Reality Check Needed - Page 7 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

darklord700 · 03-26-2015, 12:52 PM

Has it been a year Worth? I'm sure you have collected a lot of amazing memories along your trip.

worth · 03-26-2015, 12:58 PM

Do it man. Seriously. I'm going to do it again. Maybe not for as long next time, buy the time month 9 rolled around I was a bit beat, but it is something I can never forget.

Yeah, reverse culture shock is definitely a thing. I went to Australia to visit a friend 2 weeks before coming home. I think this helped a lot since I was in a western country with expensive prices and English speakers everywhere, but I was still away from home. So this "transition country" helped. I think I would have been way more messed up coming straight back from Cambodia or Thailand to Calgary.

The way i'm dealing with reverse culture shock is being around people as much as I can. I'm hoping to move to the beltline on April 1, I need to be around some sort of stimulation and all my friends are there. I need to keep busy with things otherwise my mind will drift into how much I wish I was somewhere else.

Don't get me wrong, Calgary is a great city and i'm looking forward to spring and summer, but I know this city well. When you travel, no matter where you are, you see something you've never seen before. To go from that type of stimulation into a routine is hard.

I think starting fresh is the best way for me to approach Calgary. New apartment, new job, new surroundings. If I came back to my old apartment and slid right back into everything that was old, i'd be bored as hell.

worth · 03-26-2015, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darklord700

Has it been a year Worth? I'm sure you have collected a lot of amazing memories alone your trip.

I left April 1, 2014 and returned March 18, 2015, so not quite a year. 352 days.

shermanator · 03-26-2015, 01:28 PM

Wow, sounds like a hell of an experience. Anyone else regret opening this thread because they now want to do the same?

darklord700 · 03-26-2015, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shermanator

Wow, sounds like a hell of an experience. Anyone else regret opening this thread because they now want to do the same?

It's more jealousy than regret for me as this is something I can never do.

Simon96Taco · 03-26-2015, 01:37 PM

Love this thread.

Can't wait to hear more about the trip, and your re-adjustment to life in Cowtown!

surferguy · 03-26-2015, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darklord700

It's more jealousy than regret for me as this is something I can never do.

can I ask why never? physical limitation?

darklord700 · 03-26-2015, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by surferguy

can I ask why never? physical limitation?

Well, I can't live without running water, modern plumbing, internet connection and other creature comfort that my life has afforded me so far. Actually rather than I can't it's more like I'm not willing to give them up in exchange for someting else.

Occasionally, I do want to breakout of my shell to be adventurous but the comfort of my shell just keep pulling me back.

surferguy · 03-26-2015, 02:06 PM

haha! Very well then!

troutman · 03-26-2015, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by worth

Don't get me wrong, Calgary is a great city and i'm looking forward to spring and summer, but I know this city well. When you travel, no matter where you are, you see something you've never seen before. To go from that type of stimulation into a routine is hard.

I think starting fresh is the best way for me to approach Calgary. New apartment, new job, new surroundings. If I came back to my old apartment and slid right back into everything that was old, i'd be bored as hell.

See you at Sled. Get involved there, and at CJSW. I'm having a blast. I love Calgary in a whole new way.

shermanator · 03-26-2015, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darklord700

Well, I can't live without running water, modern plumbing, internet connection and other creature comfort that my life has afforded me so far. Actually rather than I can't it's more like I'm not willing to give them up in exchange for someting else.

Occasionally, I do want to breakout of my shell to be adventurous but the comfort of my shell just keep pulling me back.

If it helps, I'm the same way. I can give up Internet, but not water / plumbing. I say I want to do this, but I can't imagine I ever will.

Huntingwhale · 03-26-2015, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by worth

So i'm back in town... it was an incredible trip of a lifetime. A year goes by just like that. I went to some weird (by western standards) places, and if I can take one thing away it's that everyone is basically the same. We all want safety for ourselves and families, we all want to be healthy and happy and for the most part respect each other and all that gushy stuff. Doesn't matter if you live in downtown Calgary or rural Uzbekistan.

