After travel
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By Kim Sun-ae
When I was 18, I took my first trip alone. It was a school excursion and we went to an amusement park. As soon as I got there, I wanted to go somewhere else. So I took the subway and went to Incheon.
I then asked people the way to a nearby small island and took a boat there. People kindly told me how to get to the dock and I was grateful. I went around the island and asked a few people to take my photo. They were all willing to grant my request.
Thanks to all the people who helped me, I could travel happily. During that trip, I felt love for humanity for the first time.
Travel opens our heart and broadens our mind. In our journey, we find that people, wherever they live, are just like us. We are born, grow, age and die. Everyone is the same. We are sometimes dissatisfied with our lives and seek a happier life.
When I went to see a crypt in the city of Split, Croatia this May, a young man was smoking in front of its entrance. He checked our tickets, and when we got out of the crypt, he was playing the guitar at the narrow entry and said, "Thank you.”
Perhaps the ticket checker is spending his whole day in the small space, and smoking and playing the guitar may be his only joy. Even though something looks harmful at first sight, it might be necessary for some person at that moment. We cannot rashly judge or criticize other people, because we do not know why they have become like that.
When we understand someone, we can treat the person differently. Before visiting the crypt, we went to the Temple of Jupiter. An old man was sitting in front of the temple, examining the tickets. When my sister asked him how to go to the crypt, he explained the way very kindly and said, ``Goodbye” with a smile. He knew that this would be our first and last meeting and said a warm goodbye to us travelers.
How have we lived? How should we live? How do we want to live? Most of us fill our time with unwanted habitual thoughts and actions, not knowing what we are doing. Even if we can go wherever we want, or however much money we have, we are not free if our mind is not free. During this trip to Croatia, at one moment, I suddenly felt I am free. We cannot change our past, but we can choose how we will live from now on.
My sister, mother, and I walked many hours over two days in the Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia’s UNESCO World Natural Heritage. The lakes, surrounded by thick, green forests, were jade-colored. We dipped our hands in the transparent water. The fish were swimming softly in the lakes.
We climbed to the point overlooking the big waterfall with a height of 78 meters. At the magnificent sight, my trivial worries all vanished. Travel changes us and gives us the courage to live as we want.
In the coast city of Dubrovnik, we went out to look at the stars at night. The bright moon and the stars were shining in the clear blue sky whose color resembled the sea of the city.
Next morning, we went up the Srd Hill overlooking the whole city. The endless blue sea was merging into the sky. Our lives have many possibilities. And it is we ourselves who can realize our potential.
The writer is a translator who lives in Seoul. Her blog address is https://blog.naver.com/dancinglf.