I'm obsessed with the prospect of travel. I dream of foreign places. Like Gustave Flaubert, who Alain De Botton portrayed in his book The Art of Travel. He despised everything about his hometown of Rouen and the Bourgouise society of France with a passion. He dreamed of travelling and finding his way to Egypt to ride a camel and sit under palm trees against azure blue skies.
Flaubert felt entirely more at home in Egypt when he finally went. He felt his personality was much more suited to the way of life and atmosphere. He even proposed that a persons native country should be defined by what country he feels most happy and content in, and the country that makes him dream to be there.
I can relate massively to Flaubert because, through travelling I found Greece. When I first went, back in 2004, I fell in love with the place. Ever since then, I've felt as though i'm destined to live there so I can feel sun on my shoulders day after day and sit back at a cafe with an ice tea and watch life go by. There's no doubt my personality suits Greece much better, my laid back attitude is at odds with the work orientated 9-5 routine culture endured by the hardy Brits that live their work filled lives under grey skies and spitting rain.
The lifestyle enjoyed by people of many countries, not just limited to Greece, but also Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sardinia suits my character completely. In these countries where even in the middle of their work day, people sit around outside, relax and chat because their climate allows them to.
My desire to spend more time in Greece, or anywhere abroad that I can describe as exotic, is driven by my existence back home. I'm in my early twenties, at a time of change in my life, when a persons lies in between the madness of a misguided youth and the early stems of adulthood, and the need for responsibility and a career that will provide support and fulfillment, although the latter is only a bonus. This need is heightened by my parents leaving me to my own devices and setting up in France where the grass is greener, living is cheaper and all that.
The plateau between youth and responsible adulthood is usually passed relatively easily for my freinds and acquiantances of the same age. I however live my life stuck in a rut, not quite ready to dedicate my life to a particular profession, and still rooted to the lifestlyle i've lived in my youth of getting drunk, having fun, trying it on with girls and generally dossing about.
I'm not a completely loose cannon though. My vague aim in life is to land a job in the creative industry, i've studied Interactive Media at college and I spend my free time teaching myself how to webdesign and furthering my graphic art abilities to an employable level.
At least I think about doing these things, in reality I indulge in all types of escapism. reading, writing, watching travel and culture programmes on TV and getting distracted by the various addictions of the internet, reading blogs, youtube and playing online backgammon (a national institution of Greece) All things that, for fleeting seconds distract from my existence in society, which, having lived through the madness and excitement of youth has become boring and out of place.
I find myself questioning where my passion really lies, surely if I was completely passionate about being a creative professional I'd be itching to dive headfirst into the world of css, database management and computer graphics at every opportunity. My lethargy combined with my inability to decide what I want to do with my life keeps my listlessly plodding along in the small commuter town in leafy Hampshire where I've lived all my life and become intensely bored of.
A combination of my love for Greece, and the dissatisfaction I feel for my home country, where, in Flaubert's words, the sun comes out as often as you find a diamond in a pigs arse, means my trips to Greece are a big deal for me. It's when I live my life, instead of existing like I do at home. That's why i've started writing an account of my experiences and thoughts in a vague diary form everytime I go, not just to Greece but anywhere abroad. There's no better time to start this blog than the present before i'm about to head off to Greece for a three week holiday.
So yeah, I hope there are some of you out there that might enjoy reading my blog and get something from it, but if not I will enjoy writing it anyway and that's good enough reason for me. :p
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