On the Post Travel Blues- Too Many Stones Unturned.

Though I have always suspected it, the simple truth is that travel is wonderful. Its an education, a cultural eye opening, a social crossroads of all creeds and codes and a yard stick by which to measure yourself and your country. It is something everyone should do, to gain empathy or understanding, enjoy the unavailable or unobtainable, hear a rich soup of experiences and stories and have some of your own to tell someday.
Over the course of 2 months I graced 9 countries and loved each of them on their own merits. Each of them taught me something about myself and all of them taught me that, while we are all different, we are all human and the human experience is something we can all share. I met some of the most amazing people, each a fantastic example of their homelands and their history and saw some of the best of what humans can do. You come back different.
What nobody tells you, or what you won’t listen to, is that coming home is a sad affair. On leaving I was nervous and apprehensive on leaving the comfort zone I had carved out for myself. Almost before getting on the plane I was anxious to return. The unknown is often the scary and for my it certainly was, but when I overcame that fear I found a world of new experiences and new friends that I wouldn’t have found otherwise.
And once I had found it, I was hooked. It was a comfort zone as well, but a comfort zone that I wanted to explore and soak up. To bond so quickly with so many of the worlds finest young people and then have it ripped from under you like a magic carpet is like a cruel joke. You yearn to be back amongst that throng of culture and excitement, to learn more about yourself and the world- but you can’t.
There is nothing you can do bar save for another trip, but in the meantime it feels like the world is going on without you. You dream of it, with a symphony of language coming from all directions, all the places you didn’t see, the people who were out there that you didn’t meet, and wake up to find yourself away, back in your usual situation. Or maybe that’s just me.
It was certainly worth going, I wouldn’t trade my brief window abroad for anything I have but each day I think of what I have left behind; all the stories exchanged, the nights out, the lunches and long late night conversations delving into someone’s deepest soul.
Sure, it is good to see all the familiar faces and they have helped me through this much of my life- but you can’t help feel that you left something really good behind.

T.