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What would you tell your younger, travel-innocent self?
Over at Anderson Cooper 360, Chris Guillebeau wrote a post about the things he wishes he’d known before he went traveling. Some of the items on the list? Be aware of different notions of personal space, be firm with people who haggle or follow you, always carry cash, and don’t speak out against the government.
I particularly liked the points about being tolerant of smoking (I would add being tolerant of meat-eating) and not being a colonialist and assuming people who don’t speak English aren’t as intelligent as you are. For as obvious a point as the latter seems to be, many people miss it.
I know I still throw out “the locals” all the time without really thinking about it – it took my husband, a bonafide Oaxacan “local,” mocking me constantly before I grew wary of the phrase. (He proposed setting up a booth on the main pedestrian street with a sign “Ask A Local! 10 pesos.” The travelers quest for contact with “the locals” is a whole separate can o’ worms I won’t delve into here, but suffice it to say that both glorifying and pigeonholing The Locals are bad ideas).
I seem to have moments that linger somewhere between nostalgia and regret after each experience abroad. In China, I wish I’d known just how intense the censorship would be, and psychologically prepared myself for living in a country saturated with propaganda. I certainly wish I’d known to never, ever separate myself from my passport in South Africa, when I had everything stolen in what was a guarded parking lot (it was no longer guarded when we returned from Table Mountain).
And yet, at the same time, knowing these things would’ve flattened out that learning curve that made traveling in China and South Africa so revelatory, and taught me hard and fast. Of course I’d rather not have had anything stolen, and obviously a little practical kick in the ass would have been preferable to the learning experience of weeping in front of a bombed out car in a parking lot. But sometimes the slap-you-in-the-face lessons you learn on the road are the ones that stick with you longest and teach you most.
So if I could choose a few things I wish I would’ve known when I started out, sure, there’d be the practical stuff about taking enough cash, and duct-taping my passport to my body at all times, and all that good stuff. But the stuff I really wish I would have known would be less tangible. Here are a few examples:
1) You don’t have to see or do anything. Follow your instincts. You don’t have to feel guilty for not seeing Machu Picchu if you don’t want to see it, or you have something else in mind. This isn’t to say it’s not worth it to go – but if it’s not in your plans or you improvise something else, that’s ok too. There’s no checklist.
2) Travel can be just as monotonous as anything else. If it feels monotonous, or you start to get disenchanted, stop. Take a break. Go home. Stay somewhere and get a job. But don’t assume travel will always be enlightening, or you should be able to do it forever.
3) You can do almost anything independently if you have the time, patience and perseverance.
And you, Matador readers? What do you wish you’d known? If you could look back through the wormhole at your greenhorn travelin’ self, with wide eyes and an overstuffed backpack, what would you tell him/her? Please share below.
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16 Comments... join the discussion!
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That it’s okay to treat yourself to little luxuries. As a known overpacker, I went down to the bare minimum while backpacking Europe- no makeup, three outfits to rotate and one soap for hair, body and clothes. And I hated it. Every time we went out and I saw someone all dressed up I felt jealous and self-conscious. A travel size bottle of my favorite shampoo and an eyebrow pencil would’ve done wonders for my experience but I tried to shed all sense of pride for altruism and an “authentic” experience. Travelers come in all colors and personalities- be true to yourself.
P.S. I later took this lesson to the opposite extreme, hiking a volcano in a formal dress!
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When I first started traveling to developing countries, I wish I’d known it was okay to be me instead of trying to fit in with the local culture. Regardless of where I am in the world, I am still me.
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I’m with you Sarah– I don’t really wish anything had been different because it would, as you say, have “flattened out the learning curve.” I do wish, however, that other people knew that travel doesn’t have to be expensive, that it doesn’t have to be hard, that it doesn’t have to be confined to vacation time.
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Nice piece, Sarah! I enjoyed your stories and your advice. I wish I’d known that I would enjoy longer hikes and slower-paced trips that force me to slow down and enjoy a place more than the frantic, packed traveling that made me want a vacation from my vacation, type of deal. Now I know better
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Hey Sarah,
Great article. As simple as it sounds, the one thing I wish I knew before travelling was just how easy it can be. I decided to move to Japan and teach on a whim – even had to get my first passport to get there. But once I arrived (and got over the what-have-I-done-moment), I realized that sometimes you just have to stop rationalizing and go for it. As travellers, we’ve all encountered the people who say, “Wow, I wish I could travel like you.”
Most can, they just need to commit.
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I wish I hadn’t been so naive about some people and their intentions. But I guess its nice to learn the hard way so I will never forget. :-O
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I wish i had known to break up with my girlfriend if I was going to bum around Italy for 3 months…take note!
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Ziplock bags!
And to understand something of what it means to just relax and go with things as they present themselves, rather than (on my first trip) overthinking a schedule I wanted to keep.
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Love this, Sara. I wish I had known #1…my first trip overseas, I HAD to see all the biggest attractions. The guide books told me so.
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There wouldn’t be much I’d change
I always knew I could, and have never been a great overplanner, (many decisions having been made after a few too many!!) so these were never a problem (well maybe in the opposite extreme!) I do wish I’d been more true to myself from the beginning though. Great post…. definite food for thought!!↵ -
I’m still trying to convince travelers in NZ of #1, but that’s the way of the world. I guess your third point would be the one I would emphasize most.
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I guess I don’t understand what’s wrong with calling people who are near where you are locals. The town I live in in Vermont has locals. They wouldn’t mind being called that, I’m sure. It’s not derogatory or stereotyping, it just means they live around here.
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Hi Sara,
Thanks for the great piece. #1 is definitely something with which I still struggle.
To answer your question, for me it’s that eating street food and sharing bathrooms won’t kill me. If anything, they’ll only make me stronger.
Happy travels!
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That I wouldn’t need half the stuff that I thought I couldn’t live without when I was packing. That I would only ever regret the things I said no to.
Also, I definitely 100% support number 1. Delete the word ’should’ from your travel vocabulary!
But, it’s all good. Like you say, it’s better just to get out there and make the mistakes…
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The first time I traveled outside of Canada and the States I was 18 and took a 3-month solo backpacking trip through Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. That trip turned me from someone who was so shy and unsure of herself into a considerably more outgoing and confident person! I feel like I handled things as well as I could have in the situations I was in and I learned A LOT, but I guess I would tell myself
a) The sun sets much, much faster and earlier in the cloudforest so if you’re catching a bus by yourself to some tiny cloudforest town, leave early in the day to get there. Also, South Americans will do almost anything to give you an answer, even if they don’t know the answer. This usually means they’ll tell you “yes” when they should be saying “I have no idea” and if you’re in doubt, always ask another person, or even better- two!
b) Learn more Spanish phrases for “leave me alone” and “fuck off” for the 40-year-old man who stalked me all over downtown Lima and wouldn’t go away and then tried to push me into a wall and kiss me/feel me up, and for the 20-year-old surfer guy who thought that “no” meant “yes, but only if you hold me down.” Both situations I escaped from unharmed (the guys a little less unharmed) but they were scary and a few extra-angry Spanish phrases may have helped them understand how serious I was!
and c) Utilize couchsurfing more and the LonelyPlanet guide less!
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