Back East, Honey Buckets & Cockroaches
posted by Barbara @ 11:17 AM
On a recent trip back east, I have to say I had a huge growing experience that I want to share.
Have you ever noticed that when you are traveling to a new place, the experience of opening up every sensory perception overrides any inconvenience? I describe this as living like a sea anemone. You have your feelers out and absorb and interact with everything floating by. It's thrilling and exciting and a valuable learning experience.
I can recall living in Tahiti and not being phased by the size of the flying cockroaches in my bedroom. Hey! I was living in Paradise!!! Same was true using a honey bucket in parts of Alaska where I lived. There is something about letting the entire experience swallow you. Your hearing, eyes, and sense of smell are more acute. In order to fit in to this new culture, you listen very carefully and observe with great attention. It's critical for survival and oh so important to experience this part of your life. There is a need to belong and thrive.
Then there is the return "home" and - culture shock. The feelers are slammed with our return to our familiar environments and we are forced to turn down those heightened senses and adapt to our day-to-day lives. Why is that? Is it really healthy?
Our recent holiday trip had us on a red-eye flight leaving Seattle for Boston at 1am. It was only $79 one-way - you can't beat the price. (Thank you Jet Blue) It wasn't easy to sleep on the plane this time and reminded me of other long flights. I hate "being in the moment", but sure look forward to what's on the other side of the arrival gate. This trip was no exception.
We took a bus to Portland, Maine, (visited family), rented a car and then drove through New England with time spent with family and friends along the way.
Thus continued my learning curveâ?¦ I realize I hold stereotypical views and I'm not proud of them. To me friendly customer service and the east coast aren't always synonymous. However, we were pleasantly surprised and wrong about so many people we encountered in our drive from Maine, through Boston and into New York. I found my perceptions about my friends and family were no longer valid. They had changed and so had I. This is one important reason I travel - to learn about new places and cultures, but I also to learn a lot about myself.
We're home now, and I appreciate living in Seattle all that much more. Though I miss the extreme cultural diversity of Manhattan, I appreciate all my encounters with everyone I meet on a daily basis. I've sent some goalsâ?¦ I will try to think more about letting my senses roam and not sheltering them in. I will walk new and existing neighborhoods in Seattle now and really try to listen and observe more with an open mind. I will try to learn more about my friends and trust they will do the same for me. I'm not the same person returning here after 5 years away and you knowâ?¦ they probably aren't either. It's going to be like taking a new vacation.
Have you ever noticed that when you are traveling to a new place, the experience of opening up every sensory perception overrides any inconvenience? I describe this as living like a sea anemone. You have your feelers out and absorb and interact with everything floating by. It's thrilling and exciting and a valuable learning experience.
I can recall living in Tahiti and not being phased by the size of the flying cockroaches in my bedroom. Hey! I was living in Paradise!!! Same was true using a honey bucket in parts of Alaska where I lived. There is something about letting the entire experience swallow you. Your hearing, eyes, and sense of smell are more acute. In order to fit in to this new culture, you listen very carefully and observe with great attention. It's critical for survival and oh so important to experience this part of your life. There is a need to belong and thrive.
Then there is the return "home" and - culture shock. The feelers are slammed with our return to our familiar environments and we are forced to turn down those heightened senses and adapt to our day-to-day lives. Why is that? Is it really healthy?
Our recent holiday trip had us on a red-eye flight leaving Seattle for Boston at 1am. It was only $79 one-way - you can't beat the price. (Thank you Jet Blue) It wasn't easy to sleep on the plane this time and reminded me of other long flights. I hate "being in the moment", but sure look forward to what's on the other side of the arrival gate. This trip was no exception.
We took a bus to Portland, Maine, (visited family), rented a car and then drove through New England with time spent with family and friends along the way.
Thus continued my learning curveâ?¦ I realize I hold stereotypical views and I'm not proud of them. To me friendly customer service and the east coast aren't always synonymous. However, we were pleasantly surprised and wrong about so many people we encountered in our drive from Maine, through Boston and into New York. I found my perceptions about my friends and family were no longer valid. They had changed and so had I. This is one important reason I travel - to learn about new places and cultures, but I also to learn a lot about myself.
We're home now, and I appreciate living in Seattle all that much more. Though I miss the extreme cultural diversity of Manhattan, I appreciate all my encounters with everyone I meet on a daily basis. I've sent some goalsâ?¦ I will try to think more about letting my senses roam and not sheltering them in. I will walk new and existing neighborhoods in Seattle now and really try to listen and observe more with an open mind. I will try to learn more about my friends and trust they will do the same for me. I'm not the same person returning here after 5 years away and you knowâ?¦ they probably aren't either. It's going to be like taking a new vacation.
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