2010: A Year of Learning

Another year closes, another year opens. A new year is always a promise of a better life for all of us. And the past year is always a compilation of lessons that will make us stronger and better.

And I think that the best way to end this year is to post the learning and realization that our fellow travellers have shared with us thru the ‘Meet the Nomads’ interview.

Among the questions that I’ve asked all of them is:

What’s the biggest realization that you’ve got out of travelling?

And here are their answers:

“I think I’ve realised that I want to accrue experiences rather than things. I’ve been happily living out of a backpack for almost five years now. I’d like to have my library and wine cellar on a large estate, and a yacht to sail the world on but I’m really, really happy without those things. Life is too short to trade time for money in order to collect things.” – Craig Martin of Indie Travel Podcast

“Despite the dramatic visual differences between cultures and countries, we’re all very similar. We all love to share experiences, tell stories, enjoy old friends and make new ones.” – Josh Summers of Far West China

“The world is big. Really, really big. Much bigger than our brains can comprehend.”- Akila and Patrick of The Road Forks

“So many journeys, so little time.” “That you travel to distant lands to learn something new about yourself. With every trip, I have come home with a renewed outlook on life. I need to find a way to make it last in between trips or travel more often!” – Mr. G and Ms. Gourmantic of Gourmantic

“That the planet is smaller than you’d think and yet there are an unfathomable number of different cultures and communities. I realized that there is no place on earth too far away…it just may take a plane, train, bus, tuk-tuk and walking to get there! Before I left the US for the first time I was afraid at some level of the size of all that I didn’t know – the world seemed so huge and unattainable, but now that I’ved journeyed through so many countries and cultures I respect that it’s still a really big place, but more accessible and welcoming than I could have ever thought possible.” – Shannon O Donnell of A Little Adrift

“It is a very rich, beautiful, diverse and complex world out there. Every place and every day of your travels can give you an everlasting high.”
-Sankara Subramanian of Be on the Road

“I love beautiful scenery, being lonely up in the mountains, enjoy quietness and clean air, but it is still the people I meet that gives the lasting memories.” – Andreas Sigurdsson

“The first realization is that there is a massive world out there and its a misnomer to call it a small world. Travelling has also made me realize that I can push myself and overcome fears.” – Lakshmi Sharath of A Travel Blog of an indian Backpacker

“That there is a balance in life between looking forward/planning/moving and enjoying the moment and life. To travel successfully, you have to be able to do both simultaniously.” – Anthony Zupancic of Riding Out The Economy

“Probably that I can never stop. Theres so much to do, and so little time!” – David Briggs of Dave’s Travel Pages

“As simple as it sounds, the best realization I’ve had while traveling has just been the fact that it’s so easy to travel.” – Adam Groffman of Travels of Adam

“When I sold everything and started traveling full-time, I hadn’t done much online research (in fact, I wasn’t even entirely sure what a blog was – it was 2006), so I kind of thought I was the only person doing something like this. As I continue to travel, I’m meeting more and more people who are doing just what I am – or at least different incantations of the same thing. There’s an incredible network of full-time travelers, location independent people, and expats who are incredibly supportive and friendly. Tapping into this network has been incredible, educational, and comforting.” – Nora Dunn of The Professional Hobo

“It doesn’t matter where you go, what you see or what you do, it is the people of a country that make the experience worthwhile. A country could have the most beautiful mountains, the biggest monument, the oldest ruins or most beautiful beaches, but it is the people that you meet along the way that define the experience of travel.” – Dave Bouskill of The Planet D

“That it’s harder than people think, especially when you’re doing it alone. Yes, you’re more open to other people talking to you and you make more of an effort but it also means you have time to think and come to personal realisations that are something difficult to face.” – Toni White of Reclaiming My Future

“We (humans) are all so much more alike than we are different.” – Anil Polat of Foxnomad

“Flexibility and patience are two of the most valuable skills to posses. If you can master these two skills, it is quite possible to get along with most and turn negative situations into great experiences. Complaining about a lot of things is just not worth it.” – Mark Wiens of Migrationology

“It’s easier than people think.” – Matt Kepnes of Nomadic Matt

“Just how lucky we are. When we travel, my heart seems to break on a regular basis for the struggles that other cultures and people of the world have to go through. I often ask myself, who up there chooses where people are going to be born. In Canada and many other developed countries, we are instantly born with a silver spoon in our mouths. We have the possibility for success. And we are given every opportunity to be the best that we can be. We are encouraged to have dreams and goals and we are taught that the sky is the limit.

In many countries, it is so difficult to climb out of poverty, people with disabilities have very little hope, women and children suffer and people have to work so hard. People suffer through war, famine, drought and disease. Many people suffer on a daily basis.

We have it so easy in Canada and Dave and I never take that for granted.” – Debra Corbeil of The Planet D

“Its a great and humbling feeling to happen upon a great place that has been there for a long, long time and yet you were unaware of it. Its like a discovering a part of you that was always there but somehow not visible. I felt this way most strongly in Samarkand, when I went for a walk and ended up at the Registan, which I did not realize was in Samarkand. It was lit entirely by moonlight and deserted except for a few guards, and I walked around feeling like I’d actually discovered something no one had seen. Obviously that isn’t true, but that feeling is one that makes traveling worth while.” – Lauren of Abandon the Cube

“Every culture is basically the same at heart. We all want something good for our family’s, and hate pain.” – Dave of The Longest Way Home

“The biggest realization is that the world is more complicated than it seems. Whatever you think you know about a place is probably only part of the story.” – Gary Arndt of Everything Everywhere

How about you? What’s the biggest realization that you’ve got out of travelling?