Ah, another day down. I have a place to sleep, something to eat, and dry (semi-clean) clothes—success. Yet another night of, “Hey, what’s your name? Where are you from? Do you like New Zealand?”
Gee, sometimes I wish someone would ask me something different. I love people, and I came travelling to meet new people, but I’m just always getting the same questions and the same answers. It’s kinda like playing a game—people just want to suss you out to see if you have anything interesting to say or perhaps might party with them later. It’s not like they actually care.
I feel like most people I meet just want to have fun in the same way they did in their home country, but in different places! Tick the boxes, dot the map, take the pictures, buy the t-shirt. Then go home and get on with normal life, reliving the highs on Facebook for the next ten years.
I left home seeking something. I’m still not sure what. I’ve seen so many diverse cultures and met people from all over the world. But really, aren’t we all just doing the same thing in a different way? Whether I’m eating fried rice in Cambodia, quesadillas in Mexico, or pizza in Italy, either way I’m just eating. So much variety but still just fulfilling a basic human need! Same product, just different packaging.
How many more ways can I do the same things?! There’s only so many scenic views, so many substances, so many positions a person can try in X, Y, and Z place before they begin to ask the questions: What does it all mean? What’s the point to it all? Is there something more than this?
I just Skyped my mum back home and she told me not to waste my holiday thinking so much, just to go out and have fun. What, and wake up tomorrow morning still without answers and so hung-over I don’t remember the questions?
She doesn’t get it. It’s easier to just keep going through the motions when you’re at home, but when you’re travelling, all the safety nets and granted certainties are gone.
I just feel so alone. I mean, I’m never actually on my own, I think the closest I’ve been to it in the last six months is a six-bed dorm! But to find someone who thinks about this stuff too, and can actually answer these questions. Who knows, maybe someone else here is thinking the same thing, but how would anyone know when everyone is either having fun or pretending they’re having fun?
People keep telling me: “This is the best time of your life”, “You’ve gotta do it while you’re young and free,” “I’m so jealous,” etc. So if this is it, just a Rubik’s cube of different ways to eat, sleep, party, and exercise, then what happens next?
Maybe I am thinking too much.
I think it’s time for a cuppa.
