Take it home with you...

Have you ever been on a vacation and bought something like an aloha print skirt and when you return to life in the city it seems rather out of place? Or perhaps you go to Italy and buy a leather jacket because that's the thing to do, and then you return home and realize that it's a bit too flashy for your small town... When on vacation anything goes, When in Rome do as the Romans, right? It's one of the best things about traveling, you take on a new culture! You can eat and dress and talk in all new ways. You go at their tempo, perhaps that means dinner only after 8pm or drivers who ignore traffic laws. There's no point in traveling if you expect everything to be the way it is at home. The point is in the experience, learning and exploring. It's the sensation of completely new flavors, sights and smells... And pushing yourself to new limits, and discovering your own capacity to adapt and broaden your understanding how big and small the world is. Big because you discover how much more there is to learn, and small because you realize that no matter where you go- we are all the same in so many ways. Like the street car vendor who is waking up early every morning and working hard to make a buck to provide for his family- just like you. Sometimes you go home with a better understanding of people or of history and how the past has affected where we are now. After my recent trip to Brazil I want to return with two souvenirs... I was awestruck at the beauty of God's creations, I saw nature at it's best on a small island off the coast, green vegetation and pristine bath water beaches providing a home to creatures of the sea. And then the people, soft hearts and respectful in their nature, not greedy or pushy and they did not expect rewards for their kindness. The people had an aura of humility that I admire and I do not want to forget. Like the aloha skirt, perhaps these ideas are not as popular at home. But I will not hang these memories in the back of my closet, I want to remember the beauty of the place and of the people because these are worth taking home with me.