day:

When a towel is included in a hostel
When the pillow has a case on it
When there is toilet paper and it’s a sit down toilet! (Double bonus!)
Having the remote and choosing what to watch on TV
When no one ate your food
When you see your bag coming off the plane

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin Yutang

Souvenirs change from 1ft carved statues to something very small and cheap. When you have to carry all of your belongings with you, everywhere you go, that carved Inca drum just doesn’t seem like a great souvenir. Bracelets, postcards, arm bands and clothing (often to replace the dirty ones or the ones left behind) are the best purchases.

“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese

I think the biggest change is the skill of observation. Learning to sit back and watch the world, to think about life and where you’re priorities lie. To effectively smell the roses before moving on to the next adventure.

“A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.” – Moslih Eddin Saadi

23rd Sept 2011

Things travelling has taught me

This is a list of “Things travelling has taught me” that I wrote on my way home from Paris last year:

• I look like an Aussie
• I can tell which way is NSEW at any time
• My pronunciation is woeful, I’m blaming the Aussie accent for this
• Naturally, I’m not a big eater, no cravings when entertained
• I can really appreciate things like beautiful architecture that I have never had an interest in
• Siestas are awesome and essential
• I can deal with anything that happens
• Freedom isn’t too hard to find, just stop looking and go
• Jet lag really sucks
• Your loved ones is what matters most
• Your family will always be there – so don’t worry about missing them
• Most of what you worry about doesn’t make any sense, won’t happen or will be easier than you think – a coward dies a thousand deaths
• The world is both bigger and smaller than you think
• The earth is an amazing place
• You can always find ‘culture twins’ – people who look like friends back home, but are Italian or Spanish
• European sun isn’t fierce – go the ozone layer!
• Clothes you feel good in are best for every occasion
• Put everything back in its place (5S) especially with important documents (it saved you freaking out about it!)
• You can make friends everywhere you go
• Drinking in excess, smoking, eating bad food, no sleep and changing time zones will lead to poor health.
• Airports suck –it doesn’t matter how nice the architecture is, or if the walls are made of gold, I just want a padded seat I can lie down on! (Middle east take note!!)
• The actions of past generations should be remembered and learnt from – both good and bad.
• You will only regret what you didn’t do, and wish you had of.
• It’s really easy to forget which country you’re in and what language you’re supposed to be speaking.
• Poverty is more real than you think
• Be grateful of everything you have
• The Italians are right, doing nothing can be an artform

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard