The Psychology of Coming Home

on 11-13-2008 in Travel Lifestyle

coming home, guilty pleasures, getting adjusted, traveling or travellingIt will happen to you too.  Eventually, despite what everyone says, you do have to go home again.  This week, probably many of you are heading home to see family and friends for the holidays.  If you travel, you do this after every trip.

The same cliches are true about both:  no one will understand “what you do”, no one wants to hear the long version about it, and you’ll feel like you changed but the people back home haven’t.  It doesn’t matter if you left for college or to live abroad, it’s the classic fish out of water experience, that we all have at some point.

But when you travel, you don’t have somewhere to return to.  After the holidays, college students go back to college, family go back to their jobs, long lost relatives get lost.

Is it possible to be estranged from the entire world?  Or is that just the schizophrenic nature of bouncing from one group to the next?

For example:  You make friends in Spain, and they don’t understand Americans.  They think of Spain first, then Europe, then the world.  They see the world through this prism and imagine that Americans are very different– not just culturally and socially, but fundamentally.

You fly across an ocean back home into a new bubble.  They see the world as their town, their country, and vaguely the rest of the world.  The view is narrower, but the same.  They don’t understand how people in the next town think.  You’re like an anthropologist in your own backyard.  Acutely aware of the strange and unusual behaviors of the natives.

You are a member of two groups with conflicting views, and you have begun to think like both of them.  For instance:  can I actually think Parisian cheeses and Velveeta are both good?  And can I get either group to switch cheese for a day (not likely)?

So what do you do?  Do you incorporate the two lives together, building a mesh of new life and old?  Or do you blend in and enjoy each groups company on it’s own merits?  For me it’s been more of the latter.  I’ve been immersed in two different cultures, and I let them stay that way– different.   Instead of becoming this whole new person, I’ve just let myself become more diversified.  I’m invested in many different areas.  And in it’s own way, that somehow feels better.

Dreaming About Europe? Yeah, Me Too…

on 11-13-2008 in Travel Lifestyle

But now I’m writing about it…

Europe, Travel writing, budget travel, freelance gig

So with our big trip to Mexico, Central America and South America coming up, there was one thing I was going to miss… Europe.  Luckily, I hooked up with the folks at b5 Media, and landed a new writing gig– that focused entirely on traveling Europe.

I thought I’d let you guys know, and if you’re curious you can check my new digs here: EuropeString.com.

I’ll be writing about:

  • Traveling Europe on a budget
  • Deciding where and when to go
  • Sharing all the deals I get emailed every day (seriously my inbox is overflowing with stuff from travel agents)
  • And all the stories, ideas, tips and other stuff that I never had time to write about on AlmostFearless.com

I’m still getting settled in, but so far, everyone has been great!  I’m taking over an existing blog, so I’m still getting caught up on what’s been covered, and what we still need to talk about.  Today I wrote my weekly travel deals column called This Just In and talked about deals to Iceland.

Of course, I’ll still be writing here at AF and pursuing other writing gigs as always.  In fact if it wasn’t for the amazing support I get from other bloggers and the readers of this blog, I’m not sure I’d be able to say that I’m officially a paid writer.  So thank you!

(If you follow me on twitter, this is likely old news, but now I have TWO accounts: @almostfearless and @europestring).

Another Way to Travel

on 11-13-2008 in Travel Lifestyle

I’ve gotten some comments recently, saying that I “should” travel in a certain way or that I would “see more” or that it’s “moronic” to travel with dogs. To that I say:

Don’t be travel snobs

What’s interesting to me is that the most vocal person, wrote from Boston. Are they out traveling the world? Nope. Sitting at home, using a computer to dictate what “authentic” travel looks like.

Travel is changing

20 years ago, to travel the world, meant quitting your job. For me it did, because I’m also pursuing a new career. For my husband, it did not. He works completely remotely, communicating via conference calls, emails and IM and uploading his work at the end of the day (he’s a graphic artist). He works for a big company that is one of many offering more flexible working situations. With the wide availability of internet, advanced tools for managing work flow and employees’ desire to avoid the daily commute, it’s becoming very practical.

Working remotely will only increase as employers learn to work in this new model and realize that not only does it save them the cost of office space, but often produces more productive employees.

