Not a Vacation, Not a Holiday

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A rather incredible double-hitter. The first hit was when my friend Jill forwarded me a post on "The Travels of Ibn Battutah", where it makes sure to point out that his travels were NOT a holiday. Then came the second hit, when I read the post "Not a Vacation" on Over Yonderlust. There is a very critical point here--the hinge where travel and tourism differ. Travel immerses and takes on a lifestyle. Tourism takes a "vacation" from a lifestyle, then quickly defaults back to that lifestyle once the vacation has ended.

I'm not here to say that one is better than the other. I will say this: there are more tourists than travelers, and, because we travelers are the minority, we are constantly placed under the assumptions that we are tourists and that we are on vacation. This is not a vacation. This is our life... and the world is our home.

I highly suggest reading both articles, including the comments on Over Yonderlust.

Favorite phrase lately: (from the French) "Merci pour ce moment."; "Thank you for this moment." (with thanks to Olivia for the phrase)

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