Why the Old Travel Model is Overrated (or: A Conversation with Myself)

“How long have you been in Cordoba?”
“About a month.”
“A month? What the hell have you been doing here?”

Nisha fainting at Baluch Hostel

It’s a valid question, and I get it a lot from the people traveling through Cordoba. Still, the answer is long and detailed, and I don’t think I could do it justice in a 30-second explanation.

“Don’t you want to see Bariloche? Rosario? Mendoza? Patagonia or Tierra de Fuego?” Of course I do, but pending the melting of the polar ice caps, I’m quite certain those places will still be there when I come back. For now, that’s not what this trip was about. I’m trying to find what parts of my life are most important to me. I’m trying to distinguish between the distractions and the meaningful pursuits.

“Well, sure could have saved yourself some money and done that at home!”

Could I? Could you? At home, in the “real world,” there are too many distractions keeping you from asking these questions. Work, school, relationships. There’s an information overload – you’re constantly getting updated on the all bullshit that doesn’t have anything to do with living your life at that moment. The media is always there to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do, eat, drink, or smoke. And you’re so close to it all, there’s no way to tune it out to have a second to yourself. To get some perspective, you need to take a step back. I’m talking about a big step. Like, to another continent.

me at Iguazu Falls

“Fine, then what exactly did you do with your time in Cordoba?”

I lived with Argentineans. I got a real sense of what life is like for the middle class. I saw how they still make time for the common pleasures, even when life is hard. I did some hostel living as well, and found how little you need to live life comfortably. I met people from all over the world, and I got a bit sick of hearing: “No offensive, but America…” I took Spanish lessons. I joined a gym, found local haunts for everyday living.

the best empanada shop in the world

me and the Visitin family

When you have the freedom to do anything or nothing, everyday is an adventure. In the absence of duty or responsibility, you can fill the void in thousands of different ways. Sometimes it means staying up late, talking for hours over shared beers. Other times, you’re doing drug runs to the coke dealer next door. Still other times, you’re going to bed early, even when everyone’s pushing you to go out, because you’re just too tired.

How do you fill the void? If you had all the time in the world, free from the limits of money, work, school, what would you do? You could fill it with a series of meaningless, inebriated nights. Or, you can find things that challenge you: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In the hours spent in the company of great people, spent completely outside of my comfort zone, and spent utterly alone, I found all these things. They have made me a different person because of it – I hesitate to use the word “better,” because who to say what’s better or worse?

I think there’s a time and a place in all our lives to adopt the other travel methodology; when exactly what you need is to blitzkrieg a country (or an entire continent) and take in as much as you can, as fast as you can. I know people who loved this kind of journey. I also know people whose trips consist of sleeping until 4 p.m., vegging out for a couple hours, eating dinner, then going out at one in the morning, and partying until 9 a.m. Do this for a weekend or two, then move onto the next city. Lather, rinse, and repeat. And these are all people who seem to love their travels and their lifestyle, which is sweet. They seemed to have found what makes them happy.

Martina and me in Alta Gracia

I don’t think this lifestyle fits me right now. I don’t think a travel methodology where I’m constantly moving around could give me the same satisfaction as this one.

“Looking back on it, are there regrets? Are there things you wish you did differently?”

Obviously there things I could have differently, but I don’t know if I can call them regrets. I could have experienced more of the night life, but this wasn’t that important to me. If anything, I learned I need someone to push me to get out there into that arena, a worthwhile lesson.

I could have told everyone I was from China like I originally planned. I could have said I didn’t speak English, which would have made my Spanish exponentially better. But it’d be difficult to communicate exactly how amazing of a person I am in castellano. I wouldn’t have built the same quality of relationship with people solely speaking Spanish, and there’s the trade-off.

At the end of the day, there’s no better or worse, no right or wrong. There’s what you do, and what you don’t do.

Edit: 11.27.08 – Just realized I subconsciously borrowed this quote from the movie Unfaithful with Richard Gere and Diane Lane. Which is fine by me – usually the case for any flicks with Diane Lane in it.