One of my favorite things in the world is to travel! I have been an avid traveler most of my life having started young, traveling and singing with various choirs growing up. This passion tends to have priority in my budget over other areas of luxury. I often find myself comparing the price of something to that of a plane ticket. Such as a lamp at Target is $60 and while very cute, $60 is also a flight from London to Rome. In my life, a flight wins more times than not.
Most recently, I was able to travel to Australia. This was my fourth trip to the beautiful country down under. Twice I visited the country with singing groups, and now twice with friends. Every visit reminded me of the loving people who live there and the insane number of peculiar animals within Australian borders! This last trip was probably my favorite one, though it didn’t start out to be very promising.
My first flight out of DFW was canceled thus making me miss my connection to Sydney and additionally my flight to Cairns. Cairns was meant to be a new city for me in Australia, the part of the itinerary I was most excited about. But within the first few hours of “vacationâ€, it was taken off the table. With how long it takes to get to Australia and the limited number of days I had in the country; it wasn’t feasible to keep Cairns in the plans. Enter in the number 1 mantra for being a good traveler: be flexible!
I have a running joke with friends and colleagues about having two personalities. There is Normal Rachel and then there is Vacation Rachel. Normal Rachel is an over planner and typically gets frustrated or upset when things don’t go as planned (cough*super type A*cough). Vacation Rachel is chill and laid back when it comes to plans while traveling. Planes are canceled, trains are late, luggage is lost, security is invasive. It’s all part of the process and being flexible is the best way to ensure the vacation vibe stays intact. That’s why there is the mantra. Flexibility is required of you if you want to be a good traveler. But there are PLENTY of bad travelers out there. I’ve seen my fair share wandering the airport terminals.
Being Vacation Rachel is literally my favorite version of myself. I wish I could be Vacation Rachel all the time! She is relaxed and goes with the flow, open to new opportunities and adventures, surprises and detours. Normal Rachel is less inclined to welcome new experiences and deviations. She enjoys structure and organization, well-laid plans and perfectly executed ideas. The dichotomous Rachels are still both fully me, and I am continuing to work on incorporating Vacation Rachel into Normal Rachel’s daily life. It has been slow going, but I think Normal Rachel will be thankful to have more chill in her life. I know my friends will appreciate it more! J Do you have a different attitude or personality when you travel? Tell me how well you travel and what your favorite travel mantra is in the comments!
