Traveling: A Way To Link Us All

We at Wetravel could go on and on about how life-changing travel is, but that's just because we've seen how transformative it can be! By traveling, we learn more about ourselves and the rest of the world. We grow and gain a better understanding of the diverse perspectives of the world. One of our bloggers, Kayla, continues to share her travel experiences and the lessons she's learned along the way. This week, she discusses how travel links us all together and how she's experienced this in her own life.

When you’re traveling in another country, you usually don’t expect to meet someone from your hometown. There are more than 190 countries, 440 islands, and 7.2 billion people on this planet-- the probability is just so low.

Yet, I often find that people have had these rare occurrences happen to them, in which they cross paths with someone unexpected. Many tell funny stories about how they came across a mutual friend in a distant country in the most obscure way.

For example, take when I joined my sorority during my freshman year at UC Berkeley. As it turned out, the mother of one of my ‘sisters’ Michelle was actually in the same medical fraternity as my father… back in the Philippines... more than twenty-five years ago. Not only that, but Michelle had grown up in the same hometown as me and even finished high school there like I did, but we had never met before that moment.

I was reminded of these chance encounters while on the Costa Rican island of Tortuguero last week. After brunching with an older couple from Atlanta, the two mentioned that another couple from Iowa would be joining us shortly, having arrived late due to a flight delay. The husband was currently living in the Bay Area, and his wife was joining him now that she had graduated from university herself. After our first conversation, I discovered that she will actually be working for the athletics program at UC Berkeley. As a member of the Events Management team and as the Volleyball Supervisor for Cal Recreational Sports, I know that it is very likely that I’ll see her again. It’s funny how things work out like that!

Traveling reminds me that everyone is more linked than it seems. Obviously, this planet is huge, with an abundance of land and sea to explore. But I think that meeting other travelers helps reduce that vastness and serves as a reminder that we have the ability to connect with people near and far.

Image source: Kayla Bernadino