Open an expat’s Moleskine notebook, expecting the embellished prose of adventure travel writing, and you will likely be mistaken. Anyone who has ever had to leave because they wanted to stay, also known as renewing a tourist visa, is searching for something and, more often than not, the quest for discovery is more internal than external. More Kerouac than Condé Nast Traveler.
Real travel writing
The Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of internationally renowned physician and anthropologist Dr. Paul Farmer, Mountains Beyond Mountains, is a prerequisite for anyone hoping to have a meaningful impact abroad or even search the Idealist.org job boards. The book’s author, Tracy Kiddler, makes an easy-to-miss observation on page 219 that defines Farmer’s “internationality” and, conveniently enough, that of many exposed to this blog:
Embracing a continuity and interconnectedness that excluded no one seemed like another of Farmer’s peculiar liberties. It came with a lot of burdens, but it also freed him from the efforts that many people make to find refuge and distinction from their pasts, and from the mass of their fellow human beings.
The excerpt presents a highly self-analytical question to the internationally mobile population of dreamers and do-gooders: Are you running from or toward something? Only the delusional would argue that there is nothing personal about their flight. Just looking to make the world a better place by giving back to the less fortunate? That’s touching, and partially true, but why?
There is always something in there for you. Maybe it is a source for inspiration, a chance to escape the monotony of the known, a way to be unique, or an admission to a cause that is bigger than you and people like you. Everyone has something that (literally) moves them and if can you understand the driving forces behind your time abroad, the desired destination will be much easier to find.
So crack that travel journal that’s collecting dust next to your bed and compose an entry different from the last, which was probably about Latin men that can dance and your sudden questioning of Christian values. What inspired your current or desired position in life? Who and what are the external influences? What things are being pushed away? What is being pulled closer?
Take your eyes off the horizon for a moment and focus on the ride. You’ll be amazed how the road unfolds ahead of you. Safe travels.
Andrew Garberson is the Director of Communications at Transitions Foundation, a wicked-awesome organization that supports and empowers Guatemalans with disabilities. He supplements his time in Antigua, Guatemala by preaching the value of enlightened travel and chronicling the effects of the developing world on a fragile gringo immune system.
Latest posts by agarberson
- One Chapter Ends and Another Begins - December 29th, 2010
- Traveling's Divine Perspective - November 21st, 2010
- It’s Not You, It’s Me: The Mistake of Losing Focus - October 22nd, 2010
- American Injection: Being a Tourist in Your Own Country - October 1st, 2010
- Lessons in Purchasing Power and Investment - August 19th, 2010
- Runway Mix: This Time Tomorrow - August 4th, 2010
- Fling With Parasites: A Love That Could Not Last - July 21st, 2010
- Location, Location, Location - July 7th, 2010
- As Is Life - June 23rd, 2010
- Mother Nature Expresses Herself in Guatemala - June 9th, 2010
It was so great having you in the Midwest, if only for a few days!!! Come back soon!
Absolutely loved reading this; wrote on a very similar concept as a La Vida contributor myself. Thank you for sharing! And Mountains Beyond Mountains is a must-read!