Wanderlust

I’m quite excited dear readers, that on Monday I’ll be jetting off to Dallas, Texas for the first time! When you only fly to a handful of destinations as a flight attendant, getting to go to a new one you’ve never been to before is like Christmas!

 

What’s even better is that I will get a heavenly 78 hours on the ground in Dallas (compared to the 24-36 hours I usually get in other places) to explore to my little wanderlusting heart’s content! For me, there is nothing better. I have already decided that downtown Dallas is already on the must do list so that I can visit the Grassy Knoll and the JFK Museum, plus the stockyards at Fort Worth on another day and plenty of shopping at the huge mall across the road from our hotel in between! I am going with an empty suitcase and my new Texas Lonely Planet tucked into my crew bag!

Seeing snow for the first time on Jungfrau Mountain, Switzerland

 

All this talk of a new destination brings me to my topic for this blog post though. Wanderlust. I absolutely just love that word…WANDERLUST. Doesn’t it sound magical? Exciting? Wondrous? Well, I think it does. And I suffer from wanderlust BAD!

But that is never a bad thing to suffer from I think, and I kind of wish everyone suffered from it like I do. I cannot put into words accurately the feeling of stepping off a train or an aeroplane and stepping out onto the street for your first glimpse of a new place, taking a deep breath in and being so overcome and overwhelmed with the incredible feeling that this new place, whether it is half way across the world from your home, or just a few hours way, is now at your feet and just waiting to be discovered by you. I really don’t think there’s any feeling better than that. I love the endless possibilities that come with that feeling – especially if you’re travelling solo, as I have often done – because really, it’s like that saying ‘the world is your oyster’. You can, from the second you hit the ground in that city, do whatever you damn well like there. If you want to discover the parks and gardens, you can. If you want to shop in every single clothing store, you can. If you want to eat your way through every neighbourhood, you can. If you want to museum hop or see musicals or go on a helicopter ride and take in an icon of architecture…YOU CAN. How awesome is that? Travel frees you like nothing else can.

I remember the first time I ever went to New York City as a wide eyed 22 year old. I had caught an Amtrak train from Philadelphia, got off at Penn Station in NYC and was instantly overwhelmed just with trying to find my way successfully out of the humongous station! But then I finally found a door, and pushed my way through it and got out into the sunlight and I just froze. I wasn’t in Times Square or anywhere pulsing like that, but it was still the biggest treat for my senses. I could’ve squealed. To this day I still remember looking to my left then to my right and then straight up ahead of me and not knowing which way to go to find my hostel, but I didn’t even care. I could not believe I was there and this unbelievable city was at my fingertips at last, just waiting for me to devour every single inch of it. It was amazing.

My New York City experience was a pretty extreme one, because it’s a pretty extreme place, and pretty bloody special, but I get this feeling anytime I go to somewhere new. Actually, I even get it when I’ve come back to a city I’ve visited many times before, because I get excited about being able to visit again all the shops and restaurants and beaches and events and sights and sounds that I fell in love with last time I was there.

The Vatican

I know travelling isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and not many people are as deeply passionate about it as I am, and I don’t want to push my passion onto anyone who isn’t interested, but I implore everyone to travel as much as they can for as long as they can. Have your own little wanderlust experience. It will shape your life like nothing else can. I am forever just incredulous that there is so much of the world out there that I have yet to see with my own eyes, so many foods I have yet to try, so many mind blowing natural and man made sights that I have yet to see and touch and revel in. It gives me shivers. There is just so much out there, and it is all incredible. I feel like I could travel for the rest of my life, every single day, and never be bored, and still never see everything the world has to offer. That’s what’s so great about it. It’s all just out there waiting for you to discover it.

That’s why when I was 20 years old I decided that once I finished university I would go and do a big trip. I worked two jobs and saved for more than two years as I finished studying and in April 2009 I set off on my big adventure – my very first time overseas on my own. It was scary to get on that plane and wave goodbye to my family for 3 months, but once I touched down in London, I never looked back. I backpacked all over Europe and the US, made countless friends, had endless fantastic experiences, learnt so much about the world, other people and myself, and most importantly had the time of my freakin’ life. My first taste of wanderlust. And let me tell you, I liked the taste!

 

Like I said, I don’t want to push my views onto people who feel that travelling just isn’t their thing, but I truly feel sorry for those who don’t leave their own countries. They’re missing out on so much. You can’t explain it til you’ve done it, but once you have, you just know that it was a top notch decision to go travelling. Even if you think seeing the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty or the Grand Canyon or the Berlin Wall on tv or in films is enough…well you’re wrong. NOTHING compares to being there. Standing in the middle of history, or great architecture or untouched natural beauty and breathing in and maybe even closing your eyes for a second and pinching yourself to remind yourself you’re actually there is way better than anything you could see in even the greatest of movies. You stand there soaking it in and just never want to leave.

The Washington Monument, Washington DC

I also think travel is so important because it matures you, toughens you up, opens your eyes and makes you resilient. It is very easy to adapt to travelling, and being a traveller. You suddenly know so much more about other people and their cultures and customs. You learn people’s life stories and some of their deepest, darkest secrets too. You just bite the bullet and walk down a dark alley at night to get to an out of the way hostel and you do survive! You cross borders and get pat downs in airports and are forced to wear your thongs in the shower at the hostel because the bathroom floor looks very questionable. You see a rat in your dorm and it’s gross but you just deal. You walk down busy streets – some of the busiest in the world, shoulder to shoulder with 25,000 other tourists – and you are scared someone’s going to pickpocket you but at the same time are bewildered in a good way. You are suddenly forced to deal with other languages, other currencies, complicated metro systems, tipping, being careful with your valuables, relying on the friendliness of strangers and through all this, YOU LIVE TO TELL THE TALE. I swear, it makes you a better person. Countless times since I’ve begun travelling my friends and family have asked me ‘how do you know that?’ or ‘how did you do that?’ and the answer is always that I know it through my experiences travelling. And it is stuff you would never, and will never, know unless you travel the world.

So go and do it I say. Who cares if it leaves you broke? The experience will be priceless. It will be worth it. The world is just sitting here, quietly, knowingly, waiting for you to find your time and discover it and make some kick ass memories.

See you when I get back from Dallas!

Jorgs

High above Chicago at the Sears Tower

The Tian Tan Buddha, Hong Kong