Tales From the Road: Beginner’s Mind

Crossing the pass on the way to Yubeng, Yunnan, China. Photos by Tim Patterson.

THESE TRAVEL STORIES are imbued with the way a traveler can feel when looking at the world as if for the very first time.

Some of the authors are young, and sometimes the writing isn’t the most polished or grammatically clean. Instead, I chose these tales for their passion and honesty.

Making friends in the Yi Village homestay.

Enjoy the stories.

1. Pointing at Difference and Finding Inclusion by Rebbeca Jacobson

Race is awfully difficult to transcend. Glimpse correspondent Rebecca Jacobson felt accepted by a group of woman in Malawi once, but it was her perspective on another white woman that brought on the laughter and high-fives.

2. I am not what you want me to be, unhappy. by Aaron Ulysses Miller

I am not what you want me to be, I will never be that person, I will never want new things, I will never need nice things, I will never own a house, or a car. I live out of my backpack and I like it that way. I am poverty. I am poor. I live not off a 9 to 5 job, but off a when I’m hungry, I find food.

3. how now brown cow by Kimberly Kenny

Travel is a rush of sensation, of thoughts, images, people, memories…nostalgia sets in fast, and memories last, even when there’s always somewhere new to go.

This post from a student on the latest Mekong Semester makes me miss both the island of Don Daeng and the joy of traveling with teenagers.

4. The Distance from Dachau to Darfur by Peter Delevett

Peter Delvett visits Dachau and experiences how simple travel choices can lead to long-lasting shifts in perspective.

5. messenger by Christina Rivera

I started reading Christina’s blog five years ago, but met her for the first time last year, in a restaurant in Varanasi. Few travelers are more inspiring.

Community Connection

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