Wanderlust? Not Me Anymore

      I don't share (at least any longer) Mitch Stephens' desire to "see" those many countries.

      I do, however, really cherish the extended time I was able to spend in the past (an academic year in France in 1966-67 (I missed being a part of the 1968 movement), two years in Latin America (1971-72 in Uruguay and 1972-1973 in Argentina where I was exposed to the Tupamaro movement and the return of Juan Perón, respectively) and Japan (Tokyo 1973-1976).

      During those long term stays I was also able to see large parts of Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia. However, those long term stays also made the idea of the "If this is Tuesday, we must be in Belgium" kind of travel not particularly compelling. The long-term stays where I wanted (and to some extent needed) to learn the language to a usable extent and where I felt that I had gotten to know local people and culture to some reasonable level were truly life-changing.

      Those more-or-less deep immersions have made the idea of a 10-day trip spread over a couple of cities not particularly captivating. I do them (under minor duress) and can enjoy them for what they are, but I would love to roll back the clock and spend a year or so somewhere where the language and culture attracts me.

      But life wags on and given its many compromises, that is very unlikely.

      So, I understand the desire and the tensions that Mitch describes, but I fear that much of such travel lust is driven by a fear of missing out and a need to "check the boxes" or in my opinion, the rather silly concept of a "bucket list."

      In fact, those motivations seem to mask what is the really going on: distraction, or as T.S. Eliot put it, being "distracted, from distraction, by distraction." And what is ultimately being distracted ... the reality behind that "bucket list," kicking the bucket.

      But hey, that could turn into the biggest trip of all time (or none at all).
     Bon voyage!