the best thing about travel, and really life in general, are the people you meet along the way. in these past 2 ½ months, without a doubt, i’ve met some of the greatest and most interesting people on the planet. as a sociologist, as you may have guessed, i’m always observing. and it seems a lot of backpackers have a fair amount in common: a lot of us are the first born; none of us are trustifarians (trust fund hippie kids); in some way or another, many have been “successful” by societal standards; some have planned their extended trip for years, others of us went on a whim. but the one defining trait of every backpacker i’ve met from the united states is that we all refuse to work our lives away (some once were) and to postpone our dreams of travel until the perfect time (is there ever one?). my kind of people.
backpacking you’ve pretty much got nothing but time. so it is fairly easy, fairly quickly, to become close with people. in costa rica i met a german girl, maxie, who i feel i’ve known for years--it’s been about 5 days. just the other day while walking to the beach i told maxie, “you know, i’m getting pretty good at this doing nothing thing.” she laughed and said, “me, too.”and last night a new girl arrived in my dorm from florida. erin just quit her job and booked a trip to costa rica after a stress-induced illness landed her in the hospital where she almost died. erin told me that it’s not as if she wanted this illness to happen, but she is thankful that she learned early on in her career that too much stress will kill you, and, as she said, “for what?” exactly.
i think i’ve learned a lot in these past 2 ½ months. i know i have. i still often struggle with the amount of privilege one must have to do such a thing (even if it is backpacking and staying in hostels), but i am incredibly grateful for the opportunity and glad i made this choice. i am even more grateful to have met like-minded people who remind us all that maybe it’s alright for all of us to “do nothing” sometimes.
