Wir trafen Javier und Laia in Pune, Indien im De Nobili College, wo die beiden seit 1 1/2 Jahren im Rahmen eines wissenschaftlichen Auslandsaufenthaltes indische Philosophie studieren. Beide sind aus Spanien und zeigten uns bald, wo und wie man in Pune richtig abfeiert. :o)))



Und wenn ihnen das Stipendium verlaengert wird, dann leben sie noch heute (in Pune). Die beiden fahren zwar regelmaessig heim, sich richtig nach Europa zurueckgehen ist aber vorerst einmal nicht geplant.

Jetzt wird's endlich nachgetragen. :o)

Unsere erste Reisegefaehrtin war Marianne, die Franziska von einer gemeinsamen Schi-Tour zu Ostern 2003 kannte. Wir haben sie zuefaellig in Lhasa am Flughafen getroffen und waren nach der Ankunft in Katmandu gleich mal Momos essen, wo sie uns einiges sehr guten Thailand Tipps gab (konnten wir leider nicht einsetzen, erst bei unserer naechsten laengeren Reise...). Im Pokhara gab's dann ein Wiedersehen und einen recht netten Abend auf einem Roof-Top Cafe.



Marianne ist inzwischen schon wieder daheim und bringt Leuten das Snowboarden bei...

Ich habe vor kurzem auf Life Goals nachgefragt, welche Erfahrungen Menschen auf Weltreisen gemacht haben. Vor allem war ich an deren veraenderten Wahrnehmung und der Zeit nach der Rueckkehr interessiert.

Die folgenden Antworten wurden gepostet:

From Christy Chan:

Frank,

This trip will no doubt give you some new perspective, hether you start out with that intention or not.

The key is to just enjoy it, and let it happen. Some people who go looking for epiphanies during long trips don't always find them, while those who are simply "being" end up stumbling on to new insights about their life.

For me, carrying everything I needed on my back for six months made me realize how frivolous and materialistic my life at home was.

Seeing how other societies struggle with basic needs made me feel lucky and spoiled to have all the amenities of western culture.

And at the same time, seeing how people can be happy in simple circumstances showed me how UNLUCKY we are in western societies. We don't realize that less is more, and that simple forms of happiness are priceless.

And for what it's worth, I ended up moving overseas to continue having new perspectives.

Enjoy your trip! It should be a doozey.

-A permanent traveller

From Jim Ingram:

Hi Frank,

I spent 3 months driving cross-country, followed by 3 months backpacking through Australia and New Zealand. This was made possible by getting laid-off a year or so ago. My mindset was 'how can I turn something bad into the greatest thing that ever happened to me?'. Then I thought about the things I've always wanted to do but work always got in the way. I pulled out the 2 dream trips from my list and just did it.

In a nutshell, travel lets you clear your head, gives you time to think about what you 'really want to do', and it's just plain fun.
So go, enjoy it, think but not too much.

Write in a travel journal, record your thoughts, when you least expect it, you'll get signs on what to do next. As for jumping back in the corporate world, ah that is the risk. I was an engineer, but when I came back I wrote that book
I knew I had in me, and I'm about to start a new business (not even close to engineering). You may not want to jump back into the corporate world when you return, but that may have nothing to do with your travels...

Happy trails,
Jim

From Terri Sarappo:

I quit my job in 1987 to go around the world. I went to Africa overland for 5 months and then off to India, Nepal and Turkey.

Best insights were seeing the world through other eyes and meeting new friends who I continue to correspond with all these years later. Sadly, I have seen some of my favorite places, like Goma, Zaire, become world famous through the ravages of war.

Upon returning I met my friends and ex co-workers for lunch. they were still in their heels and pearls and paid for the lunch with the expense account, I was wearing a dress I bought in Kathmandu for $1 and had dropped down to 95 pounds and had a deep tan, messy hair and healing scars on my legs. They were very gracious, but I must have looked and sounded like I had just come in from another planet.

After this trip I decided to move cross country from San Francisco to New York. In interviewing, some potential employers were interested and excited by my travels and I think that made me a better candidate. In the final interview for the job I did take, my soon to be boss express fear that I might leave and hit the high road again. I told her to look out across the cubes, perhaps half the workforce was dreaming about the adventure I just had, those were the ones to worry
about , not me who had gotten it out of my system. I got that job , stayed for 1.5 years and then moved on to something much better for the next 9 years.

Now i have taken an internal journey returning to school to get my MBA at 40 years old. I will finish this December and will have to convince employers to take me back with my unorthodox background. It is a match it will happen.

You don't loose anything you still have your five plus years in brand management, now you win big money on Jeopardy by sweeping the Geography category.

Good luck,

Terri

From Bethann d:

Hi Frank.

I left my career in 2000 and took an around the world trip, traveling through Asia, Southern Africa and Europe. Quitting was a huge/difficult decision as I imagine it is for anyone making a career transition. The trip was fantastic and though starting over career-wise upon my return certainly hasn't been easy, it was well worth it.

What did I learn? It's hard to put in words. As several others mentioned, I guess I learned to see the world through others' eyes. I also learned even more strongly not take for granted all that I have - including the fact that I was so blessed to be able to take a trip like this in the first place. I'm probably more compassionate and accepting as a result of seeing how other cultures live. I've lived overseas in a number of capacities in addition to this particular trip so it's all a combined experience that's shaped my view of the world.

Probably the biggest and most unexpected lesson I learned was about control - and letting go of it. Prior to this trip, I was pretty much a go by the book kind of girl - Lonely Planet guides were my travel bible! Whenever I traveled, I had everything mapped out - places to stay, what sites I would see, and even (sad but true) where I would eat in some cases even!! I decided on this trip to do things differently. I had very little planned except for where I would be going - and the only reason I knew that was I had to buy the ticket ahead of time and had to identify where I would stop. It was the most amazing trip - and very eye opening. I believe I experienced the trip entirely differently than I would have had I had the entire itinerary mapped out beforehand. Because I wasn't adhering to a schedule, I was more open and I met people and experienced things that I don't believe would have been possible if I'd had everything mapped out ahead of time. Learning this lesson was a great gift for me - and it's helped me get through some of the more difficult times since my return.

I do not believe I gained any great clarity about my future or about my career while I traveled. That said, I don't think the time away hurt (or helped) my career options. I do believe that if I'd stayed in the same career (international business development) a trip like this probably would not have hurt my chances - and may have even helped - for gainful employment when I returned. Point is, I believe it depends on the career. For example, starting over in a fast pace, constantly changing field like computer technology - well, taking that much time off might hurt. A field which requires more life experience/exposure - I imagine a trip like this would help. In my case, I changed careers entirely, so it's really impossible to tell whether the time away hurt or helped...

Finally, one last thing I learned - it's hard coming back! I was away in total for three years (including the time I was living in China prior to my trip around the world). When I returned, I felt very disconnected from people here - even my family to some extent. This was incredibly difficult because I was excited about coming home. I'd been through reverse culture shock before, but never to this extent. After a few months, however, I did feel back to "normal." If you haven't traveled much before, I would probably caution you that coming back is sometimes harder than you might expect!

I wish you all the best for your upcoming adventures! Safe travels!

Take care, beth