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My one-month trip is over. I had a chance to visit many beautiful places: USA (Chicago, Boston), Iceland (Reykjavik, Keflavik, the Blue Lagoon), Spain (Barcelona), Italy (Rome, Bologna, Ferrari museum in Maranello, Florence, Pisa), Poland (Krakow, Warsaw, Mikolajki, Olecko, Bialystok), and Ukraine (Lviv). I was constantly on the road. I met really wonderful people, went to great parties, and did things that were far beyond any expectations. Of course it's the people that made the trip a great success, not merely the places themselves. During the trip I enjoyed whatever I could see and experience then. There and then!
After coming back to Canada I realized that's the right time to slow down. Stop for a while, think, and write down the observations. Now I know the trip definitely changed me. It changed my point of view, made me more open-minded, and more open to people. I'd like to share with you some of the lessons learned on the road. Maybe you'll find them useful and relevant. You're the judge!
- People are different. Sure, people are different, that's obvious. In the same way flowers are different. Some people are inspiring, others are fun, yet others are good philosophers. Thanks to this variety of people we live in an interesting world. It was interesting to see the world through the eyes of others.
Once I was surfing a couch and my host took me to the lab to present her workplace. And you know what? She was working on a very cool stuff. She renovates old movies. She showed me a Lumiere brothers' video tape from 1896 and presented the whole process of renovating a movie. It is fairly complicated and requires very sophisticated machines. It is unbelievable how many parameters one can tune when editing a movie. Before that I hadn't even thought of such a job!
Some other time I met an American guy who had a very legit reason to visit Krakow. Namely, he loved Polish poetry and wanted to stay in Poland for a while. Surprisingly, he knew more about Polish poetry than I did :-) - Invest in a travel pillow. That was my best-spent $20 ever. The pillow is very universal and allows for a decent sleep on a plane, in train, or even in bed. Even if you cannot sleep, the pillow saves your neck from pain when your head hangs in a weird position.
- Traveling inspires. Talking to people, observing them, and visiting new places may inspire and stimulate your brain. It is useful to have a small notebook or a cell phone to take notes and collect ideas! I was inspired to start making own alcohol, growing plants, trying out new music, and creating things myself. I also made a list of places to visit and food to cook.
- I became more open to people. Probably nothing improves openness as much as traveling and meeting literary tens of new people every single day. After a while it was unbelievably easy to say hi! to a random stranger and have a chit-chat. Wherever it was. Hostels, buses, airports, bars, train stations, bus stops, airplanes, cities. This is perhaps the most valuable skill I picked up during the trip!
- Being carefree is natural. When you travel there is so much going on that all you care about is a good vibe, unique experience, and great memories. You stop caring about most things that people care about. For example, it didn't matter too much to me whether I was shaved or not; whether my clothes were only a bit dirty, or very dirty; whether other people liked me, or not. I don't mean that I didn't give a shit about the stuff just because I disrespected others. No. I mean that all people care about is themselves. They don't care about me :-) How do I know that? When I was interacting with them, I could see that their responses were based mostly on communication, not the looks or external factors.
- New friends come and go. Old friends are with you. When you meet people every day, you decide to hang out with some, or travel with others. You go the the club, do sightseeing together, go to the beach, play a game, eat food, etc. The sad part is that the next day you say goodbye and you hope to meet the other person again. Those short relationships happen all the time. On the other hand, old friends are always with you. It is nice that they want to know where you are, what you do, or just want to say hi!
- It is hard to keep fit. Normally I exercise and jog every day. It is much harder to do that while traveling. I need to explore this topic further to make sure that my body stays in a good shape.
- It is important to stop and relax. There are so many things to see in each place. You want to see this, and that, and the other thing as well. You walk fast to make the most of your time. Is it a good strategy? Well, I used to do that earlier, but now I walk slower. I also stop for a day or two to catch up with friends, get a decent sleep, or just read a book. It helps to maintain certain balance between available energy and the force that pushes you further.
- When you travel solo you meet more people than when traveling in a group. That's true! I was asked many times: Are you traveling alone?
My answer was always No!
Although I was traveling mostly solo, I never felt lonely. In every hostel, train, and plane I had someone to chat with or hang out with. Why? I was somehow forced to make friends. That was one of the best things I was obliged to do!
