I’m pretty far removed from grammar classes, but when is it you learn about nouns? First grade, right? I still remember shortly after learning to read about Dick, Jane, and Spot, that a noun was a person, place, or thing. So, let’s talk about travel grammar, specifically, travel nouns.
Travel is all about places, right? To be sure I’ve been to some incredible places, and had experiences beyond what I’ve ever dreamed; skiing the Alps, snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, walking on the Great Wall, standing on the Acropolis…. You get the idea, any more would be bragging.
I’ve picked up some amazing things too; some really great souvenirs. There is that boomerang from Australia, those awesome shirts from Italy, and Rhonda looks amazing in those boots from Portugal.
When I return from a trip, everyone is anxious to hear about the place. When we contemplated starting to help out with Extra Touch in 2010, I said to Rhonda, “I think this will be neat, but I just don’t know that I want to go back to Alaska 25 times like your parents.” About 15 minutes into the first trip, I told Rhonda, “I’ve got this figured out. It’s not about the places, it’s about the people.” I knew right away that traveling with neat people, and building new friendships would be the highlight of every tour. As our travels continued, I was able to experience many new cultures, and meet people from places next door, and around the world.
Yes, travel is about seeing God’s great world, but the biggest highlights, even beyond the seeing, sailing, skiing, snorkeling, ziplining are the people; the architect in Christchurch, New Zealand we shared dinner with in his home, the couple in the Netherlands we had coffee with in their home. The school children we visited in South Africa, Our Muslim guide in Morocco, the amazing friendships we’ve forged with Extra Touch travelers.
Going to amazing places is, well, AMAZING! As far as travel nouns go though, the definition always starts with PEOPLE.
P.S. I can’t wait to go back to Alaska next August. We have a lot of great people already signed up. I think this might be my 7th trip. Want to go to amazing places? OK, but be prepared to make amazing new friends.