i am a traveller
i resent being labeled as a tourist
but know that one cant always escape the label
for a foreigner is always seen in that light.
a tourist stays in fancy and pretentious hotels
they eat in prescribed restaurants
they visit cities churches museums and monuments
they talk loud drive bad and ignore the common man.
they often are focused on their own need
they isolate themselves from the heart of every place
the common man walking by on the street
while they rush off to take another picture somewhere else.
more than often they are pressed for time
running around to get the most out of their packaged deal
never relaxing or stopping never looking up
to salvage the simple moment now forever lost in time.
i consider myself a traveller
i am guided by the local time
i never feel pressed or rushed
but allow the time to pass like i allow the common man.
to walk the backstreets and to see the dirty corners
to smell the stench and to hear the noises
i stop to observe the kids playing in the park
to identify with the local childlikeness.
i enjoy staying in small villages with families and friends
to eat sleep and drink the way the locals do
even if it means staying up late for another drink or two
to listen to old fables and truths told by a mothers tongue.
i consider myself a traveller
for me it is important to understand and see
the origin of a person or product
to indulge and experience its true value and expression.
i need to feel the place and its people
to absorb the mountains and the hills
to smell the sea and listen to the crashing of the waves
and to see if it stirs the same rememberance in me.
travelling to me is not only a change of destination
its a change of thoughts dreams and desires
to dive into a pool of unknown delicacies and pleasures
without an expectation of what never will be.
i consider myself a traveller
because i stop to listen.
i consider myself a traveller
because i stop to look and see.
because i stop to look and see.
i consider myself a traveller
because i open myself to feel.
because i open myself to feel.
i consider myself a traveller
because i allow myself to be moved inside.
because i allow myself to be moved inside.
i carry with me a bag of tales and fables
i have an endless file of landscapes and sceneries
i gloat at the mere thought of every memory
as the experiences wah over me stirring my passion.
i consider myself a traveller
for i know there will never be an end
the vastness of every destination makes it impossible
but the journey is always worth the while.
I AM A TRAVELLER.
