| |
Example Traveler
Travel Blog Directory - Navigate this Blog
A Good Example for Travelers to learn from:
There is a woman staying here at the Hotel Casa Shalom in Antigua,
Guatemala in a room on the floor below mine. She is around 32 years old,
and is a native of New Zealand.
This is a woman who travels but is not a "traveler," she tries to save money but
she is not a "vagabond," I would also assume that she does not read budget travel blogs, nor would I think that she would be interested in either a
Hobo
name nor in becoming an
Ubertramper.
Basically, she is just a normal,
regular ol'woman doing a little traveling in Central America, but she
has some particular qualities and practices that I think other travelers
could really learn from.
I have been observing and talking with her for the past few days, and I
must say that she is a good example for travelers.
I say this because she just inherently does things to increase her
personal self-sufficiency and improve the quality of her living that I have seldom
witnessed even the most boot-worn travelers do:
1. She washes her own laundry by hand over the washing board in the back
of the hotel. I have seldom witnessed anyone who had a good deal of money in
their pockets or were not excessively cheap do this begrudging of
activities. I have the
impression that she was not washing her laundry by hand to pinch a few
pennies, rather, I think she just did her own laundry because she simply
wanted clean clothes and knew that she did posses the ability to wash them
all by herself.
2. She came to Central America and realized quickly that she did not speak any
Spanish, so she enrolled in classes until she gained the ability to
travel and communicate with people in the native tongue. No traveler is able
to learn all of the languages of all of the countries that they travel
through, and it is normal to sometimes find yourself tongue tied and twisted.
Well, this woman did not want this to happen to her, so she learned
enough Spanish to get by and fend for herself.
3. She is blond haired female who came alone to Central America, and
traveled on her own for three months.
4. She really had nothing to do on her days in Antigua so she figured
that she may as well enroll in Salsa dance classes so she at least
she would learn something. So every afternoon she could be found in the
Santo Pecado salsa
dance studio shaking in up. Now she can salsa dance.
5. She goes out and gets what she wants in life. She grew up in New
Zealand, decided that she wanted to be a kayak instructor, and went and
did it. Then she figured that she would like to work in London, so she
landed some posh law office job, and stayed for five years. Then she
moved to Canada and settled herself in nicely and began leading kayak
tours again. After a while of this she came to Central America for three months, learned Spanish, learned how
to Salsa dance, and took photographs to enter into magazine competitions
(which she won). Now for this past week she went through the application
procedure to land a $50 and hour sea-kayaking job in Norway. I watched
as she filled out the applications, do the interviews, and send out the
cover letters. She put in the effort, and she got the job. Now she just
booked a ticket back to Canada, and will be in
Norway by the end of the week.
This woman is clearly a person who looks what she wants
to do in the face, and then does it.
No, Mira, I do not have a crush on her, I just think that she is a good
example for travelers - or anybody - who truly seeks to enjoy their time
on earth.
I just find significance in the above qualities, but I doubt as if
this woman from New Zealand ever gives
them a second thought. I truly admire people who live their lives to
the fullest, take control of themselves, and do what makes them happy. What strikes me most about this
woman's qualities is that I know that she does
not do them to make a point. She is not going to blog about any of this
to share with other people, she is not going to brag about how she
washes her laundry by hand just because she can, and I know that she probably does
not think that her way of living is special or significant in the least.
She just does this stuff. This is just the way that she lives. She really seemed to care about being self-sufficient
in her life, and taking what she wants to make herself happy.
She has inertia. She has the inertia to do what she wants, when she
wants to. She has the inertia to change any situation in her life to
make it what she wants. She has the inertia to make herself smile.
I have traveled for a long time, I have met and have gotten to know many
people from many different cultures, but I have only come across a small
handful of people who really knew how to make themselves happy.
I think that inertia is the highest quality that anyone can aspire to.
Wade from Vagabond Journey.com
Antigua, Guatemala
May 2, 2008
Travel Blog Directory *
Vagabond Journey.com *
Travel Photos
Links to Previous posts:May 2008 - Guatemala:
Don't
Touch the Electric Shower- Travel Tip #12 about the dangers of the
electric shower head.
April 2008 - Guatemala:
Up
Pacaya Volcano- The simply journey up to a lava flow coming out of
the Pacaya Volcano in Guatemala.
My Early Travels- A quick impression of my travels before Song of
the Open Road.
Backpacking
is Dead-Long Live the Backpacker- Thoughts about backpacking and the
ever changing face of travel
Under the
Radar in Antigua- About the balance that a little bit of work a day
brings and on the virtue of saying no.
Read the above posts to move further into the Vagabond Journey story.
Comment on this post by filling out the below form:
-------------------------------------------------
Copy and paste this form into an
email, fill it out with your comment, and then send it to
VagabondSong@gmail.com
Your name:
Your current location:
Link to your webpage (if you want):
Your comment or other information:
----------------------------------------------------
Vagabond Journey.com- For Backpackers, Travelers, Hobos, and Adventurers
|
|