As many of you know, I'll soon be leaving my job in San Francisco and am set to travel the world. Very few people have asked why, because why would you ask? That sounds awesome of course. For the few who have asked me why, I merely responded "gut feeling", and it's usually a good enough response. However, not everyone wants to travel the world, and not everybody does even when they had the chance. So I had to ask myself why I felt so motivated to do it.
For me, it's about learning what the world about me is all about. I may have hinted at this before, but I love learning how people around the world live, and the culture surrounding those people. When I went to Italy in high school, it was because when my parents asked me where I wanted to go, I specifically said Venice. Not Rome, Milan, Pisa, etc, although they are all nice. The idea of a city being built over water was just so different, that I had to see it. Boat-buses, boat-cranes, no cars in the actual city. That's so far detached from suburban New Jersey.
With that trip, I found a huge difference between my parents' traveling goals and my own. If I'm in a place like the Vatican, then yeah sure I'll go to a museum. But if I were to go to London... I'd be better off having a pint at a pub older than my country. I couldn't care less about King Bob XXIV. But the specific nuances which helped shape a society to the way it is now, that is a lot more interesting. Did you know the 5 yen coin has a hole in it because merchants back in the day would carry them with a string? Or the history of the letter J, and why it's so less consistent between languages versus the letter K?
Of course, I understand the trip isn't going to be as glorified as I make it in my head. I speak barely enough Japanese to get around, and my German and Spanish are pretty bare basic. This, along with my naturally introverted nature, will make it challenging to meet people in countries where I don't already know people, which may limit what I learn, see, and experience. Bit of a bummer, but not the end of the world, I'm sure. Challenge is a natural part of life.
One only has so much time on this earth before it's all gone, and even less time to do what you want to do (given you're in a country with relative freedom). I worked hard to build a company's product from scratch for the last 2 years, and it's about time I get out and discover what's out there in the world.
For me, it's about learning what the world about me is all about. I may have hinted at this before, but I love learning how people around the world live, and the culture surrounding those people. When I went to Italy in high school, it was because when my parents asked me where I wanted to go, I specifically said Venice. Not Rome, Milan, Pisa, etc, although they are all nice. The idea of a city being built over water was just so different, that I had to see it. Boat-buses, boat-cranes, no cars in the actual city. That's so far detached from suburban New Jersey.
With that trip, I found a huge difference between my parents' traveling goals and my own. If I'm in a place like the Vatican, then yeah sure I'll go to a museum. But if I were to go to London... I'd be better off having a pint at a pub older than my country. I couldn't care less about King Bob XXIV. But the specific nuances which helped shape a society to the way it is now, that is a lot more interesting. Did you know the 5 yen coin has a hole in it because merchants back in the day would carry them with a string? Or the history of the letter J, and why it's so less consistent between languages versus the letter K?
Of course, I understand the trip isn't going to be as glorified as I make it in my head. I speak barely enough Japanese to get around, and my German and Spanish are pretty bare basic. This, along with my naturally introverted nature, will make it challenging to meet people in countries where I don't already know people, which may limit what I learn, see, and experience. Bit of a bummer, but not the end of the world, I'm sure. Challenge is a natural part of life.
One only has so much time on this earth before it's all gone, and even less time to do what you want to do (given you're in a country with relative freedom). I worked hard to build a company's product from scratch for the last 2 years, and it's about time I get out and discover what's out there in the world.
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