When I travel I like to live in a country for an extended period of time. I don’t like to visit a lot of different countries in a short period of time.
I like to do this so that I can understand what life is like in that country. See what a day in the life of an average person looks like at an intimate level.
Each country has a different way of life. A different vibe or flow. People go about their days with slightly different priorities and do things at slightly different times.
The interesting thing I’ve seen though? Once you get past the initial differences such as food, transportation, and time, life isn’t all that different after all.
If you’re working in that country, you wake up, go to work, exercise, have some drinks with friends, sleep, and then repeat it all over again.
In Korea I followed the same routine every day with work and gym.
In India I went to the same cafe to work despite not having to be in an office.
On weekends I hung out with friends and went to the local bar. Not much different from what I do at home.
Other than small differences throughout the day you end up falling into a similar routine to what you would be doing back home.
I also learned that the basic needs everywhere are the same. No matter where you are in the world everyone wants food, shelter, clothing, and education. That’s it.
We all have the same basic needs and desires. Life from country to country is more or less the same in this sense. There may be cultural norms that create an appearance that we want different things, but we all crave the same basic things.
It’s funny also because friends of mine have a perception that I live this crazy lifestyle. They think that because I live in places like India and Malaysia my life is radically different and crazy.
The reality is that my day to day isn’t much different than theirs. Although I’m in a different country we’re both still living similar lives.
Perception of what life is like is rarely linked to the reality.
Traveling has taught me that once you get past the initial shock and awe of traveling to a new country and experiencing a new culture, life isn’t all that different at the end of the day.
