Dear Sal,
My favorite thing
about traveling—and perhaps the most counterintuitive thing about traveling—is
the relationships you make along the way. While random and usually short-lived,
they also tend to be deep and powerful. Though many of your experiences were
with friends you knew prior to your trip, you also met many people along the
way who became important to you. You shared things, such as cigarettes, with
almost-strangers, noting you “loved them so”; you gave Eddie your shirt in
Nebraska; in Denver, made a particular effort to connect with him again.
Such relationships and your dedication
to them remind me of my own experiences traveling. In Slovenia, I met an
Australian girl in my hostel, and we spend the day together there. We got along
easily, and talked as if we were old friends. A few weeks later I was in my
apartment in Austria, where she stayed with me for a night. We met up again in
London, where we both happened to be, a few months after that. To this day, I
have in my wallet the 10 AUD that she gave me in exchange for my remaining
Hungarian forints, and though we haven’t spoken or seen each other since we
said goodbye in London almost two years ago, I think of her often when I look
back upon my travels. We couldn’t have spent more than four days together in
total, but I still think we would have been great friends, had we ever lived in
the same place.
To me, sharing unique experiences and
adventures with people who you might not see again seems odd, though also
liberating. In some ways, it’s impossible not to form a close bond with people
you hitchhike with, drink with, and search for a bed for the night with. So
quickly it can feel that those friends are ones you have known forever, despite
later parting only to never see each other again. I find this a unique irony
when it comes to traveling. When you look back on the friendships you made,
what do you think of them? Would you have become friends had you met under a
different circumstance? In your mind, what is it about traveling that causes
relationships to develop so quickly and strongly? I’m interested to hear your
thoughts.
Best,
Devon
I think you bring up a really unique point about traveling and even encounters with strangers in general. I love meeting someone nice on an airplane, a train, or even on a ski lift. I may only talk to them for a few minutes, but something about being in the same situation as another person helps you make an immediate bond and feeling of communion. I think traveling can also help form strong relationships because people are often looking for something while on the road—new experiences, new adventures, etc. and they are more open to meeting new people and putting themselves out there. To me, making new friends is a lot about one’s mindset. I wonder whom Sal wishes he could see again of all the people he met on the road. Or would he choose to not see any of them?
ReplyDeleteYou bring up an excellent point about traveling and the connections that it allows people to make with others who they usually wouldn't meet and otherwise wouldn't see. I can't help but be reminded of how Sal lost his sweater to his traveling companion and got it back in Denver as an example of one of the connections that just seem to happen out on the road. It seemed like a lot of the time during his travels that Sal would run into people and just come away with the impression that they're the most wonderful, authentic people that he has ever met.
ReplyDeleteI agree that traveling is a unique experience that allows you to forge new bonds that would not be possible while stationary in an environment that you are familiar with. Because you are unfamiliar with a place or a culture, you have to momentarily tone down your ego and inhibitions and often put trust in the people around you have a fun and meaningful journey. The situation is much more carefree and less routine, which I think Sal greatly appreciated. I feel that once things became stagnant and calculated within the novel, it was time for him to forge a path in a different direction.
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