I wish I had time to write. I wish I sat for an hour a day and wrote about all of the wonderfully simple adventures and great things that happened to me for that day. I wish I wrote about the tastes and smells of all the food that I get to eat. I wish I wrote about the personality and kind hearts of all the locals and other travelers I get to meet. I wish I wrote about all the hilarious mistakes and wrong turns I make on any given day. I wish I wrote not on this blog, but in my own personal diary. I wish I made the time. I know in 10 years I will look back and tell myself…I wish I would have been better about keeping a record of my travels.
I brought a journal and in a month I have opened it once. My “good for now” solution is this small $1 calendar I picked up in Chicago before I left. It gives me about 2.5 inches of space to write. I know I can’t write much, but I write down the important names, feelings, smells, funny moments that I dont want to forget. It isn’t as thorough as I want it to be, but it helps me not forget.
When you are on the road, how do you record your experiences and memories?
I’m celebrating my 10th anniversary of quitting my job to travel and I can tell you that what you will remember most is that it was one of the best things you’ve ever done in your life, and all the details that you wish you had recorded will hit you spontaneously throughout all those years in moments that will surprise and delight you. Your post is reminding me to go back to my own chicken scratch journal from my Africa travels which I haven’t picked up since the days I wrote in them. Thanks!
I hope in 10 years I can still pull out my tiny calendar “diary” and laugh at the memories that stream back to me. I also hope in 10 years, like you, I am still filling out chicken scratch notes from my travels – thanks for the inspiration!
I use a really small notebook. When I get “home” at night I write down the names of places, people or food, ad real short comentaries. At least I’ll know where I was in a particular day. After that I post the worth-mentioning parts on my blog. That works for me!