“Can you really travel for months without money?” A friend asked. “It’s quite possible,” I answered during a video call. “I left Mexico with a few. You just have to set your priorities.”
I always said that in the world, there are more good than bad people. Why? Because you can find everywhere acts of kindness; even a “good morning” is appreciated.
But why is this important? Because when you do cultural travel for months (even without money), you will need the help of people. And fortunately, there’s always someone who needs help too, and both can become supportive.
So is it only necessary to get help from others to do a cultural travel? Not precisely. The answer can be resume in one word: service. Here’s why.
From Cultural Travel to Service
I’ve got to let it be clear that doing cultural travel (almost) for free is not the most important thing, but what you do and how you can change the people’s lives during the journey are.
Certainly, you will see how people change yours first, because on your path, you’ll find someone up to help you (if you genuinely ask for it). And I said so not because you are in any danger whatsoever, but while traveling in this way, we need people, we need to talk to them and support each other to make it. It’s not easy, but it’s necessary.
Also on WHere?!: Cultural Transportation: Enriching Budget Travel and Ride Sharing for Nomads
And when we start getting immersed in the culture, and do our best to coexist with the locals, the outcome is… love. Why? Even a nice talk, a smile, or even a fun moment you have with someone, can lead to kindness, because nowadays the world needs these small acts of humanity.
It may come from emotional support, some food, or even people who are up to invite you to their homes to grab a coffee or to sleep a day in the couch. The actions of kindness are infinite, I can assure you. And every person shows love differently and according to their possibilities.
“because nowaydays the world need this: small acts of humanity”
At the same time, when a person offers some help, in my case, the sense of gratitude flourishes and I want to give back a little of everything what they did for me. So I can do it through “Service”.
When someone helps by others we have the opportunity to support others as well. Small actions like listening to people, buying food to share, or even cleaning the places where we are (if they allow it), can be good shows of gratitude through service.
And when we give, everything comes back, that’s a life law. That’s why when we find people to serve, we grow at the same time, and they’re up to help us as well. That’s the key.
A nomadic world travel immersed in love
It’s well-said that it is easier giving than receiving, so you might feel weird getting a hand during your travel.
“They could have a doble intention behind” or maybe “now I must give something back”, are normal thoughts after receiving. Nevertheless, it’s important to pass through these scenarios to understand soon when the help is genuinely or not.
Likewise, I know that the feeling of commitment to giving back the help (or favor, as others call it) is strong, so we would rather not receive it. The thing is that you don’t have to give back gratitude to the person who helped you (great if you can), but you can give it back to the world, to others as well.
“when we find people to serve, we grow at the same time, and they’re up to help us as well.”
When I traveled to Slovakia the first time, many people invited me to their homes to share a meal, to grab a cake or even to spend the night there, when I really needed. Maybe I couldn’t give back (yet) the shown of kindness, but I had the chance to shared a meal with another travel, or host him for some days, or having a great conversation with them. In the end, I could give it back.
These days, I’ve spent time in a Macedonia home. The mother of my host is lovely. Meanwhile, I do gardening, she cooks for everyone. I help her as much with a feeling of gratitude. That’s why shows of love lead us to gratitude, this take us to serve, and service is love in action, so we give it back. It’s a cycle.
If you put in practice these values, you’ll find the way to travel as long as you want, and you will make a big family on the way.
Would you give it a shot?
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