Jul 30
The Art of Reinvention, Anonymity, and Self-Discovery in Travel
My mind finally smells summer.
I’ve been away from Indiana for the past two summers and away from Wabash during the summertime since I moved away ten years ago. Having spent the majority of my childhood outside, I’ve been unknowingly pining for the familiar olfactory triggers, which I still can’t define well: aromatic greens of unknown classification, warming as though being slowly cooked, lawn mower engine fuel, chlorine and very cold water, heat radiating from the cement below my bicycle tires, sometimes fresh asphalt but most often cracked sidewalks and gravel-sprinkled roads.
Though some of these seem like multi-sensory experiences – not to mention fairly common around the world – I’m really only talking about my nose. I can smell all those things. The same summer climate can be found on about 60% of the Earth’s land mass at some point in the year, but it is only in this town that the sun seems to electrify the atoms and molecules in such a way – for me.
Bias steals my reason when I believe this town could actually be that much different than the rest of the world. Everyone most likely has a sweet spot for their birthplaces, maybe less sweet than bitter for some, and memories are fantastically linked to senses and, in my case, inspiration. Continue reading →
Jul 28
As You Like (To See) It, A Traveler’s Melancholy
Though relatively young, and therefore jovial, and the product of a content childhood packed with humor, I’ve grown into someone that is constantly asked:
Are you unhappy?
Bawling at the table in my Italian family’s home, seeming a mystery to the black and white of intercontinental correspondence, being irrationally testy at home, where the bubble is supposed to pet and nurture positivity; evidence seems to side with either insanity or discontentment. Why do I move, and therefore search, without landing on what will actually placate my soul? Am I attempting to obtain something intentional that is completely out of reach? Does no destination stop the longing to be somewhere else? Continue reading →
Jul 25
Consume & Update: Balance, Success, and Last Week
Today’s documentation of the travel and blogging world is a little slim but can plunge you into a lotta deep thought.
The Four Burners and Success
Balance your life...or else
Who really has a balanced life? I’d like to think that overall the way I conduct myself on a year-long basis levels out between travel and home, physicality and leisure, hermitville and social junction. As I’ve stated before, the concept of “live every day like it’s your last” is, in my opinion, a bunch of hullabaloo. How are we supposed to make today a most brilliant day while also strive for completeness in all aspects of our life? That’s a whole lotta pressure for one day. I’d have to spend all day today planning for an amazing tomorrow, which would defeat the point, right?
I chew on this thought today because Chris Guilleabeau brought up an interesting idea mused by David Sedaris:
One burner represents your family, one is your friends, the third is your health, and the fourth is your work. -David Sedaris
The gist is that in order to be successful you have to cut off one of your burners. And in order to be really successful you have to cut off two.
Especially in a country where we like to think we can “have it all” and also one where we define success as an outward appearance of money, power, and respect, this idea seems to be true for most Americans; not sure about the rest of the world, but I assume the same goes for most of them as well. We don’t want to read this quote and consider its validity, because that means accepting imbalance and relative failure at one facet of our lives, of which we’d normally be prideful. Continue reading →
Jul 24
Q&A: Easing Parental Worries about Travel
Q&A is a series that uses questions posed by readers and commentators to address topics of travel, alternative lifestyle design, blogging, and other interests. You can expect to see this series one or two Saturdays a month right here on Nomadderwhere.com. To send in your questions, contact me!
This summer I was planning on doing a study abroad program, and now I’m waiting to hear back for responses.
I love how you encourage going somewhere if that’s of utmost desire. I would die to do something like that, but how do parental worries factor into that?
Not to intrude, but do you happen to have lax parents who are chill with that? -Natalia Continue reading →
Jul 22
Jobs for World Travelers: A Life at Sea
This post was written on my October 2009 cruise of the Mexican Riviera.
Lying on my stomach, covered in towels, face pushed through a terry cloth doughnut, I asked the woman rubbing hot stones on my calves what it’s like to work on a cruise ship. After swapping stories from the high seas and travels on land, I decided a job on a cruise liner wouldn’t be half bad, and she affirmed I was made for it.
One of the things I like most about being aboard a water vessel is the crew and the overall sense that they love the world and its people. Why else subject yourself to constant movement and Titanic-like nightmares? Because you can’t get enough of a nomadic existence.
Nomadderwhere is about provoking the thoughts of its readers, compelling them to explore the world, and be open to the pull of their own passions. Since I don’t enjoy hearing about wanderlusters who can’t afford to travel but pine to see the world, I like to present information that gives them to ticket to satiate their global desires. Continue reading →
Jul 19
Video of the Week: The Challenge Edition (Webcam)
Traveling creates a lifestyle of constant challenges, which then facilitate self-discovery and, in turn, happiness. This week, I report from my post alone in northern Indiana to ask you: how would you challenge yourself with a home experiment that would simulate the effects of travel?
Notes from this week’s Video of the Week:
- I continue to get back to the basics by concentrating on a few key things: cooking, physical activity, and expression.
- Challenge for you: What would your month-long self-discovery experiment be?
Jul 18
Consume & Update: Museum Roommate and Deep Thoughts
This week’s outreach into the world of travel may pack a wallop for some of you eager to do something amazing.
$10,000 to be a Museum Live-in
Live in the Museum of Science and Industry for one month, learn something, write about it, and receive $10,000 for your efforts. This is not a shabby gig.
The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago has launched a competition for tech-savvy, learn-happy extroverts that seems like the perfect position for a world traveler. We’re interested in the world around us, in need of money, and often well-versed in online media and marketing (a.k.a the travel blogging type).
This seems to be yet another marketing campaign that doubles as a fantastic pooling of like-minded, lifelong learners. To live in the museum of science and have your mind revolve around discovery for four whole weeks would be a treat for anyone curious about their surroundings on this planet. Of course, the lucky individual isn’t allowed to work elsewhere during that time period, nor are they given total freedom to their normal social lives, but this is an experiment in itself, an opportunity to be one with the universe and grow an ever deeper appreciation for how all things work. Continue reading →
