Your Own Way
Reply
Tag Archives: Philosophy of the Traveler
Surrender
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
PROMPT: Anywhere
I could happily live any number of places — e.g. several places in Southeast Asia, the Caucasus (particularly Georgia — though with language concerns,) Taiwan, and South America spring to mind. As long as it’s neither brutally hot / humid most of the time nor Winter more than three months a year (and isn’t pricey,) I can probably learn to love it.
I would point out that if this is a forever and always deal, I’m not in. I don’t want to / plan to live any particular place for the rest of my life.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
PROMPT: Languages
Daily writing prompt
Which languages do you speak and how did that impact your life?
Fluently: English; With a substantial grasp of vocabulary and grammar: Chinese; Only polite words and basic phrases: Spanish, Hungarian, Thai, Japanese, and maybe still some Russian (which I took in Grad School — the worst possible language learning environment.)
Starting to read Chinese has been thrilling. It has opened a whole new world, and the nature of the language is so different that definitely rewires the brain a bit.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
PROMPT: Biggest Mistakes
Daily writing prompt
What are the biggest mistakes people make when visiting your country?
Too much time in the big city and missing the beauty entirely.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
FIVE WISE LINES [June 2026]
When I was younger I could remember anything,
Mark twain
whether it had happened or not;
but my faculties are decaying now and soon
I shall be able to remember only the things
that never happened.
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled,
Plutarch [paraphrased]
but a fire to be kindled.”
Judge a man by his questions
Voltaire
rather than his answers.
Resist much, obey little.
Walt whitman; “To the states“
People don’t take trips —
John steinbeck
trips take people.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
PROMPT: Unlimited Budget
Daily writing prompt
If you had an unlimited budget for 24 hours, what would you do?
I’d buy a round-trip ticket for a place distant and interesting. I’m presuming I could spend money on that day for something the benefit of which would come later (i.e. that nothing turns into pumpkin at the end of the day.) I would not want the inevitable cavity search that would come from buying and flying on the same day.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
PROMPT: Perfect Road Trip
As loosely and flexibly as your stress tolerance will bear.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
PROMPT: Local Custom
My wife and I once had tea in Nagaland with men who’d been cannibals in their youth, but they weren’t anymore (and — in point of fact — probably didn’t have the teeth for solid food anymore,) so I don’t think that counts.
For the most part, I don’t think of customs as being more or less interesting, just — sometimes — unexpected. I’ve noticed that most people see cultural customs as the strange behaviors other peoples do, while their own culture’s customs are largely invisible to them (i.e. “That’s just how things are done; it really couldn’t be done any other way.”) So, I guess it’s been most interesting, having returned from living abroad for more than a dozen years, noticing just how many strange and baffling things Americans do.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
PROMPT: Decision
Daily writing prompt
Describe a decision you made in the past that helped you learn or grow.
Every decision to travel anywhere has paid a dividend.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 