Mindset Prep for Travel ✈️
A discussion thread about the way we show up when we travel 🌏
I leave tomorrow for a road trip through Romania and Bulgaria with my husband, our two daughters, and my father-in-law. This will be the fourth time this particular crew has travelled together (we’ve so far been to 10 countries together) and it’s a special experience each time. I have a lot that I could write about the multigenerational approach to travel; we do the same thing with my mother each year. But today, as we prepare to leave, I have been reflecting on what it means to prepare my mindset for a journey.
This is the first-ever discussion thread that I’ve posted here on Field Notes, and I invite your thoughts, whether in the Comments below or by email!
Here’s what I’m curious about:
How do I want to show up for those I’m travelling with and those within the locations we are visiting?
How do I want to show up so that I am receptive to lessons along the way?
How do we ‘consume’ and have fun as tourists while honouring the history - past and in progress - of these places?
These are some big questions to be asking. But I suppose it’s the asking of them that is of particular significance for me at this moment. As a fairly seasoned traveller, I could approach this next trip the way I always have. In many senses, I “know” how to travel. But how might I approach it with a different mindset? How might I be intentional about the ways I’m interacting with the world?
How might it be different this time?
Wherever these questions lead you, I’d love to hear your thoughts. I look forward to sharing more of mine in an upcoming post, as well as in the comments on this thread.
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Meghan J. Ward is an outdoor, travel and adventure writer based in Banff, Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and the author of Lights to Guide Me Home. Meghan has written several books, as well as produced content for films, anthologies, blogs and some of North America’s top outdoor, fitness and adventure publications.
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I am an eight-generation Canadian and a descendent of British, Scottish and German settlers living, working, and recreating outdoors in Treaty 7 Territory — the homelands and gathering place for the Niitsitapi from the Blackfoot Confederacy, including the Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani First Nations; the Îyârhe Nakoda of the Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Goodstoney First Nations; the Tsuut’ina First Nation; the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III and many others. I am doing my utmost, both personally and professionally, to deepen my understanding of the history of Indigenous peoples and the impacts of colonialism — past and present.
We lived in Chiang Mai for 5 months the first year I retired. Worked in a Canadian school in Phnom Penh for 6 months the next year. Took our 5th wheel to Lake Chapala area of Mexico after covid. Spent 2 months camping in North Carolina last year. I enjoyed all of these places, even though they were very different
I find we enjoy living somewhere for a time to really see what life is like there. It's not about seeing the top 10 highlights of everywhere.
I'm a retired teacher and have travelled a great deal in the last few years. Your third question about being a tourist is one I think about. While I try to reduce my impact on the people and the place, I take photos and share what I learn with those at home on Facebook and on my blog.
I try to photograph people going about their daily, and often challenging lives. I don't share pictures that include people in compromising or uncomfortable situations. I do wonder, though, how I would feel if visitors were taking pictures of me in my daily life, even if they were using those images to teach others about life here.
I will give more thought to your other questions.