Random Thoughts on Wanderlust

I'm having a tough time being back in Canada currently.

Not in the sense that Canada is a terrible place to be (although the weather sucks currently), but just because the part of my brain that switched on when I landed in London hasn't switched off yet.

For example, I'm still on high alert for the maple leaf. I'm at the Beach Boys concert last night at the EnCana Events Centre in Dawson, and I see this guy sitting in front of me with a Canadian flag on the back of his hat. I stood up, paused for a second and sat back down. Mom gives me an odd look and I explain, "I was just about to ask him where he was from". She laughs, but it's the truth. Every time I see a Maple Leaf, a Canadian flag, an Oilers jersey, I have to pause and then remember that I'm back in Canada now, and seeing those things is completely normal and does not give me a reason to approach the wearer and introduce myself. Just imagine how popular I would be if I did?

Ditto for hearing English, recognizing someone I know or hearing a reference to something intrinsically North American (bonus points if it's actually a Canadian reference). I think I'm actually having a harder time making the adjustment here than I did away just because I prepared so much for leaving. I definitely wasn't ready to come home.

There's this huge part of me that stares at my cat with such love, and is pissed off at the part of me that feels a little contempt for her for being the lone thing holding me back from strapping on my pack and doing a Round the World trip, ASAP.

Just to further torture myself, I ordered the movie "A Map for Saturday" today. You can view the trailer here, but from what I've heard, if you have as bad a case of wanderlust as I do (or you think I'm insane, and would like to laugh at other crazy people), you should probably order your own copy.

I like how they introduce the documentary:

On a trip around the world, every day feels like a Saturday.

Because traveling is like that. It could be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Arbor Day and you wouldn't have a clue because unless you have a plane/train/boat to catch on a specific day, it just doesn't matter.

Traveling, if done well, is about being there, in that moment. I can't bring the Roman forum back to Canada with me, but if I try really hard, I can remember being there and experiencing it.

Travel is the single-most freeing thing I've ever experienced in my life.

Maybe I'm an escapist, maybe I'm afraid of responsibility, but ultimately, it's my life, and I want it to be a good one.