Thoughts on travel

[xiphias]

We are going to Italy this summer. We should have bought our plane tickets already; we haven't. Lis wants me to take on some more responsibility for this stuff, as I'm the person who's home during the day and generally have more free time than she does.

I don't want to.

Because I hate travel.

So, Lis asked me just now if I'd go through the Rick Steve's Guide to Rome, just to look at things that I'd find fun and want to do.

"Just so you know," I told her, "I'm now feeling nervous and scared."

"Why?"

"It's related to travel; I'm feeling fear and discomfort with the idea of even looking at the book for Rome."

"Hmm. How would you feel if I asked you to look through things for Western Mass, Lenox and the Berkshires and all that?"

"Um. . . let's see. . . bored and resentful, but not nervous and scared."

"I'm just trying to understand I work out the parameters.

"Yes, I understand that."

"How about New York City?"

"Also bored and resentful, but no fear yet."

"DC?"

"Now I'm starting to feel the nervousness."

"But when you WERE in DC, you enjoyed it."

"Yes, I know. Okay, I'm starting to feel scared and dizzy."

"Alright. Why don't you go sit down. Are you feeling too out-of-it to blog this?"

"No, I think I can do that."

"It might be a good idea to document this, just for future reference."

So I did.

Comments

[felis-sidus.livejournal.com]

How about Florida?

[cheshyre]

He hates Florida, except for the family :)

[felis-sidus.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I was thinking the triggers might be some combination of distance from home and lack of familiarity with the area.

When you have the specific dates for the Italy trip, please e-mail them to me, so I can ensure that Her Ladyship's luxury vacation is unsullied by any outside influences.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Like Lis said -- I love my sister, and all of Lis's side of the family, and I go to Florida to see them.

I HATE Florida with a passion, though. Weather, water, climate, terrain, everything. And I hate flying.

[rosefox]

If you don't mind me asking, why are you going to Italy if you hate and fear travel?

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Same reason I ever travel: familial duty.

My grandmother's rented a villa in Tuscany for two weeks for everyone to be able to see Italy together. And Italy does sound like a wonderful place with lots of things in it that I want to see.

Except for the "travelling" and "being somewhere not home" parts.

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

Interesting. To me, the fact that a family member has arranged an event does not create any obligation to attend, provided it is not one of the traditional rites of passage. I know you get more of your sense of identity from being-in-community than I do, but the specifics sometimes still surprise me.

[gingicat]

Would you like me to be your travel agent? Give me dates and cities, I'll do the rest?

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Can you do the mental split of "planning a dream holiday I'll never take but I'll see what's out there" while conviently ignoring the fact you'll be travelling? Travel is scary but I usually get so caught up in the wow factors of seeing what's out there that I can kind of gloss over the details. Maybe start with the fun dreaming parts first?

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Ah -- but, see, I hate BOTH parts of travelling -- both the GETTING somewhere and the BEING somewhere parts.

If I could be somewhere for just an hour or two, then that would be fine. I like new things, and I like new people, and I like new foods and new experiences. But I HATE new places.

My dream holiday would involve staying home. And having lots of people from all over the place coming by and telling me about different parts of the world, and maybe looking at maps and seeing pictures and cooking foods from all over the place.

So long as I didn't personally have to GO there.

To me, the dreaming isn't fun. I mean, yeah. There are things in Italy that are going to be cool to see -- Castel Gandalfo, Bruneschelli's Dome, all sorts of cool things.

And, if I'm going to be in Italy, and I'm going to see those things, I'll enjoy them.

But I don't want to see them.

Being there, and seeing them, I'll enjoy it. But I do not, now, look forward with any pleasant anticipation to the experience of doing so, even though, intellectually, I suspect that I will enjoy the experience.

[arib.livejournal.com]

Why do you hate to travel? I can definitely understand the "being somewhere that isn't home" thing for prolonged periods of time, though.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

If you don't mind me asking, why go? It's okay to not like travel. No different than not liking certain foods. My personal feeling is that familial duty ends where extreme triggers are pulled, and that any family can still have fun with or without one individual. It's a lot of money to be spending on something that makes you unhappy, too. Why not not go?

[(Anonymous)]

Had no idea. Hmmm. Is it like rock climbing, or open water rowing?
Lets face to face on this.
Duzzy