when you come home from travel...

[dragonfly411]

Do you ever feel like you''ve left part of yourself in the place you went? And is it ever long lasting? I can say this is so for several places for me. A piece of me resides in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee.... another resides in Texas, on the dude ranch I visited there, yet another is living in the hills of California. I wouldn''t say it stayed in San Francisco, but we traveled to San Simeon and Carmel.... there are big pieces of me hanging out between the two. I also have a very large part of me that stayed behind in the UK.... and I think about it at least twice a week. What about you?

 

[elrohwen]

Yes, I do sometimes feel like that. Actually, I don''t think I''ve felt that way lately ... it happened more when I was a little bit younger, like late teens/early 20s. The feeling usually lasts from a few weeks to a few months.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

I definitely do.

George Gershwin composed a beautiful symphony about that feeling called "An American In Paris", which is about a tourist who goes to Paris, walks around the city and abosrbs the French atmosphere, but leaves part of himself there.

 

[Lilac]

Hawaii. I think about it at least once or twice a day - about the beauty and relaxation, about how much fun DH and I had there, and how much I wish I could live in a place like that (or go on vacation there often!) I''m not sure if that''s what you mean... but it does kind of feel like part of me is still there even though I''ve been back home for over 2 and a half months (and I don''t anticipate this feeling going away anytime soon!)

 

[Bia]

Every time I leave Cape Cod I feel that way - it''s my favorite place on Earth.

 

[tlh]

What a beautiful sentiment Dragonfly! I think I more take a part of the place with me... than leave a part of me behind... as I can look back on those memories, and hold them dear, anytime I wish!

 

[Cehrabehra]

Not really, kinda the opposite. The first 20-30 min back home it feels like a familiar yet vaguely foreign place... but like when we moved back from ireland to the states the first day or two I felt like weird... like everything was the same and I'd just woken up from a long bizarre dream and I almost couldn't even remember Ireland... how weird. I could imitate the accent pretty well while I lived there, and even on the plane home I couldn't - it was gone. I still can't. And when we came back to china it was like, how the heck could I ever have been to CHINA? It's too fantastical. Most of my travels feel that way. I feel like such a house bound bum, it's hard for me to appreciate how well traveled I am as they all feel like dreams.

 

[4ever]

I''ve been to quite a few countries, the only one I feel like that about is the UK. I traveled there for 3 months almost 2 years ago now and I still miss it all the time.

 

[dragonfly411]

4ever - I am very much this way. I spent a week in London and the surrounding area (we went to Windsor, Bath... ) and I so miss it. I miss the food, and the weather... I miss the park... I miss the flowers even in people''s window boxes... I miss the rolling hills of the countryside... I miss the eerie quiet around Stonehenge... I miss the beer... I miss the statues and buildings... I think Bath was one of my favorites, and I loved Windsor. My friend is a transfer student at Oxford right now and I am jealous every single day.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 11/3/2009 12:15:29 PM
Author: Lilac
Hawaii. I think about it at least once or twice a day - about the beauty and relaxation, about how much fun DH and I had there, and how much I wish I could live in a place like that (or go on vacation there often!) I''m not sure if that''s what you mean... but it does kind of feel like part of me is still there even though I''ve been back home for over 2 and a half months (and I don''t anticipate this feeling going away anytime soon!)

I feel that way about Hawaii specifically Kauai. I do love where I live but I love Kauai more.

TLH, I feel that way; I brought of piece of it back in my memory. I can close my eyes and recall the feeling of being there?

 

[princesss]

I''m kind of with Cehra on this one.

I don''t leave a part of myself behind, I absorb what''s there and it becomes a part of me. Sometimes when I am walking around and it''s cold, I''m back in Paris for a few seconds getting lost and bumming around the city. I get a call from a friend, and we''re back in Kuala Lumpur, giggling like maniacs. I can always reach down into myself and conjure up the places that I love and surround myself with them like a warm blanket. I can peek into the little windows of my memory and get lost in Bangkok, Bilbao, Panama City, Tasmania... (or, lately, Virginia). I don''t feel like I left a part of me in each place I''ve fallen in love with - I feel more whole for having gone there.

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 11/3/2009 4:18:11 PM
Author: princesss
I''m kind of with Cehra on this one.


I don''t leave a part of myself behind, I absorb what''s there and it becomes a part of me. Sometimes when I am walking around and it''s cold, I''m back in Paris for a few seconds getting lost and bumming around the city. I get a call from a friend, and we''re back in Kuala Lumpur, giggling like maniacs. I can always reach down into myself and conjure up the places that I love and surround myself with them like a warm blanket. I can peek into the little windows of my memory and get lost in Bangkok, Bilbao, Panama City, Tasmania... (or, lately, Virginia). I don''t feel like I left a part of me in each place I''ve fallen in love with - I feel more whole for having gone there.

Nicely said!

 

[HopeDream]

I don''t ever feel like I''ve left part of my self behind, but I do connect deeply with some of the places I''ve been, and then feel homesick for them for years afterward.

It''s kind of a melancholy feeling.

 

[freefly]

Yes, I''ve always felt Hawaii is a part of me, and I''ve also left a part of myself in India, New Zealand, Bali, and many other places I''ve been to. Oh, and the place where I first started skydiving....

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I''m not one who enjoys coming "home" from vacation. I am very grateful that I can see other parts of the world, but I never feel refreshed when returning. For several days after returning to work I feel suffocated in my cube. Those boring trips to the grocery store feel that much more painful. I don''t know if I ever feel that I leave a part of myself behind, but I definitely feel that I would be about 1,000 times happier if I could spend more of my life exploring new things evey day. D and I focus on the fact that we need to accept that we might feel suffocated by our jobs 95% of the time, but they do allow us to travel and explore new things the othre 5% of the time. Not exactly the most ideal percentage breakdown, but we have to work with it.