I found this list posted in a hostel in Salento, Colombia, and I'm finally getting around to posting it. I took out a couple of things (I think it was written by someone traveling in the middle east and I have very few interactions with mosques here) and added a couple if my own, but so many things ring so very true.
So without further ado:
Traveling is...
-making yourself understood without words
-having no idea what day or date it is
-breathing through your mouth on a toilet
-being at the right place at the right time
-fueled by curiosity
-washing your clothes in the sink
-feeling like a winner at the ATM
-keeping your feet on the ground while people treat you like a rock star
-accepting
-getting good at guessing someones nationality
-ignoring beggers, hawkers, and taxi drivers without feeling too bad about it
-feeling at home wherever you lay your head
-battery charging planning
-understanding we're all the same but different
-sensing a ripoff a mile away (but not always)
-knowing when to say goodbye
-adventure when things go wrong
-longing for a decent breakfast
-preferring one-way to round trip tickets
-learning how to order food and still not get what you want*
-learning to sleep on buses
-being spontaneous
-realizing all the things taken for granted
-not understanding jokes
-being in a constant state of 'almost clean'
-seeing new places from the bed of a pickup truck
-finding common ground with people from around the world
*this one is probably my favorite since its so true. Whatever comes is always good, but sometimes very not what I thought it was going to be. I thought I asked for grilled beef one time and got breaded shrimp instead.
When I got invited to the horse parade, we stopped for lunch and I ordered beef. I even heard him tell the kitchen that, so they messed it up, but something else came. The two men were all offended for me, but I didn't really care since I realized that was kinda normal for me.
And your prize for making it to the end of a lot of words
Skype date soon :)
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