By Sandra Gilch.
A blond man with a backpack and a professional camera hanging around his neck. Over there a sporty man on a mountain bike, he seems like he is looking for someone as he stretches his neck in dierent directions to be able to see every angle of the Jardín del Turia in Valencia.
There is a guy who is holding a bike in his right hand and with the left one he holds onto the hand of a woman, who holds their baby carriage with the other hand. A little farer away is a couple who both were caps and have very pale skin, probably they prefer the shadow… Yes, I am right, now they sit down in the shadow below a tree. Later I see another couple – so much love in this world. They speak German, for a moment the woman lets down her man’s hand and so she takes a picture of the
orange tree in the sun… Over there are two boys looking for the perfect picnic spot. One of them is calculating with his arm where the sun might be turning to in the next hours.
Some people hide in the shadow, others prefer the sun – in parks and in life
When travelling alone, you can take time to observe everything around you. And still, keep yourself undercover when recognizing people from your home country. May it be from their language, or less obvious from their clothing style or behavior. In big cities, there are many areas that are rather for locals and others that attract a lot of tourists. The Jardín del Turia in Valencia is a place for both worlds. Locals come here for their daily sport routine, to walk their dog or to let their children play. Nonetheless, most people strolling around the park don’t seem to live here. You recognize them from speaking another language, or simply from the tourist mode they bring to the table. I am taking the perspective of observing how different cultures, different worlds come together in this one place for a moment in time. It makes me realize how unique every moment is. A city never looks the same from one day to another. Every day, humans create a new flow of energies. As individuals, we can be in our own world and connect ours with other people’s worlds while physically being at the same place. Little do we know what is going on in the minds and life of all the strangers we see passing by only through the course of one day. The energies that come together in touristic places are especially diverse as the travelers that occasionally meet in one place come from places far away with different backgrounds and life situations and, related to their nationality, with different habits shaping their life. The uniqueness of the constellation of people in one place at one moment in time should make us appreciate each moment of our day, of our life, even more.
How many people might be smiling right in this moment? Think about it, maybe you
want to join them
Through observing and interacting with other people and getting to know their life situations, we can experience how we ourselves behave or feel in another place away from our hometown. Travelling alone gives us a special glimpse of these experiences because we have no other shoulder to lean on, we are our home in these moments when we experience new places and get to know people. Being in a place for more than a few days, maybe even living there for a few weeks or months, can help us to understand the changes and novelties every day brings along. On this journey, in this beautiful process of travelling and reflecting on ourselves and the world, we will find answers to questions, and we will make new questions to be answered. We will experience moments and stories that are worth being remembered. Moments that shape our personality, moments that make us fall in love with the diversity of cultures, with the beauty of life and the uniqueness of every single instance of time.
This article is part of the practical work carried out by the students of the Master’s in Travel Journalism.
Sandra, your article is truly beautiful and deeply human. Inside you, there resides a hidden storyteller. Bring that part of you to life—try knocking on the door of the story within you, letting that feeling and literary gift emerge. Pay close attention to the details, do not lose the storyteller that lies dormant within.