Meet the Nomads – A Year of Learning 2013 Part 1

Another year has already passed, and as part of my yearly ritual, I’d like to share with you the learning and realization that our Meet the Nomads participants had in their travels.

We asked our fellow nomads, What’s the biggest realization that you’ve got out of travelling? And here’re their responses.

Dave of A Couple Travelers: “Sadly, the biggest realization I’ve had so far is simply how touristy it feels. It’s difficult to escape being a tourist in a new city. You can call yourself a traveler, a backpacker, etc, but for me, it still feels like I’m carrying around a fanny pack and a Lonely Planet Guide. We’ve definitely had some very genuine experiences but they are extremely difficult to find, in my opinion.”

Shivya Nath of The Shooting Star: “That travel is as much about the people we meet as it is about the places we see.”

Cole and Adela of Four Jandals: “That there is just too much of the world to see! Every time we go somewhere new or talk to someone, we discover another place we need to add to our never ending list.”

Matthew Karsten of Expert Vagabond: “Traveling has taught me that there is a lot I still don’t know about the world.”

Kenin and Lauren Bassart of The Constant Rambler: “We don’t ever want to be settled in one place on the earth. The world is big and full of wonders and we want to see them all.”

Jeremy Branham of Budget Travel Adventures: “Travel isn’t about the destination. It’s about the journey. The best travel memories are those experiences with people. Destinations are an opportunity to connect with places and cultures. Seeing the world is nowhere near as important as being changed by it.”

Stefan of Redcat Travel: “That foreign countries are never the way other people told me they would be like. It’s great to always figure out how it feels like at one place by yourself. I hope with my blog I can give other people incentives to do so as well.”

Jade Johnston of Our Oyster: “I don’t know if I have had any many epiphanies while travelling, but I think the one thing I have really developed from travel is my problem solving skills. When you travel, even the best laid plans can get blown to pieces and you need to be able to react in such a way to achieve a positive outcome while not going a little bit insane. Problem solving skills and flexibility are probably the biggest things that I have learned from travel.”

Stephen Bugno of Bohemian Traveler: “I think the biggest realization I’ve gotten out of traveling is that there is more good than evil out in the world. If you sit at home and watch the evening news every night you just here about all the doom and gloom out there. There are so many amazing things out there to experiences and so many remarkable people to meet. I think traveling has also taught me about hospitality, graciousness, and humility.”

Justin Carmack of True Nomads: “I guess the biggest thing I’ve realized is that, contrary to the typical American belief, travel can be a lifestyle and not just a once-a-year vacation. Once I figured that out, I started figuring out HOW to do it. then there was no stopping me.”

Emma Spires of Backpacking Spirit: “How not travelling really is like only reading one page of a book – the world is so vast that by not seeing it you will have such a narrow depiction of life.”

Ian Yacobucci of Borderless Travels: “I think for me the biggest realization I’ve got out of traveling is that people and places are more similar than we think. I’ve also learned the importance of family and how in this world, if you’re lucky enough to be part of one, its the most important thing in life. To be honest, people can travel anywhere in the world if they really want to but love, family, and friends are special things that you can’t fly to or buy. No matter where I’ve been I always seem find that the happiest people are the ones who are part of a community.”

Valerie Dawson of This Way to Paradise: “That no matter how long you travel, you will never discover everything.”

Alana Morgan of The Paper Planes Blog: “There are a million different ways to do things. What you think, what you do, where you live, what you hold important to you, what you realize you can live without…there’s no right or wrong way to do things.”

Sabrina Iovino of Just One Way Ticket: “That you don’t need many things in life to be happy. If you have nothing, you have nothing to carry and even better, you have nothing to lose.”

