Whenever you get back from an extended trip abroad, you hear the question over and over from everyone.
What’s it like to be back?
Since I just got back from 5 months abroad a week ago, I’ve gotten the question quite a few times from friends and family.
Honestly, I don’t even know how to begin to answer it. How do I summarize 5 months in a couple minutes? Where to even start? All sorts of things race through my mind.
How do you answer it?
There’s been lots of good travel content surfacing in my Google Reader recently, so here are a few posts that might wet your whistle:
24 hours since landing in San Francisco after spending the previous 5 months in Southeast Asia, here are a few thoughts I wanted to share:
What kind of life do you want to lead? And where do you want to live it?
The life I’ve chosen over the past few years is a nomadic one — meaning constantly on the move to new places and experiencing new cultures and people. But, though I wouldn’t trade it for the world, such a life is not always as rosy as people think.
Here are some of the sacrifices you’ll need to make:
Still want to live the nomadic lifestyle? If yes – do it. You just need to set your mind to it, make the sacrifices to save money, pack your backpack, and get on the plane.
I’ll leave you with this:
I can’t stress enough the importance of social objects — ie getting others to relate to you on some level beyond your professional work.
And Matt Kepnes just did that with this photo in his most recent post.
What’s the social object you might ask?
The ONE T-shirt he’s wearing.
You see, my friend Jerry Ostradicky and I started the ONE Seattle chapter back in 2007 (can’t remember the exact date) and remained involved for several years. I’ve moved on to other philanthropic interests (but glad to see the Seattle scene is still active), but ONE will always trigger memories of my time advocating for ONE.org.
Thanks to a single photo, whenever we do talk, ONE.org is a common interest that Matt and I share that will get us beyond “travel blogging” (which I’m sure he’s tired of talking about anyway).
How do you intersperse social objects into your writing?
Simple. Be personal and share yourself.
I’ve now gotten my hair cut somewhere other than Thailand in Southeast Asia (see my post on getting a haircut in Chiang Mai) — this time in Cebu in the Philippines.
I went to the Salon De Rose at the Ayala Center. The cost of a basic men’s haircut in Cebu? A quick buzz cut with a #4 on top and #2 on the sides blended ran me 100 Pesos — 150 if you include the 50 peso tip I left (prior to even knowing the final price of the bill).
Regarding the quality? I have to admit, it might be the best buzz cut I’ve ever received — complete with meticulous attention to detail and a head massage.
A haircut for less than $3 US dollars? I’m a fan. In the US, this would have cost no less than $10.
It’s not easy to write a post like this one talking about sex tourism in Thailand. But the fact that Matt has the guts to write the post is the exact reason Matt succeeds and most fail at travel blogging. He puts a little bit of himself out there, day in and day out.
So, I urge you — go find your voice and yourself – and put it online.
Now that I’ve left Chiang Mai and moved on to the Philippines, I thought I’d list a few things I miss about the wonderful city of Chiang Mai: