Re-thinking Einstein’s definition of insanity

For me, travel is about experiencing new things, meeting new people and getting a new perspective that isn’t readily available at home. Travel is a way to expand my mind, stretch my dollar as far as it can go and stretch my comfort zone farther than it has ever gone. While I love trying new things and seeking relatively foreign challenges, I found a small phenomena sneaking in to my day-to-day life. This bizarre act is known as becoming a creature of habit.

While it isn’t in my nature, I’ve found that while traveling I start to follow repetitive rhythms and patterns throughout my day. Maybe it is the result of seeking some sort of normalcy in an ever-changing life, but the fact is, if I stay in a place for longer than a few days, I become predictable. I start to wake up at the same time, I choose to frequent the same cafes and restaurants, and even go to the same secluded spot I staked out on the beach the day before.

Though this behavior would scare me back home, I’ve realized that becoming a creature of habit has positive implications while abroad. Though doing the same thing can get old, frequenting the same cafes and eating in the same restaurants adds a sense of community to a seemingly lonely way of life. By choosing to have most my meals at a local restaurant, I started to see more of the natural laws of the land, as well as built a relationship with the people who work in the restaurants. Barriers begin break, and before I know it, simple conversation turns into enlightening and deep interaction.

I’m not going as far as saying that everything a traveler does should become uniform, but I will say that eating in the same place for a meal or so each day is a good thing. Try it out for yourself and you’ll see that in time, you will get more than just a cheap meal from the establishment in which you’ve become a regular.

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