Another reason to love Traveling

I recently opened up my inbox to find this:

“Hi Matt, I see you’re planning a trip to England in July – if you like to come west to Bristol, do let me know – I’d be happy to host you for a couple of days, show you Bristol & point you in the right direction for the rest of the West Country.”

This is another reason why I love traveling. The strangers who are willing to open up their world, and their homes, to you. As I recently wrote on Matador, travel is not only about the places you go but the people you meet along the way. Since starting this blog in March, I’ve met fascinating people. I’ve been wandering the blogosphere as much as I’ve been wandering the world and the people have been great. I’ve gotten tips on web design, writing, blogging, and site promotion, and have begun to publish some work.

Importantly, thought, I’ve meet people like the author of this e-mail. People who have no idea who I am but are willing to show me around or put me up in their corner of the globe. So as much as I travel for the places, and their locals, I travel for the travelers.

There’s a spirit about them. They are open, they are friendly, they are accepting. They understand you and your vagabond lifestyle more than your office co-workers because they have been there. They know the highs, the lows, the joy, and the pain. They’ll jump on a plane with you to fly to Honduras when you need someone to go with and they’ll give you names of people in Auckland who will show you around. That’s way travel blogs have devout reader communities, sites like Matador are flourishing, and Couchsurfing is booming. Travelers are all about the people.

Travelers want to meet people- any people. They aren’t afraid of strangers. In fact, the fact you’re a stranger makes it better. I’ve met two fellow Boston vagabond and, despite only knowing them via e-mail, we’ll be heading out to dinner next week. Dinner with complete strangers. Sounds like an amazing time.

But why is this so? Because in order to go out into the world, you need to be open minded. It’s the only way to get through the day. In order to make new friends, you need to be hyperactively happy and friendly. OK with finding a roommate on a bus or finding your best friend in a hostel. You look for the better angels of our nature. When I was on bus in Vietnam, I chatted with two Brits for minutes then ended up biking the Mekong Delta with them. Now, I’ll go visit them in England next month. All because I said “hello” when I sat down in my guesthouse.

One of the hardest adjustments I’ve had back home was the lack of openness in other people. I can see the look on people’s faces – “why is he so friendly? what’s his ulterior motive?” Everyone is taken back by the fact that when I ask “How are you?” I really want more than just “fine,” I want your life story. When I go out at night and struck up random conversations, people look for my ulterior motive and are sometimes shocked when I have none. Yet those conversations never last long as people here seem to be on their guard. Always protecting themselves from a make believe enemy.

But on the road, once you’ve made friends, your bonds never seem to break. Facebook, Myspace, and e-mail let you stay in touch with people like never before. So despite not having seen some people in two years and having only meet them for a day, they are eagerly awaiting my arrival in Europe to pick up where we left off. Because that’s, just who we are. We’re travelers. We want to experience the world and everyone in it.

So travel for the places. Travel for the locals. But don’t forget to travel for the travelers. You’ll rarely find a more opening and welcoming group of people.

Related Posts

• Is This Really Travel?
• Hostel Etiquette
• Everyone Says I’m Running Away
• All Travelers are Created Equal
• Changing Your Travel Style