BootsnAll Travel Community

well, lead follow or get out of the way. it seems like this forum was my idea, but even if it wasn't i'm going to contribute the best i can.

so i remember years ago i was taking a sociology course in high school (which ironically i gave up on in order to have more freedom to travel.) the introduction in the book talked about the "sociological perspective." basically, seeing the strange in the familiar. its supposed to make you look at the world as "objectively" as possible... gee whiz, lets not get into philosophy too much, but i've found that looking at the world this way often works.
i mean, travel is all about meeting new people and seeing new places, but how many of us know everyone where we are currently living? and how many times have we walked past that cafe or bar or whatever without giving it a second thought? sure, most people speak the same language and do similar things, but that doesn't mean there can't be adventure to be had. i mean, doing the same thing day after day is what makes up want to travel after all, right?
SO ATTENTION COLLEGE STUDENTS AND OTHER COMMITTED TRAVEL FOLK. here's the plan... do something in your present town or whatever that you wouldn't normally do. go to the mall (gasp) and splurge on an expensive coffee and sit on a bench and just WATCH people. drive your car or ride your bike down a road you've never been on. take a different train. if you're outside of a city, see how far you can thumb rides in a day (leave time to get back).
the possibilities are endless. i'll start it off with a seperate post about a meaningful travel experience i had the other weekend, in my hometown of all places.

college nomads unite!
--Pete :-)

totally agree...As hard as it is sometimes to just want to get out and not being able to communicate verbally for a while, getting out in your own community is also a good idea...People watching provides incredible insight i think....
and a good quote that I think correlates to this topic...
"We shall not cease from exploration, an the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time" - T.S. Elliot

This is a very good idea, I think everyone should do it once in a while. By yourself.
It's an excellent way to relax and get your mind off of things.

Walking in a place with no sidewalks will guarantee you a ride somewhere. It's a great way to meet nice people. (So far, this has happened to me twice in my new hometown. I found a new church as a result of one hitchike and a great tow truck another time.)

Of course, hitching is highly unsafe in many areas, and if you're a guy, you'd better be Brad Pitt, else ain't no one going to pick you up....except maybe a farmer. Maybe. And if you're a girl, you really have to be selective about just who you accept a ride from.

But so far, no problems for me.

Texas is weird.

i'm a huge fan of the "bars-we've-never-been-to-in-wierd-neighborhoods" pub crawl. not only do we usually meet interesting people we'd never normally meet, we find new bands, new hang outs, fabulous juke boxes, and the occasional freak show! i always walk through the neighborhoods on different routes, eat at new restaurants, sing karaoke at new bars, bowl at out of the way alleys, haggle scalpers for tickets to shows i don't care to see, etc. etc. it's the only way to stay sane between school and the general humdrum of work and responsibility. my dream day? mid-afternoon drunk ice skating at the mall (we may need mylar baloons for this)...soon, my friends, soon...

I love this idea. Since I'm in the city, I usually just jump on public transportation until I see a builing or a shop that looks interesting.

Oh, but I highly recommend that you have a good knowledge of your neighborhoods if you're going to do this.

quote:

Originally posted by Gabriela:
I love this idea. Since I'm in the city, I usually just jump on public transportation until I see a builing or a shop that looks interesting.

Oh, but I highly recommend that you have a good knowledge of your neighborhoods if you're going to do this.

I did this when I first moved to Montreal. You learn your neighbourhoods very quickly.

My most interesting stop was the Guy-Concordia metro, because I met Hollywood (a homeless man who attempts to rob people with a plastic banana) for the first time. I stuck out something dreadful - I was convinced I was about to be mugged. After that, I was *positive* nothing was going to happen to me. So I took a deep breath and stepped out of the metro - and into the Concordia Riot.

We actually started doing this a couple of weeks ago. If we're home for the weekend we'll either head through town walking/public transport or just on our bikes. Really fun to see new places, streets I never took the time to look at, bars that look interesting from outside (not with the bikes though, don't wanna weave home through the traffic ) And it helps keep my wanderlust at bay until the next scheduled flight in June. Course, we do throw in a weekend out of town at least once a month. Sometimes just with the bike and the tent, but getting out there and being a little bit more free anyhow.