Lonely Travels

I was interested in Alain de Botton’s chapter on traveling places. I find it so ironic how traveling places—planes, trains, busses—and the corresponding terminals for these places—airports and other kinds of stations—can be so depressing. Strangely, these dull and undesirable traveling places are the very essence of travel, yet “travel”, which is usually conveyed very romantically, often entirely overlooks them. To me, it seems as if the idea of “travel” has evolved to ignore the actual process of traveling. Travel agencies, brochures and commercials all advertise travel as the destination, when literally, travel is only the journey from one place to a destination. Personally, when I am asked my interests, I always include travel. Yet after reading Alain de Botton’s writing, I have realized that I actually hate to travel. I find airports cold and boring, I hate having to sit still in busses or in trains, I hate being stuck in small and dingy quarters, and I am afraid of dying in an airplane or in a car accident. For me, it is a struggle to sit still even for fifteen minute car rides. Over my winter vacation, I found myself sitting on my couch all day because I live in suburbia, and I would rather rot at home then jump in the car for even 20 minutes. This is why I thrive in the city. I love to walk, but I hate traveling places. In NYC, I take the subway rarely and I walk whenever possible. When reading “The Art of Travel”, I was able to relate much of my travels to Argentina to several of Botton’s excerpts. In particular, the theme of traveling places and loneliness was something that dominated my travels. Although I was on a flight to Buenos Aires that many of the NYU students were taking, I knew no one. Sitting, waiting, alone in the airport, this traveling place seemed to emphasize that I was about to embark on a four month journey alone. Kids who already knew each other from school sat chatting and laughing. Although I have no trouble making friends, I couldn’t help but worry just a little bit that my abroad program was going to be clicky. When traveling, the hours roll by slowly and painfully. After waiting to get through customs you wait to board the plane, and after waiting for the plane to take off you wait for the plane to land. Still, I find the worst part of it all is waiting to unbuckle your seatbelt and get off the plane once you’ve actually landed. Traveling can be nothing more than excessive time to think about your loneliness and boredom. During my flight to Buenos Aires, the lady sitting next to me was of little company because we did not speak the same language. Only two hours into the flight, I felt as if I was the only person alive on the entire plane…it was completely silent, as everyone around me appeared to have overdosed on sleeping pills while my dramamine and complimentary wine with dinner did nothing to diminish my insomnia. Clearly, I am a pessimist when it comes to travel. Surprisingly, this is what I want to spend my life doing. By the way, I was unable to create images today because they weren't loading. SO, here is a link to an image of a lonely airport. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3208/2881186671_57fbf69948.jpg?v=1222165378