We work so we can travel long term (years and years), not a one time trip

Ditching the car, being on the road, traveling by train/bus/ferry, is great. For us, it’s not practical. On Monday morning, we both get up and start working. Would we like to take a 5 day sailboat from Panama to Colombia? Absolutely. Can we? Probably not. But at the end of the day, I’m thankful to get to do the traveling I have done. To say I’m missing out is to miss the point. I am traveling. I am seeing the world. It might not fit the narrowest definition of world travel, but you know what? I’ll take it.

When seeing more isn’t seeing more

This summer I went to seven countries. I rented an apartment in Madrid and flew out to different places I wanted to see for a week at a time. Could I have taken a train? Yes. Would I have been able to fit in as many places? Nope. Every traveler has to make these decision for themselves. There is no right answer, I respect the person who buses across South America, just as much as the person who flies there, just as much as the guy who drives his RV with all the comforts of home. These people are doing it, which in my book, always counts. 14% of Americans have a passport, and we’re going to slam someone for not traveling the “correct way”?

Fearless or not

The truth is, I’m not fearless at all. This website has always been about my atypical journey. I wanted to show the good and especially the bad. I didn’t want to pretend like all of this was easy—just that it is doable. I have been extremely honest—detailing my feelings about no longer having a title, sharing what people have said privately to me about my decision, and even my second thoughts and temptations.  I have never had all the answers or pretended too, and I certainly don’t envision myself as some gallivanting adventurer.  But I make it work for me.  I want to share that with other non-fearless types and say, just because you don’t want to “backpack” the world, long term travel is possible for anyone who wants it.

What my version of travel looks like

I have a laptop and about $3000 in camera gear. I have about 25 books (which I get at a second hand bookstores and swap out) and my clothes. Everything my husband and I own fits in our two backpacks, a hand bag and small carry on sized suitcase (for the books). We also have a car and two dogs. We rent an apartment with internet as a home base. Often I will travel out, staying in hostels, with my laptop, camera and backpack—then I return to the home base. My husband likes to stay put and get to know the names of his grocer. I like that too, but I also want to see and travel a bit more. We make it work for us and our marriage. The dogs require more planning (you can’t take two large dogs on a train, or in a hostel and flying can be costly), but to us, it’s a priority and worth it.

For as many long term travelers that read this, I bet there are as many different ways to travel. What does travel look like to you?

A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama: Crossing Through to Colombia

on 11-13-2008 in Travel Lifestyle

Panama, Central America, Travel planning, itinerary, travel inspirations

The other day I talked about our itinerary up to Panama. I stopped there. Dead. That’s because there’s an interesting thing about Panama when heading south. You can’t go any further. Not by car anyway. Can you pay a fee to cross? Nope. Bribe an official? You can try, but no. So how are we going to get our car, two adults, and two large, slobbery dogs from Panama to South America? To find out, I did a little research.

First of all, it’s called the Darien Gap. It’s a 100 mile long swath of land between Panama and Colombia and because of the rough terrain, there are no roads connecting the two. The Pan-American Highway stops at the gap and restarts just after. If that wasn’t enough of a deterrent (and for some it’s not, someone famously crossed it in 1975 and wrote a book about it), there are also reports that some Colombian rebel groups live in the area.

Instead, most people hire a shipping company to transport their car to Cartagena, Colombia and fly into the city to meet their vehicle. Average price? About $1000 for the cargo ship. Each way. The flight? Around $100 for us, around $200 for each dog. Total cost round trip: $3200. This is probably why more people don’t attempt this sort of trip.

So now, the big question: is the straight path to South America really the best one? Here are our options:

1. Leave the car in Panama, fly to Colombia, buy a car there (that we later sell) and travel around until we reunite with our vehicle in Panama.

2. Rent an apartment in Panama. Kiss the husband and puppies good by for a few weeks at a time and do the South American piece solo.

3. Find some travel partners that have a vehicle big enough for all of us, travel the South America leg of the trip together and split costs.

4. Bite the bullet and pay for the cargo ship.

I don’t have an answer yet on what we will do. My instinct is telling me to not worry about it now, go to Mexico, and start driving. When we get near Panama, many things could change. We might fall in love with a place and want to stay. We might meet really cool people we want to travel with. Or we might find some alternative method from other travelers or locals.

Six months ago, I would of had a spreadsheet with exact shipping times, vendors and costs.  I would have worried a few nights in a row about the dogs, the weather, the car or any number of things out of my control.  Today?  I’m going to Panama.  And I don’t have a plan for what happens next.  Could this be progress?