“Travel teaches us about home, while teaching us about the world.” Thomas Swick
Throughout our Semester at Sea (SAS) voyage, we used Thomas Swick’s The Joys of Travel as a reflection tool. We wrote about the first joy, Anticipation, in one of our first posts. Our Keeping it Real post emphasized that, while routine is real, so is another joy of travel, i.e., break from routine. We hope sharing our varied modes of transport conveyed (Wink!) the joy of movement: Ship, boat, plane, train, bus, car, jeep, truck, rickshaw, taxi, tuk-tuk, and tootsies, oh my! And, we hope all our posts communicated the joys of novelty, discovery, and emotional connection.
Appreciating Home
“The sweetness of return is felt even by the traveler who is reluctant to leave” (Swick, p. 99)
Our SAS journey would not be complete, without reflecting on Swick’s final joy of travel: Heightened appreciation of home. When preparing for re-entry, SAS members were encouraged to consider the question: What do you most look forward to about returning home? What do you not look forward to? Honestly, we could identify so many things we looked forward to about returning home. And, the only thing we did not look forward to was the Spring yardwork that awaited. 😊
We relish and savor all the joys of travel! An (usually) unspoken assumption when one loves to travel is that we do not love home. And, indeed, that assumption is sometimes accurate; we meet people on our trips who travel to “escape” home. We don’t travel to escape—but to expand. We love our global village AND our Casa de Paz home!
We found our temporary ship-home’s comparatively tight space of our living quarters, with limited accoutrements, to be adequate. And, most of the time, we appreciated the experience of “enough”—except for that bed! And, we felt beyond fortunate to have the opportunities to explore and experience the vast world! Likewise, most of the time, we appreciated the opportunities for built-in community. Want to join someone for a meal: Literally hundreds of us shared the dining commons. Want something to do, see, experience: We had an ocean (wink!) of programming, people, possibilities!
At the same time, we missed our “tried and true blue” loved ones back home! We missed our familiar routine and surroundings. When we are home, we are so grateful for our “village.” And, we deeply appreciate the cozy, serene and—we hope—inviting ambience of our home. And, indeed, absence makes the heart grow fonder. We confess, we dreamt of our Casa de Paz home.
Yes! Returning home to dreams come true: Savoring freshly brewed morning coffee, in a favorite hefty mug, in utter silence; cooking meals and dining on our deck; having dear ones stay in our (quiet) guest quarters; working in a spacious home-office, with reliable internet (Woo! Hoo!).
This statement encapsulates it: “You arrive…and find [home] more beautiful than…the dream you had of it…Here are your pictures, your books, [your familiar life]…You reunite with the shower. Finally, you climb into bed—your bed—and the feeling of security is saturated with thankfulness.” (Swick, p. 99)
Being Part of the Global Village
“The farther you get from home—not just geographically, but emotionally—the clearer you see it.” (Swick, p. 89)
When we travel, we see more clearly the negatives about our home culture (U.S.). Swick mentions some of these: Inadequate public transport, fast food, rampant consumerism, noisy and loud atmospheres. We realize that, compared to many countries, the U.S. is going backwards in many social indicators, e.g., environmental protections, health care, women’s rights. And, we recommit ourselves to curtailing those negatives when we return home.
At the same time, we acknowledge the advantages our (privileged) U.S. home brings us—in terms of freedoms, choices, resources, and opportunities. Notably, Swick points out that many of us travel to experience the “foreign”—and realize that, actually, the U.S. culture (especially urban settings) is more diverse than most of the world. And, we recommit ourselves to protecting and celebrating those positives, as we return home.
These realizations about travel and home remind us that we are one global village. We recommit to a lifestyle that honors that interconnectedness.
Traveling, as a Lifestyle
“Travel, ideally, is both learning and teaching,” (Swick, p. 90)
Returning home, we reflect on how much we are influenced by our experiences and surroundings. We are challenged and changed by travel. We are comforted and rejuvenated by home. After our SAS journey, we are even more committed to making these two aspects complementary. Really, we want to make travel a lifestyle.
As we mentioned in our Keeping it Real blog, we incorporate elements of travel into our home through the artwork we find on our travels. We incorporate travel into our daily routines through the wine we drink and foods we prepare. Whenever we place the tablecloth we purchased in Fez, Morocco, we’ll feel more Fez-tive! (See what we did there!) The tablecloth complements the Peruvian dishes we got many years ago in Urumbamba, Peru for Larry’s birthday Plato Fiesta (Dish Party)!
Through media (social, news, movies and television, etc.), we travel through our interconnected world. And, of course! “…Books let you travel without moving your feet.” (Jhumpa Lahiri)
Finally and first, we want to have a travel-lifestyle through sharing our home with other travelers. So, know that at Casa de Paz, mi casa es su casa! Come visit! We will travel together through our shared stories, travel dreams, and interconnected journey.