Anyway, I have to return to normal life unfortunately, at least for a little bit, but hopefully soon I can get back on the road again.

I've got a pile of photos to go through and once I do that i'll post some here that you guys might enjoy.

Thanks for all the advice!

God that is so true and is exactly what I think when I meet new people in my travels as well. Doesn't matter if your someone living in the slums of Cebu or someone who's well off in Los Angeles. We're all human and want/need the same basic things in life.

One of my favourite things in life is travelling to a far away place, experiencing that culture shock and having it set me and my priorities straight when I get back home.

undercoverbrother · 03-26-2015, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

One of my favourite things in life is travelling to a far away place, experiencing that culture shock and having it set me and my priorities straight when I get back home.

This is why people should travel, not just to appreciate places you go, but to increase the apprecaition of where you come from.

trumpethead · 03-26-2015, 04:29 PM

I for one, am incredibly jealous. Not of where you went or even what you did when you got there (as cool as all of it was). I am jealous of your front row view of the human experience for 352 days.

"Of the gladdest moments in human life, methinks, is the departure upon a distant journey into unknown lands. shaking off with one mighty effort the fetters of habit, the leaden weight of routine, the cloak of many cares and the slavery of home, one feels more happy. the blood flows with the fast circulation of childhood, and the journey appeals to imagination, to memory, and to hope.”
- Sir Richard Francis Burton

Simon96Taco · 03-27-2015, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

God that is so true and is exactly what I think when I meet new people in my travels as well. Doesn't matter if your someone living in the slums of Cebu or someone who's well off in Los Angeles. We're all human and want/need the same basic things in life.

One of my favourite things in life is travelling to a far away place, experiencing that culture shock and having it set me and my priorities straight when I get back home.

So true. I love how traveling has the ability to "reset" my brain sometimes. Those are the times that I realize I was really getting caught up in some meaningless BS.

darklord700 · 03-27-2015, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

One of my favourite things in life is travelling to a far away place, experiencing that culture shock and having it set me and my priorities straight when I get back home.

One of my favorite quotes from T S Elliot:

"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."

DoubleF · 03-27-2015, 09:38 AM

Wow worth... that trip sounds awesome. An epic year it must have been.

Good luck trying to tell anyone the story. I went to Asia slums and rural areas for a month, almost a decade later, I still can't figure out how to tell the story. I've tried, but it's not easy to summarize certain things. A month was hard for me. 12 months for you? Damn.

Mad jealous of you. Sad I'm old enough for nostalgia.

Agree with undercoverbrother. My trip made me appreciate what I had more.

worth · 03-27-2015, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by troutman

See you at Sled. Get involved there, and at CJSW. I'm having a blast. I love Calgary in a whole new way.

I will be applying to volunteer at Sled. Let's meet up at a show or two. for sure.

-----

I think i've become a minimalist over the past year. I traveled with a 30l pack. I went to my brothers where all my crap is that I packed up and looked at it and realised I didn't need half the stuff I have.

V · 03-27-2015, 02:41 PM

Geez, I had a massive reset of perspective after 2 weeks in Asia. I can't imagine coming back after a full year. I'm jealous.

Incogneto · 03-27-2015, 10:35 PM

Being addicted to travelling is the best and worst thing that ever happened to me. I am 34, been to 37 different countries, 5 continents, and loved something about each of them.

The bad part is that I can't do it all the time. I spent 2 months in Central America in Jan-Feb, and this was the hardest of my trips to come home from. The Adjustment was excruciating.

Good luck in getting back into the groove of life. And I look forward to hearing about your NEXT trip...Because anyone that has ever done a trip knows....There is ALWAYS a next one.

PS - Scuba diving changed my life. I hope you have your ticket and dove all over the world. On to your blog to see your travels.