humanity

If nothing else, travel opens your eyes to the colorful quilt that is humankind.

Behind the Sky
One day a driver is headed home from a usual work day. Most drivers listen to music as they travel from point A to point B, but this driver often likes the sound of her own thoughts. Surrounded by the symphony of life, busy streets, high wind, and rubber tires against the concrete road, the driver also hears thoughts passing through her mind and then very subtly vanishing into the abyss until something finally stuck. It was an epiphany. This epiphany appeared as the driver stopped at a red light. Past the interior of the car, past the windshield, past the stop lights, the driver saw clouds, light, and space. What a beautiful sight...what a wonderful thought. To ponder on something greater than the existence of one life and focus on the beauty of the world is priceless. The driver became filled with excitement as she thought freely into the atmosphere. She was grateful for the life she had now, though it grew monotonous. But, experiencing the beauty past the interior of her life, past the windshield of her anatomy, and past the stoplights of her mind, forced her to appreciate the ability to think freely. To have thoughts about what lies behind the usual sky, as unusual as the sky can seem allowed her to express a kind of gratitude that was genuine.
By Jamiah Sandles9 years ago in Wander
For the Love of the Game
One of the best things about living in a foreign country is exploring and becoming immersed in the local sports scene. When you’re living outside the U.S., a different kind of football takes precedence over all of the sports combined. Football, in most countries, is the national sport and one in which kids from an early age learn to play and master over the years. Whether it's a city street, a dirt field, or turf glass, football is an adaptable sport to any kind of climate which is why it's such a famed world sport.
By Ben W9 years ago in Wander
White Blank Page
I closed my eyes and absorbed the darkness, letting everything around me come alive. I had roamed the streets for hours, taking it all in: the smell of melted mozzarella on the world’s finest pizzas; the ghostly decadence of the city’s oldest buildings; a loud melody, Chopin perhaps, can be heard through an open window; the dazzling chaos of roses, daffodils and poppies sitting on sills, stealing each other’s colours; and the repetitive navy-and-white striped men, proudly parading visitors down Venice’s shimmering canals. As I reached San Marco, Venice’s personal hotbed of human stench and anarchic clatter, the sweltering summer air was hard to take in. The waves of flickering cameras and the howling chatter of the crowd engulfed the piazza. Revolted, I wriggled away from the daunting humanness. I moved away from the crowds seeking silence. The chatter faded away, as did the Sun and the unbearable trail of heat it left behind.
By Carlota Maura9 years ago in Wander
Just An Old Country Road
Unless you have lived in a city all your life, you probably have driven or walked down a country road. Sometimes it's a road home, a road to Grandma's house or to a favorite fishing or hunting spot.
By Walt Page9 years ago in Wander
Against All Odds: Tandeka's Story
The Sun beamed and I could feel the hard heat on the back of my neck. The grass shuffled, and we all stood there, quite still, quite petrified, before a beast we knew could tear our heads off in a matter of seconds. It isn’t easy to explain how, as I stood there knowing how deadly her fangs piercing on my skin would be, I felt no impulse to run as fast as I could. All I wanted was to stand there, looking at her for as long as I could, and take in the beauty of her mere existence. As I knelt before her, I felt alone. In my head, the others disappeared, and I felt her gaze upon me.
By Carlota Maura9 years ago in Wander
For the Love of Tagine
Welcome to the blue city. There is a four-year-old child clinging to his cat on the steps of his home. The blue tunnels feel like underwater caves and you almost expect sharks and dolphins to weave between the crowds. There is an old lady selling bread- hard, floury, fresh Moroccan khobz, and a flock of animals and their child counterparts run up and try to steal crumby mouthfuls. The smell of leather, incense and cinnamon loom from musty underground doorways. Handmade jewellery and hair oils line doorways and wooden shops and the pavement is cool and dusty. Doesn’t this sound glorious? This is Chefchaouen, in the far dreamy north of Morocco.
By Imogen Kars9 years ago in Wander
The Purple Backpack
If the little girl I was could see me now, with my purple backpack on my back, old tennis shoes and walking by myself on the streets of Rome, she would smile gladly.
By Angela Duran9 years ago in Wander
Siestas are Interesting
There’s good news in the world but it seems weighted towards the Southern Hemisphere although it starts somewhat north of the Equator. A continent, artificially severed by a canal, curled around a three pronged spine. Long suppressed, exploited and despoiled, it has seemingly shaken its lethargy and from various umbrae is experimenting with innovative solutions to intractable problems. An aroma emerges, the scent of potential tranquility blended with equity and possibly, even joy. But it’s just a possibility, plausible only because of dark distractions almost everywhere else; very, very dark distractions; drawing in entropy, negativity and despair as though from the gravity well of a dead and decaying universe.
By Guillermo Calvo9 years ago in Wander
Top Countries for American Expats
For most people, America is the destination, rather than a place to depart. People and families from all over the world struggle for the opportunity to come to the United States and start their lives again. In an age where travel is more accessible, and many jobs can be completed remotely, some young Americans have found that the American dream is, funnily enough, easier to find somewhere else. Some of the countries that young, American, expats now call home may surprise you. If you're thinking of finding a new home, check out this list before narrowing down your options, and make sure you consider to one of the best countries for American expats!
By Annie Kiely9 years ago in Wander
How Do You Travel When You Can't See?
Hello, everyone, I'm Jared Rimer. I've been blind since I was born. I know a lot of people are sighted out there, and they have no idea how we travel, and do other things in life. Picture yourself losing your sight, and you've been traveling and doing daily tasks your whole life.
By Jared Rimer9 years ago in Wander
The Road To Timbuktu
No, this is not a remake of a Bing Crosby and Bob Hope movie. You know, those road trip movies of the 1940's. Although they were quite funny. When we think of Timbuktu it conjures up images of such a far away remote place, so isolated very few really know where it is. To even reach Timbuktu is a remarkable trek to one of the world's most fascinating places. A rich history of scholars and scribes. Timbuktu was once the meca that supported a flourishing industry of scribes who copied texts brought by traders, merchants, and other scholars.
By Dr. Williams9 years ago in Wander
Interconnected
When the 21st Century is over and becomes another chapter in the history books, it will be known as the first truly interconnected, interdependent, and entangled era of human history. Compared to past eras, borders are more open, long-distance travel is commonplace due to modern aviation, and global commerce is more free than it ever has been. Globalization as a phenomenon has been made possible not just through open borders and advances in aviation but also due to the wonders of the Internet.
By Ben W9 years ago in Wander