Don't know where to express my thoughts, so pardon me for a non-trip report, report.
I had a fascinating conversation this morning at, of all places, in my dentist's office with the assistant while sitting in the chair for some routine work. This was a young woman, not much older than the students I teach, probably only a couple of years out of dental school. She asked me what I do, and after learning my job, the conversation somehow turned to my summer travels. She was curious about the places I had visited and expressed that she would like to travel as well, but was afraid of leaving the country. The only place she has visited is Florida, and apparently, her family cautioned her against even doing that. She actually said, 'My family told me never to leave NC, and they cried when I told them I was going to Florida'! She mentioned her partner is of Greek heritage, and they would both like to visit Greece. However, she expressed the usual fears of foreign countries, the language barrier, crime, cost, getting around, etc. Being young, I told her to explore backpacking, hostels/airbnbs, public transportation, supermarkets, and local 'fast food' to cut down expenses.
Anyway, what struck me, and I have been contemplating all day, is the mindset of her immediate milieu, that even another state in the USA is 'terra incognita'. But then, who am I to judge their worldview? At the same time, I also realized how lucky I am to be able to travel the way I do, to have the disposable income and time to indulge in an activity that most Americans can only dream of. The conversation reminded me of my formative years in another era and halfway around the world with the same dreams. Only much, much later was I able to start empting my 'bucket list'. This forum is full of people with years of traveling under their feet. We discuss down to the smallest details, museum opening hours, or a favorite restaurant in a tiny mountain village. We complain about crowds, train strikes, and the lack of air-conditioning. We school a new poster about moving too fast and the benefits of slow travel. But just to be able to do it-that's a gift above all else.
This conversation was a dose of reality I needed to not take my privilege for granted and savor every moment I have left to indulge this desire to 'see'. Unlike Roy Batty, I haven't seen c-beams glitter at the Tannhauser Gate, but I did watch specks of dust sparkle in beams of sunlight inside a church in Segovia. I hope these young people get to make their own memories as I have.