Planes, trains and all the good feels
Hello you scratch-and-sniff sticker.
Good news! I am back from Sweden, and currently marinating in the fuzzy, sun-soaked jet-laggedness of a week well spent. So while I do ALL THE LAUNDRY on my quick 36 hours stopover in Ottawa before heading out to New Brunswick to be with family, I am thinking a bit this week about the value of travel.
Admittedly, I have been pretty in situ in Ottawa these past couple of years, which is a contrast to the globetrotting lifestyle of the preceding couple of decades. Given my history of galavanting, I still find it a little surprising how not-itchy I have felt to get on a plane. Maybe all of the years living and working overseas has provided me with an inner source of calamine lotion to calm the itch to travel-- or maybe the calamine lotion comes from the fact that I really enjoy the home-based life I am living right now. Indeed when I was working abroad and traveling all the time, I didn't have time for so much of what I currently enjoy in my day to day life (ie: being a reliable member of community groups like band and bookclub, enjoying my home, being able to help sponsor a refugee family, having crafty pursuits like sewing, being able to see friends and family regularly, etc...).
That said, I think another part of what has kept my feet on the ground here in Ottawa is how recreational travel is typically sold to us: as an escape, an adventure, getting away from it all. But I don't really want to get away from my life-- I just want more of it. Having lived both a heavy-travel lifestyle and a heavy-home-based lifestyle, I have learned that the best experiences-- travel or otherwise-- are ones that provide additionality, not escape.
I love being exposed to new places, people and experiences to get that extra boost in perspective/experience, but I have also learned that I don't need to get on a plane to have an enriching experience. Like the evolution I am feeling in my relationships with others-- enjoying deeper dives and more one-on-one time-- I think I am experiencing a similar vibe across multiple pockets of life. I really enjoy getting to know a new-to-me part of the world-- there is so much richness and variety and diversity to explore-- but that newness can come from an experience in a different country or within my own community (or my own relationships or in my own self... but then we go down the rabbit hole of esoteric human exploration again, dear reader. You get the gist).
So in keeping with this newly-cultivated ability to be equally curious about-- and fulfilled by-- both the immediate and larger worlds we inhabit, it will not be a surprise to learn that the trip to Sweden was aweeeeeesome. I have been several times before, but not to this part of the country. And of course it was an extra special joy to be intimately involved in my dear friend's wedding. But the whole experience was also a refreshing reminder of how fun it can be to explore the world after having been a travel-benchwarmer for a couple of years. To that end, a couple of things stuck out for me as I re-experienced the feeling of being in a new place:
Movement: When we think of travel, we usually think about physically/ geographically being in a different place. However, what I rediscovered last week was the joy of moving around within the geographical spot in which you have landed. I spent a big chunk of my time walking all over the place, first to help with the wedding chaos, but then I just kept walking all week, for hours. And I loved it. It is true that I could have rediscovered this love of walking here in Ottawa-- I walk all over the place here too-- but I am often walking for a purpose, to get somewhere, to meet someone, to get something. I am commuting rather than communing, as it were. Vacation walking is different, and I had forgotten what that feels like. So I am grateful to have rediscovered a bit of that joy of idly walking around, getting lost, and not having an aim aside from seeing what's around the bend.
Language: While a lot of my time living overseas involved living and working in multiple languages, a big part of my home-based life lately has been pretty mono-linguistic: whether in my work, in my explorations into the craft of writing, or just having few opportunities to operate outside of my linguistic comfort zone. I am enjoying the opportunity to dig into my mother tongue, but I have forgotten the buzz of getting around in the world in a different language. Yes, there is lots of English in Sweden and it is not a big deal getting what you need if you ask people for help. But last week I was reminded of the small thrill of having no idea what you are ordering in a restaurant, or the fun of watching a conversation rather than listening to it to guess what people are talking about, or the creativity of making yourself understood by having to connect with people in non-verbal ways. Of course I don't mean to minimize the effort people put into living and working in another language, which I also understand--- all of the things I listed can be frustrating and soul destroying on a bad day-- but generally I experience this feeling of mild disorientation in a positive way, and was reminded of how delightful it can be
People: "Oh Earnest Platypus, I am soooooo surprised that you included a mention of "people" in your travel reflection." Yes, I know. I am predictable. But genuinely, I met so many awesome people last week, both at the wedding (which was such a great collection of beautiful souls-- and a testament to how wonderful Anders and Witek are themselves) as well as just moving around in that one small corner of the world. South Western Sweden is full of wonderful people-- but then, so is the entire world. I guess it was just a nice reminder that the aphorism goes both ways: while you can't escape your problems by traveling, you also can't escape the awesomeness of the world either.
But wait! Is all this talk of being on planes and traveling around just a bit too ambitious on a sunny Sunday morning? Then please enjoy this video of a man trying to cool off his hamburgers with his monkey-face shirt...
Still too much realness? Then please check out this short but stellar video of a silent-disco backyard BBQ gathering. I LOVE THIS VIDEO SO MUCH AND WANT THEM TO BE MY NEIGHBOURS FOR ALL TIME
From one semi-relaxed person to another, I am glad that we can spend quality holiday time this summer. I hope you enjoyed this dispatch, and have a new-to-you-filled week!
Until next Sunday,
The Earnest Platypus