20 February 2006

A motto to live by (#2)

Not sure if this post worked the first time so I'm posting it again:

I've been watching a new channel lately...I guess we've always had it but I sort of kept passing it over....Discovery: Travel and Living. It has design shows, cooking shows, makeover shows, travel shows etc... Anyways, I was watching the commercials which I usually ignore cuz they're are most often in Chinese but there is one that I came across tonight that really spoke to me. It's an add for a travel show and the guy says, "Be a traveler not a tourist". I love that! I'm not sure if you get the difference but there is a huge difference. A tourist goes to see something, takes some pictures, stays at a nice hotel, buys a trinket or two and goes home to the safe and comfortable. A traveler walks off the beaten track, gets to know some locals, stays for a while, learns some of the language and allows some of the new culture to sink in and change their own world view. It's a huge difference that some people don't see. I like to consider myself a traveler most of the time and because of that my world view is always changing and evolving. It keeps me on my toes and makes me look for more opportunities to explore this vast world and learn from its people. I've also been the tourist a few times and just enjoyed taking a break and relaxing somewhere other than "home" but when I have the chance a traveler I will always be...Think about this motto next time you encounter a new place or a new culture and try your best to dig in.

1 comment:

Nevada said...

Good call! I like that philosophy.

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