Travel has changed me.
I see the world differently – it’s not quite as big or as foreign as I once thought, but there’s always the opportunity to learn something in each place you visit.
And since life is one big classroom, I’m constantly learning – my priorities are shifting away from having things and leaning more towards doing things. It’s not always a smooth transition, but I’m getting there.
Lately, there have been three important lessons that travel has made me understand.
1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Humans – we’re messy. We generate waste at a mind-blowing rate, and the more I travel, the more I despair.
This, coming from a girl who used to throw rubbish out the window of a moving car.
Look, we all did stupid things as teenagers. Please don’t make me feel worse than I already do.
The point is, we create so much unnecessary crap, and then we throw it away for ‘someone else’ to deal with. Take India, where the cows dine on McDonald’s bags and takeaway coffee cups. Or here in Korea, where cookies are individually packaged, plastic bags are handed out ad nauseum, and fresh food at the supermarket is so heavily saran-wrapped you’d have to be an engineer to liberate a single carrot.
India and Korea aren’t the only offenders, of course. Everyone’s doing it, my pre-traveling self included. I used to think recycling was a hassle. Separate my garbage and physically take it somewhere? No thanks. I’ll just put it all in the same bin.
But as I travel, I’ve been exposed to how easy it is to recycle. In Korea, land of the plastic bag, there’s also a pretty simple system for garbage. The recycle bins are all labeled in front of our apartment building, so we can take out the trash as we leave. Suddenly, it’s second nature. Why don’t we have this in America again?
2. Don’t succumb to materialistic tendencies.
Speaking of recycling, I’ve been doing a lot of that in my closet lately. It’s a side-effect of constant long-term travel: you live out of a suitcase, you don’t have a permanent residence, it’s not really viable to collect a lot of stuff.
But oh, how I love stuff.
Every time I travel through a big city, I go all googly-eyed when we pass the shopping districts. I’m overcome with an urge to put on makeup, do my hair, and wear heels. I want to dress up and go out, to try new restaurants and pick up little trinkets along the way.
As soon as I leave the big city…I don’t really care anymore. That stuff is less important when I’m back in my poky little Korean town, or on a harrowing overnight bus in Vietnam. I can put aside my materialistic tendencies and focus on what I really want out of my life. Suffice it to say, it can’t be found in a pair of heels or a handbag (though I still wouldn’t say no to either of those).
Which brings me to my final lesson…
3. Budget isn’t a four-letter word.
I hate being told I can’t have something. Hate it.
And traveling on a budget is like having a little angel and devil riding on your shoulders, whispering into your ear.
Me (drooling at the window of a gelateria): That looks sooo goood…
Angel: Now, now, you’re on a budget. You can’t have that.
Devil: That cherry flavor looks niiiice. What’s another 4 euro?
For several years, I listened to the little devil. I was decadent, indulging in gelato and boots, nights out and big breakfasts. And I paid the price, in the form of a big, fat, credit card bill.
Now, I realize that being on a budget isn’t about depriving yourself. It actually allows you to do more. Now, when I travel, there’s some wiggle room in the wallet. If my fiancé and I want to have a big night out, we have one. It just might mean that we have to grab convenience-store sandwiches for lunch the next day.
Balance. It’s the key to life, isn’t it?
What have you learned in your travels?
Nomadic Samuel says
I can relate to all three things but point number 2 really resonates with me. I feel material possessions are something I no longer crave. I enjoy throwing things out, giving things away and not feeling tempted to buy items I don’t need.
Lauren says
It’s an ongoing process for me, but I notice that the temptation to buy things is easier and easier to resist. Traveling light is a big part of that – if I have no way to carry it, what’s the point of buying it?
Pretraveller says
I think as I have become older I am definitely better at point numbers 2 and 3. There is a definite transition from just buying things as you see them compared to carefully deciding that you need something and specifically shopping for that item.
And we run a tight budget, and as you said sometimes you need to trade off a special experience against a leaner few days, but actually you can still have a great time without spending much money.
We are currently saving for our next holiday to the USA & Europe and the great thing about having a travel goal to work towards is that before we buy something we ask ourselves the question ‘Do we really need this?’, there are so many things where the answer is ‘NO’ and we don’t buy it. So hopefully we can save faster for our trip!
Lauren says
I think back to all the crap I spent money on before I started traveling and it amazes me…I still love to browse markets when I travel, but it’s rare that I like something enough to buy it. The answer to “Do I really need this?” is almost always no! Good luck with your saving, it sounds like you’ve got a good approach to it!
Ivy @ Pathway to Asia says
Travelling teaches many life lessons to different people. Travelling could change a person’s perspective on the aspects of life and it could change a person’s life also. As for me, travelling taught me the values that I could not possibly learn in other things. I learned how to care for the environment since I’ve realized that our surroundings play a vital role in our lives.
I also learned how to be understanding to different people as well as into different cultures and traditions. Travelling affects our lives in different ways. It’s a life-changing experience that must not be forgotten for the lessons that we learned from it molds us into much better persons.
Lauren says
Your comment is really nicely put – travel can change your life and your perspectives on life, and it affects everyone differently. I’ve still got a lot of learning to do, but I agree that travel makes you a better person as long as you’re open to the lessons.