“So Profound!”

by Ant Stone on January 24, 2010

in Uncategorized

When is a traveller, not a traveller? I’m an Englishman working in New Zealand. I hollowly joke “I’m travelling on the spot!” My colleagues are all Kiwi. Some have never been overseas, some never will. Some sit and stare at the bright lights of Australia on the horizon, while some are proudly chained to the beauty of their own backyard.

In this oxymoronic cyber-world of online travel, it is clear that we travellers are incredibly proud of our status de la sojourn. We’re nomads on vacation, on holidays in faraway places. We’re journeymen and culture vultures, explorers and expats.

“What do you do?” says the American to the Swede, “I’m a traveller” says the Swede. “Me too”.

“Cool. So where have you been?” retorts the Swede. “Here and there, and other places”.

“And, you?”

“Oh. I’ve been there too. And here. And there.”

Two travellers. Joined at the hip. Staring life down. But what if that conversation took place in Sweden, or the States?

One traveller. Bored. One ex-traveller. Excited.

Of my own experience, I believe I use the term traveller to fill the void of expectation, when someone asks me what I do. One couldn’t possibly say “Nothing”. Imagine that thick silence, barging through the air.

“Nothing? Ha, that’s not possible!”

“OK. I’m a traveller”

Awesome!

Travelling is a style, not a fashion. It’s a portal for people to expose their culture to others; an acid-test for change.

Travel is as important in your kitchen, as it is in all of the world’s villages, because all it takes to be a traveller is to realise that you have a natural ability to connect.

We are all travellers, and though we’ll take different journeys we’ll arrive at the same destination.

“So profound!”

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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

Vi @ Travel Tips January 24, 2010 at 6:40 pm

Interesting, I was working in New Zealand and most of Kiwis I worked with have been overseas.
.-= Vi @ Travel Tips´s last blog ..Short trails in New Zealand. Key Summit track =-.

Ant January 25, 2010 at 12:58 am

I’d have expected the same, Vi. It’s worth noting that most of my colleagues are late teens/early twenties and work in hospitality (which is incredibly underpaid in NZ, even compared with other Western societies).

Gourmantic January 26, 2010 at 11:11 am

We are also travellers in life, our choices driving our journey towards that destination.

Nicely written piece.
.-= Gourmantic´s last blog ..The Truth About Aussie Chooks =-.

Akila February 24, 2010 at 5:48 pm

For that matter, when does a person become a “local?” My parents have lived in the United States for 33 years, over half their lives, and still people ask them, “Where are you from?”

I like to tell people that we are “traveling but with no set plans.” That really confuses them.

Ant February 25, 2010 at 6:33 am

I think you only become a “local”, when in yourself, you feel at home. I’m not a local in NZ, neither was I in Aus. I’ve lived and worked in both places, but home is England — it’s the only place I’m a local. People will never stop asking people, such as your parents, where they’re from. It’s a natural curiosity in people. A traveller’s trait, you might say. I never shy away from asking the most British sounding Indian person where their roots lay.
.-= Ant´s last blog ..The Txt Trail (Part III) =-.

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