The need for travel

Since I was a child, I've been accustomed to travel, live in different places, even countries, meet new cultures, make new friends, have unique experiences, etc...

If we talk about countries, I've lived in Peru, Bolivia, Puerto Rico, Colombia and Venezuela. All these in Latin America. I've studied in 8 schools in total, graduating at a british one in my birth country (Markham College). My parents always cared to give me the benefit of speaking english as well as spanish, which has served me most so far, and I am infinitely grateful.

I've made friends in all these countries, and by consecuence have a long list of contacts, and now with the Facebook it is easier to keep in touch.

I've studied in 2 universities (because of travel), and I'm thinking on going to live to Australia in about 2 or 3 years, since I went for 50 days in 2007 to see how it was, and I loved it. It's another world, a country where everyone can do ANYTHING inside the limts of law and individual freedom.

Well, the purpose of this article is to highlight a need I would call "The traveller's sindrome" (if there isn't one already).

I'll explain it with my example: I can't stay in one place, doing the same routine for more than 4 months, and I have measured it almost exactly. Past the 4 months I start to feel bored, powerless, desperate, and all of its synonyms. And I think it is because even though we human beings have turned into sedentary, sometime boring, rutinary and monotonous, we still have our nomadic side, that which pushes us into looking for new things, adventures, discoveries. If not... Why would tourism even exist?

I have the belief that people need to travel at least 2 or 3 times a year, even if it is not far. Raise the adventurer spirit, that curiosity that we need so much in today's life to stand out, hability that can be developed via a travel. Another competence to develop is improvisation, because even though it is always better to plan a trip, so when we arrive we are not lost in the air (unless you are a veteran backpacker), usually not all we have planned happens, because as one English friend I met in Australia told me once (her name is Lucy): "Life is what is happening while you are planning your future, so don't plan TOO MUCH, or you'll never life".

I will continue on with this in another post, because this is enough as background information.

Progress.. creates or destroys cities?

It's a good question... Yesterday I talked with my friend Diego Vera, and between the emotion of telling him about my trip to Australia and the natural beauty that country has, as well as its industrial development, he showed me a video which he thought was AWESOME. Unfortunately it is in spanish and I have not found a translated one, but if you still want to see it, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcQUtLOhfvQ. It is seriously AMAZING!!!

It's plot is about the end of the cities due to progress. Interesting... And that is why I used this question as title. Because it is important to think and meditate about how us, seeking everyday for more progress, more material things, as if it was a race, as if the world was gonna end, as if we had ignored all the beauties nature gives us and instead, create our own artificial (man-made) nature.

Industry is necessary for the progress of our cities, and is also the cause of the destruction of them. But, without industry, could we survive? Would today's human being throw away the change of having a car, going to the disco with music at max loudness, having a job, buying a better house everytime he can, and, most of all, consume the incredible ammount of electricity which bills don't reflect in their numbers?

Australia has a 21 million population aproximately, and a surface area of about all Europe Together. Maybe that is why there is way much of natural wildlife still existing, but another reason is that its people don't want to see their country devastated by pollution and deforestation. Imagine if that happened, people in other countries could never again say "I wanna go to the land of the kangaroos" because they wouldn't exist anymore.

So then... WHAT DO WE DO?... and one more time WHAT DO WE DO!!!!!!?

That is the hardest question to answer, and still we have a lot of time before the earth's resources deplete, including the oxygen in the air... but this is an answer we would expect from a conformist, isn't it? Why wait for everything to be in red alert, when we can start right now!

I don't have an answer yet, and that is why I write about this, because I know that at least one person is going to read this and will be able to answer it from a point of view he/she finds convenient, and please consider I am open to criticism, but! I also want you to write a solution that comes into your head, and that way we can begin to contribute with our bit :D