My friend Lloyd Smith has traveled all over the world for Builders International, volunteering his time and love of photography.  Lloyd recently sent me an e-mail with quotes that help differentiate between a “tourist” and a “traveler”.  Here is one of my favorite:

The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes “sight-seeing.” – Daniel Boorstin

Lloyd definitely makes the “traveler” cut, and I’m thankful for all those who give of their time and talent to travel and volunteer on a Builders International project around the word.

Lloyd Smith – on the streets of Haiti

Here are some ways you can make the most out of your travel, and I hope it is on a team with Builders International!  The next time  you travel, be a “traveler”, not a “tourist”!

1. Keep a Journal: You will see and experience a lot of new things, meet interesting new people, all sure to be forgotten if you don’t write it down to remember.

2. Have a plan, but be flexible: If you come to a Builders International project, you’ll be coming with a plan. Build something, fix something, get something done. However, as any seasoned traveler will tell you, it doesn’t always turn out like we plan.

3. Expect the unexpected: You will most certainly experience things that “don’t make any sense”. Our way of thinking is deeply built into our psyche from our early childhood, family and cultural experience. Don’t let your understanding of how things “should be” prevent you from appreciate and leaning from another culture.

4. Take your problems with you – and solve them: According to an article by Jonah Lehrer (http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2009/12/10/why-we-travel/) “…several new science papers suggest that getting away–and it doesn’t even matter where you’re going–is an essential habit of effective thinking.” Use your time away to be removed from your problems, looking from the inside out, and search your heart and mind for ways to cope, solve, or deal with those problems.

What do you do on purpose to get the most out of your travel?

Comments are closed.