What traveling taught me, part II (and more feet)

Whenever I talk to someone about all the traveling I've done, they inevitably want to know "What's your favorite place?!"

I never know what to say. Even though I know they're going to ask.

Cities and countries seem to go in and out of fashion amongst travelers. What makes a particular destination trendy is beyond my ability to make sense of it- for a while all people could talk about was Prague. Then it was anywhere in Latin America. I don't know if these are actual trends or just a pattern amongst people in my expanded international social circle- a product of the country I myself was in and who I ran with. But, one thing I think I've figured out is that a person's favorite place says a lot about them. If they love Paris they're a different kind of person than if they loved Melbourne or Bogota. But lately I'm starting to figure out that a person's favorite place has less to do with the place and more to do with the kind of experience they had there. This seems obvious but it's a bigger factor that we (or at least, I) give it credit for. I can't count the number of times I told someone- Oh, you have to go to Lisbon! Vienna is a great city! If you travel to Morocco, don't miss Chefchaouen! Thailand? Then you have to spend some time in the islands! ...But none of these cities are really any superior to the other. I just had a really really good time in all these places! The lesson in this is that it's more about the experience you had there that makes a place good or bad. (That's the danger in going back to a place you've already been.) The truth is, you make a trip what it is. Sure, there are circumstances beyond your control- that's what makes it fun! And sure, there are some crappy destinations- places you wouldn't want to spend more time than you had to because they're sketchy or boring but even then, it's what you make of it. You can have a lot of fun at a rest stop is western kentucky. You can also have a really crappy day sitting in front of the Eiffel Tower. I think some people travel because they find their own lives so mundane that they need to go somewhere new to make sure they still have a pulse. Or they travel to find happiness. Or they travel because they need a vacation. Traveling is rarely any of these things. I've experienced more relaxation during a "stay-cation" than time spent on the road. I've been happier in the presence of my friends and family at home than I ever have standing in front of a monument in Spain. And my regular life- my non-traveling life- is more busy and exciting than some trips I've been on because I make it that way. I'm not saying I don't love traveling. But my biggest fear while traveling was that life after traveling- the real world- was going to suck. It's anything but.
People think I'm lucky because I travel- and I am. But it's not traveling that's fun. (and in fact sometimes its the antithesis of fun.) Traveling is just a way of moving through the world. We decide. I decide every day what to make of this journey. That's another big thing traveling has taught me. And its not just a lesson, like all universal lessons we put on refrigerator magnets. It's what I do. I'm pretty good at, as my parents would say, making my own fun. Thanks traveling! You help make every moment count-at home or away. I know this and I live it- that's why I'm lucky.

Just to prove that I really do take pictures of my feet I'm pasting some below. You cant necessarily tell where I am, but I can. There's something about seeing my feet on the ground instead of looking at a postcard-like picture that makes me remember I was really there and how that smelled and tasted and felt and all the things you can see with your eyes but not with a camera lens.

Starting at the top: Henna in Bangalore, the banks of the river Ganga, El Albaicin- Granada, Tanger- Morocco, Karekare-New Zealand, Faro-Portugal, Tiananmen Square.