poor peasant Koreans, country folk
they didn't know what traveling was
why travel when you barely have enough to eat
your world consists of your family, village, church
such small dreams
today we live in the age of travel.
jet planes + online ticketing + multi-city packages
we look down on people who've never been out of their
home state. the Midwest. the United States.
"you haven't traveled much, have you?"
to the well-traveled, we assume cosmopolitan virtues
open-minded. broadened horizons. worldly wise.
on my last vacation, i went on a 2-week trip thru vietnam
just to say i've been there. + because i like spring rolls
i paid $45 for a visa + stayed in $5 a night motels + ate lots of pho
+ got herded around the major Vietnamese cities, the "beaten tourist track"
the whole trip cost $500. it was a fair transaction.
i'd like to say that it opened my eyes, and i've become a better person as a result
but that'd be overreaching. i was just a tourist passing thru
i used Vietnam to take my photos, make my memories, have my fun.
+ Vietnam used me to make a few bucks
+ though i can now say "you have a beautiful country!" to a vietnamese person on the street
i don't really understand Vietnamese people any better
on the bus back home, i met some world travelers, on 4-5 month long excursions, globetrotting trips crossing China, India, multiple years on the road. picking fruit in Australia, sheepherding in New Zealand to save money, to travel some more. Africa. hitchhiking thru South America. grizzled backpacker types, roaming around Southeast Asia on a leg of their world tour. + now they were spending a week or two in my country. just to check it off their list. because their guidebook says the people are friendly, the food is good, and it's "off the beaten tourist track"
they were living the dream
+ for a minute, i was jealous of them
but i shouldn't have been
jealous of a dream that's not mine
i've been living here for a year
i consider this place home
i've made good friends
the kind of friends you keep for a lifetime
i haven't really traveled much
+ maybe i don't need to
sometimes small dreams
are better
