Essay On Homecoming

I had been waiting for this moment for ages, savouring its arrival. For the first time in a year, I'd get to wait in the fast line, the line that says 'Canadian Passport Holders' while all the unlucky slobs get stuck in the long "All Other Passport Holders' line. A quick look, a nod and I'm through!

Right. It turns out that Canada is one of the very few countries that does not make a distinction between nationalities, so all customs lines are equally long and boring. Further, I got stuck in the line with the Super-Attentive-Ask-A-Million-Questions Customs Officer, so every other line breezed ahead.

Just goes to show that reality often fails to live up to high expectations. The real pleasure is having no expectations at all and then being pleasantly surprised by whatever comes along. And that's just one of the many, many things I've learned while travelling during the past year. Although I won't recount every little lesson, there are a few things I'd like to share.


Patience














First, it might be surprising that I am going to claim I have learned how to be patient. I would like to state that the above scenario took place after three flights totalling 23 hours in length, not counting 18 hours stopover which could stretch anyone's patience a little. But all flying aside, I have increased my meagre store of patience and I blame it all on trying to learn how to surf.

It took me months to even claim to be a surfer, despite the fact that I often woke up at 5:30 in the morning and walked 15 minutes through town in a wetsuit to get to the beach, sometimes arriving before the sun was up. There were many times that I considered giving up on this sport that requires such a monumental amount of effort for such fleeting moments of joy. The turning point was another set of lessons after months of floundering, and in two days I was riding with ease and I've made progress on my own since. The best thing about those lessons was the reassurance that surfing is a lifelong pursuit filled with frustrations, setbacks and failures. My flatmate told me of a week-long surf trip he took to Fiji during which time he caught only three waves. Another surfer that I met one sunny afternoon in Manly said that he looks at the waves like a parking lot; if you miss this one wave/parking space, don't worry, because another one will come along soon enough.

Ultimately, I'm glad that I stuck with it, that I kept getting up early and dragging myself into a cold wetsuit and even colder water. There's nothing better than taking a deep breath of sea air, splashing through the waves to get out the back and watch the sun rise and the waves come in. Nothing better unless you've got someone or a few someones to share it with, which brings me to my next thought.


Meet The Locals














After leaving Australia I travelled to Thailand and then to Taiwan. In both countries I had the opportunity to surf, although in greatly varied conditions, and in both countries was able to connect with people over our shared love of the sport. In Thailand, where there can be such a great divide between relatively wealthy white tourists and the Thai people who serve them, I surfed alongside Phuket locals as an equal. To be fair, they were better surfers than me, but we sat on the same waves and a few girls and I shared a smile and a nod. Later I oogled pictures of local surfers on the walls of the surf shop as I returned my rental board. The lady running the shop pointed out pictures of herelf on sizeable waves and modestly claimed they were small that day.

In Taiwan, my friend Miranda and I visited the small surfing village of Jialeshuei and made friends with the village kids one evening. One boy, along with a Taiwanese tourist, taught us a new card game called Pai Chee (Seven Piles or Seven Cards in Mandarin) and the next morning we all went for a surf together. Miranda spoke some Mandarin while I speak none, and only one boy of all the village children spoke much English, but together we got by. Now I have a Taiwanese pen pal, and he's got a few English surfing words to practice.

In both cases I did something more than show up with my Lonely Planet under my arm, tick off sights on a list, and move on to the next place. I made an effort to talk to the people that lived there and share something with them, not just use them as a backdrop for my holiday snaps. And that brings me to my final thought.


Travelling Is What You Make It


















I read an interview a few months ago in a surf magazine that has stayed with me and is particularly relevant now. The interview is with Dave Rastovich, the world's most-famous and most-respected free surfer. A free surfer is someone who is paid to surf and travel the world but does not compete in surfing competitions. Rastovich has the respect of his peers (the rest of the world's best sufers), freedom from the pressure of competing in order to retain sponsors, and he gets to surf all the time. He's living the dream life, and the interviewer asks him how people react. Dave says that people would tell him he was very lucky and he would tell them he was given the same abilities as everyone else but he created the opportunites in his life that allowed him to get to where he is today. Granted, not everyone can grow up near an ocean or has the skills to become a world-class surfer, but the point is that you get out of something what you put into it.
Travelling is the same. If you put in the effort to see something new, to learn about the country you're visiting, you can have a wonderful experience and go home with new friends.

I hope to apply the things I've learned as I'm re-adjusting to living in Canada (especially patience!) and that I can find my own version of free surfing. It will just take a little time.