Gypsies- This is Who we Are!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb0jVEFb-dg]

 

Backpacking is like flying: You never know where you will end up next. When you learn to travel in such a way, it can be difficult to go back to the more traditional (or conservative) way. Most of you are probably wondering how can someone become a backpacker… How do you become a backpacker? You need to be exposed to it! But most importantly, you need to have it in you! If you are always looking for adventure and get bored easily, then you can be a backpacker. But are those characteristics enough? No they aren’t. When do babies learn to walk alone? When they don’t need their parents to hold them, right? So… that makes backpackers independent. They can easily spend days alone in a foreign country and the only way to survive through that is being independent enough to get through it alone- meaning finding a place to sleep, finding food, communicating with locals and getting from Point A to Point B. A backpacker is also a risk-taker. If they were more conservative people, they’d be sunbathing at some resort or part of organized tour somewhere. Being in a different country alone or with a friend is a risk. There are a million things that can happen to you, and you need to be ready to deal with them. The last trait you need is character. You will have to stand up for yourself because no one else will do it for you! So are you ready to fly? Because you may eventually get bored of walking…

 

 

It’s funny because as backpackers,Nara & I, feel normal when we travel. We meet people who are like us, who enjoy to backpack (walk or hike), who seek adventure and appreciate where they are (yes, this also means when you’re stuck somewhere with crappy weather!). It’s easy to relate to each other when you feel like you’re in your element. All we really have is a backpack, a few items, some or no direction but an incredible amount of memories to share and experiences to grow from. So little, yet so much! This feeling unfortunately changes when we come back home. Living in a multicultural city, we both feel lucky to be surrounded with such rich culture. However, the concept of backpacking is foreign to most people here. Yes, they obviously know what backpacking is but they can’t relate to us and we can’t relate to them! Sometimes people look at us as if we were from a different planet. They don’t understand how we would prefer to travel low-budget when we can afford a somewhat more luxurious trip. Although most people seem interested in our travel stories, it doesn’t mean they would for a moment consider doing it. But why not? Is it because general public is afraid of the unknown? How can the unknown be unknown when we are surrounded by so much media? We’ve all seen the Amazing race… that show has millions of spectators! Why are we not meeting millions of backpackers?! We can strongly relate to this song from Shakira because we feel like we are gypsies when we’re home. We always feeling the need to get out of the city to travel somewhere different. The questions is: When will the rest of you be ready to come with us to discover what’s really out there?!