Ian Ord of Where Sidewalks End: “Well, I just realized that swimming is part of all my best travel experiences! haha. I’d have to say that the more you travel and learn about yourself, the more you realize you’re capable of accomplishing. Now I’m not claiming that I’ve accomplished everything I want to in life – far from it in fact – but I have learned that I CAN accomplish ANYTHING. Heck, a man just jumped from outer space to the earth and survived!!! You just want to learn a language already spoken by millions of people. I’m pretty sure you’re capable of it!”

John and Craig of Flashpack at Forty: “It’s that you don’t need a small fortune to travel on a long-term basis. We travel on a limited budget (albeit more than your average backpacker) but think this is something most people can achieve if they have a real desire to travel.

I think the biggest lesson travel has taught us is that material possessions really do count for very little, and certainly don’t maketh the man. We spent decades working hard and dedicating our lives to building successful careers. Some of the kindest, funniest and most genuine people we’ve met on our journey have had little in monetary wealth but it doesn’t stop them from sharing what they have.

Of course we always knew this, but when you’re busy working hard, and not actually seeing how other people live and different cultures work, you do sometimes forget.”

Allan Wilson of Live Less Ordinary: “Recently my Thai friend ordained as a temporary monk in rural Thailand near the Cambodian border. One day we were feasting on pizza and Hoegaarden in Bangkok the next he appears as a picture from National Geographic. Very surreal. The experience showed me how ordinary people can be extraordinary and vice versa.”

Adam Pervez of Happiness Plunge: “Very few things are held in common among the far corners of the earth. Thus far, the only thing I’ve seen in common across all countries, cultures, and ways of life is love.”

Jonny Blair of Don’t Stop Living: “That I can go anywhere, work anywhere and live anywhere. I have no restrictions. I hate being tied down to a permanent job or a flat. It seems crazy that anyone could work for the same company and live in the same flat their whole life. There’s a big world out there and I want to see it.”

Michael and Nicole of Suitcase Stories: “That the world if full of beautiful places and beautiful people! Everywhere we go we encounter beauty on so many levels. I don’t think people realize this until they are out in the world. It’s also a lot safer than people think! After 13 months of non stop travel we have not once felt unsafe, and that includes in South and Central America! The media tend to blow things our of proportion, its really no where near as bad as people think.”

Charles Rahm of Don’t Worry Just Travel: “As a long term traveler you start realizing, how much people stop themselves from doing things, because they’re scared and afraid to do new things. If you travel, you dive into other societies and realize that they have different approaches to many things. That leads you to realize that nothing is certain. Everything can be handled in many ways. And once you realize, that the things you learned at your home are not necessarily the truth but just a point of view, you then start to question many things. That is the moment, when you – in my opinion – truly become a real traveler and a free and open minded person.”

Tammy Lowe of Tammy and Chris on the Move: “Having travelled through a lot of developing countries I have realized that I am lucky to have been bought up in a country with freedom, free education, democracy and social care. A lot of people are not that lucky, so travelling made me appreciate the things I have got.”

Justin Egli of Ikimasho: “Planet Earth is awesome.”

Adam Finan of Tropical Nomad: “That the world is a beautiful place, full of good people. Most of whom are much happier with a lot less than most people have.”

Erin and Simon of Never Ending Voyage: “That generally people are kind and generous. We’ve had strangers help us out in many situations all around the world and our travels would be much more difficult without their help.”

Check out Meet the Nomads – A Year of Learning 2013 Part 2.

If you want to see the archived “Meet the Nomads – A Year of Learning”, check out the list below:

Meet the Nomads – A Year of Learning 2010 Part 1
Meet the Nomads – A Year of Learning 2010 Part 2
Meet the Nomads – A Year of Learning 2011 Part 1
Meet the Nomads – A Year of Learning 2011 Part 2
Meet the Nomads – A Year of Learning 2012 Part 1
Meet the Nomads – A Year of Learning 2012 Part 2

Next: Meet the Nomads – A Year of Learning Part 2 Previously: Gigi Griffis For more interviews with travel bloggers, check out the archives of Meet the Nomads.