Those who leave

We never really come back from a long expedition. Or maybe we do. For some. But nostalgia, as small as it can be, never turns itself off.

There are those who inevitably go on, who keep on traveling once you're home. Like that girl I met four days before the end of my own adventure. She was in the first week of six months of exploration.

And there are those others who look at you with eyes wide open when you say you haven't been home for months. They're jealous and believe they can't do the same. Or they face too many obstacles.

Then you have those who write to you to ask how you did it. Write back again to say they are planning their own round-the-world trip. And, like my friend Ben, who I met in Japan, they start their own blog to keep in touch with their friends and family.

Ben is leaving in less than a week. For six months. And I can see myself, one year ago, just about to jump. The unknown staring at me. Knowing my adventures would bring me far away from where I thought I would go.

I smile thinking of Ben embarking on his own journey. And I'll follow him with a lot of interest.

What advice could I give him? Plan a little. Not too much. Be open and go with the flow. Try new things. Get to know people. They might be the best friends you'll ever know, even if for only a few hours. Embrace the lows. They are moments to regroup. Accept what you can't change. Don't let fear get the best of you, but listen to yourself when you get that feeling you should stray from your path... Have fun, and if you can, stop in Cambodia for a least a couple of days.

So there are those who are leaving, and those who already understand that feeling. Those who make us feel better when we believe nobody shares our way of seeing the world. So I found that post, which I recommend you read if interested in how traveling affects you. It's called Date a boy who travels.