Traveling...

Joe popped by to say hi in the afternoon. He is this Argentinean who I’ve met during my first week in Leeds, and had finally come back from his 2 months of travel around Europe. Had a great time listening to his traveling tales over cups of coffee. Tales of traveling without knowing where he will be going next, not planning his accommodations in advance to stay in a place as long as he wanted to, of the new people he met who bring him around their own city, of the relatives who he didn’t get to meet for a long time, of he actually met his best friend by chance in a foreign land, of his budget traveling lifestyle...Always love such exchange of information and tales sharing sessions...

He seems like a changed man now, not as playful as when I first met him. Even he himself agreed that he had changed, as he had seen and experience so much from his 2 months of travel.

Kinda agree with him to a certain extent. Some people use traveling as a form of relaxation - To take a break from their daily routine. Or as a form of escapism - To avoid a problem/issue back home. Or as a form of fun - To see the place as a tourist. Or as a form of self development - To go out of your comfort zone to experience as much as you can, to interact with people you least expected you will and to see who you really are. No matter what your motivation for traveling is, you will always return back home as a changed man to a certain extent. But the thing is how long will the “new” you last, when you are back to your own comfort zone again? That’s a story for another day ya...

Anyway, went to the Library with Gerado and Anna to meet Ben for a drink at night. Ben is from Bath, and got to know Gerado when he was doing some bio-chemistry modules in Valencia. (Despite only attending lessons for the first two weeks…haha). I was surprise that despite staying in Spain for only one year, he is very fluent in Spanish. He picked up the language from the bar which he was working in in Spain. Oh man, I should really pick up a third language for communication sake...

Also, found out from him that 21st June will be a good day to visit Stonehenge as there will be a traditional Summer Solstice celebration there, to celebrate the arrival of the longest day of the year. Seems kinda cool ya...At least it’s something worth thinking about. Life in Leeds during Easter is kinda boring anyway...

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The real voyage of discovery lies not in seeing new landscapes...
but in having new eyes...