Everytime I hear a plane overhead I look up and dream. I thought that this time it would take me longer than a week to get back into that state, but sadly, no, I am addicted to travel. I have been feeling depressed the whole day. I feel that, right now, my life is pointless, that I have nothing to look forward to.
It’s not just being on holiday that I miss, it’s the planning and the dreaming too. As a tourist you neither have to care about the country you left behind, nor delve too deeply into the politics and future of the country that you are in. That is for those that live there. More and more I find myself despairing at what is happening to Australia and at it’s citizens. Jingoistic flag waving and denigrating remarks about other cultures only makes me love a culture less.
Travel is an escape from all that. Some people use trips overseas to help other places and people, others just complain. I guess I only skim the surface, because most places that I have visited do well enough by themselves without requiring my help. Instead I try to learn from them, to appreciate what works well and wish that it were true in Australia.
I should do more. Only, I really feel like I have so little time. So much of my working day is taken up travelling to and from work and in doing that work that the rest of the time I just want to rest. One day a week is housework, the other – we all need breaks. But how long can ths keep going on for?
I have always loved to travel, dreamed of it since I was quite young. First it was escaping back to Melbourne. No it is escaping overseas. Yet when I was younger I also looked forward to other goals, mostly dreaming of making a contribution in science. That seems less likely, despite working in Australia’s premier science institution. The CSIRO itself seems to be heading in the wrong direction, reflecting the will of its political masters.
Perhaps I should enrol in a university course, difficult as it is to find time to do that (just look at my astronomy studies). I wouldn’t mind learning some languages. There is a lot of satisfaction to be gained from study, a continuing sense of achievement.
Barring some major misfortune, this isn’t the end of my travels anyway. Somehow we’ll find a way to travel, kids or not. Right now I would be happy to visit Melbourne or catch a train to Canberra. There are many other places in Australia and the rest of the world that we are yet to visit.