On the Road

Before we go places we tend to romanticise them. We convince ourselves that we come from hell and that we’re going to the Promised Land where life is going to be just peachy. Naturally, after a little while we realise that whilst, say, the Brazilians are the happiest people in the world, they’re also some of the most trivial, or that whilst India may be the land of all things spiritual, it’s also corrupt and polluted to the core.

Once the initial enthusiasm and novelty begins to fade we find that the things that won our hearts are also now pissing us off and we have to judge whether it’s really our kind of thing. It’s not too dissimilar to the end of the honeymoon period in a new relationship and you have to decide if your lover’s habit of gargling toothpaste is cute or just annoying.

For many people the key to successfully relocating is finding a routine. If you have a yoga or meditation practice then you’ve got a reason to wake up early in the mornings. If there’s a good sunset where you stay then you can structure your day around that. Make it a point to explore your new home by foot and you can spend time just getting to know the place.

There will be times when you miss your own culture and that’s when you need to head down to the local DVD store, buy some food from home and spoil yourself. You can embrace a foreign culture and language to an extent but your formative years were most likely spent in your home country – there’s no point denying your roots, even if you choose not to live there.

To this end it can be nice if there are other expatriates around, other people to chat about your impressions and frustrations with the place. A lot of fun can be had sitting around with another outsider, laughing at the local idiosyncrasies. Once you’ve let it all about, you may find that you’re feeling more at peace in living there after all.

Want to meet other road junkies?
Come to the Road Junky Sahara Retreat Feb 6-11 2012 to hang out with 30 other travelers to meditate, make yoga, tell stories and dance under the full moon in the desert.

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