Been home for a week now and Colombia, a place which was such a part of me for 2-months, seems so far away and is slipping further. While I was there and traveling it seemed as though the experiences would become a part of me and shape my life to come, but now that I'm back it seems so distant and unimportant. This is travel. Why should it be any different, I wonder.
We set off on brave adventures often times in search of experiences that will transform us into something new, something different. Something better. Thats the hope, but it is not the mere travels that do the shaping, it's ourselves, and so it must work from the inside, out.
When I come back from a journey there always seems to be a period of confusion within me in which I try to balance my re-entry into my home life with recalling the events of my recent travels. Sometimes when someone asks me even the simplest of questions about my trip I have a tough time shaping my response. The most loaded question of all is "so, how was your trip?". "Uhhhh, uhhh..." Saying that "it was good" doesn't begin to do your travels justice but somehow it's the most appropriate response to such a question for the real answer should probably be saved for someone who wants to know how your trip really was.
Someone asked me the other day why I would spend two months in Colombia, and instead of telling them all about the marvels of world travel I responded weakly and then spent the next few days questioning why I even bothered. Afterall, what had two months in Colombia taught me?
I've learned that not all travels are character shaping and life altering, but that there is still some good to come from them. Its like my recent realization that its still okay to race bikes (and skis) even if you know you can't win the race because its the competition and personal effort that matter most; its not the results, but the physical and internal struggles you overcome that make racing interesting. All of my travels combined, all of those exotic and adventurous experiences, all those conversations and observations, all those landscapes and cityscapes have come together to reshape my mentality and my subconsciousness, and I know that I am a different person because of it.
Damn, this is heavy thinking for someone still in slippers. I get so sentimental about my travels when I finally afford the time to try and put it all in perspective. I really haven't thought much about these things since I got back almost 2-weeks ago (2-weeks!?) because I've been too busy getting on with it! And mornings, while I am still a bit dreamy but feeling so good with a blue sky above, a summer day before me and a steaming cup of coffee by my side, is the perfect time to get romantic about life before realities take over. Well, guess its time to get on with it!
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