Just got through reading Thomas Kohnstamm's Do Travel Writers go to Hell? A pretty interesting read that talks about the little known perils (and pearls) that are involved in travel writing for the Lonely Planet. I found one excerpt to be especially relevant to my time out here in Ulsan, as well as to some of the trips I’ve made this year. Here:
When a human becomes unbound from his or her place, it also affects the perception of time. The senses are inundated with new sights, smells, and sounds. The flow of new, often-shocking details make us more like wide-eyed children than jaded adults. There is more concentration, recognition, and appreciation given to details throughout the day. With no tether to a place and no base of reference, relationships and plans become hyperaccelerated. New best friends are made and then never seen again. Romances develop with the bottle-rocket trajectory of the Challenger. For my generation, the first that has always had a computer at home and that considered video games a normal childhood pastime, life on the road is one of the few things that actually overwhelm our tolerance for stimuli and shock us into the here and now.
Every aspect of that quote is beyond relevant. Traveling morphs our time, the essence of being, and shifts our surroundings. I think we all want or need the settlement of one place...I'm not ready for it yet, but sure want to be.
ReplyDelete