Arriving in a Place for the First Time

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There is nothing quite like your first time.

It’s a feeling that stays with you forever.

That moment when you first discover something new; when your being opens up to the learning, exploring, and feelings of awe and understanding.

When you look at something for the first time you see it for what it really is. It is not tainted by history, stories, or understandings, it is just the way it is.

Before our mind starts connecting to it, analysing it, or forming opinions on it.

As I was winding around the rolling hills of the verdant Rotorua countryside on a bright yellow aqua duck, it hit me just why I am addicted to travel.

Arriving in a place for the first time
Touring Rotorua in an Aquaduck

I love exploring and discovering every thing there is to the earth and the life that plays upon it.

Just like a junkie who is always after the next hit hoping it will be just like the first shot of Euphoria pulsing under their skin.

Unlike a junkie, that first hit happens again and again as I move from one place to the next.

I want to do this forever.

My whole body surged with deep travel lust.

I believe that we all are born with a purpose, a task that only we can do and I believe that we are all a part of something that is so much higher than our selves.

I once read somewhere that part of what we do is so that “God” can experience life through us.

Some of us are gifted musically so he can hear the beauty of sound; so that she can witness the vibrant colours of our earth through the artists and photographers; and taste the exquisiteness of foods through our chefs.

I want to be the eyes of God, the scholar and reporter, the one responsible for showing her or him the awe and beauty of this world we all live in.

I want to discover everything about life from every corner of the globe; I want to eat it up.

When I first visit a place, I generally fall in love. I take in the surface of it before diving deeper to understand what lies at the core of its spirit.

What can I learn from this place?

How can I grow and improve?

How can I allow awe and gratitude for life take precedence?

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20 thoughts on “Arriving in a Place for the First Time”

  1. Caz, I love your blog. You are awesome. This post describes exactly how I feel about traveling. And what a better place to have these thoughts than in Rotorua- love it there! I arrived in Rotorua on the top of a log truck. Best hitchhiking ride I’ve ever had. 🙂

    1. Thank you so much Betty! Your arrival into Rotorua sounds very memorable and exciting 🙂 Would love to hear more! Rotorua is indeed very beautiful and unexpected for me. I would love to go back

  2. Perfectly stated!

    I too am like a junkie. Nothing tops that thrill of landing in a new environment with no plans, no maps and most of all no preconceptions!

    fluentinfrolicking.com

  3. Caz, I love the phrase: “deep travel lust.” It’s so earthy, and yet all too true by personal experience. 🙂

    The eyes open a little wider, the heart thumps a little stronger, the pace picks up a little faster. A year of this – and I don’t know if I can ever go back.

    Thanks for your post, Caz!

    1. It courses through my veins Henry!! I can never live without it, which is so great but at times can make life a little difficult 🙂
      Thank you Henry, I appreciate you 🙂

  4. I love new experiences too, it is the main reason I travel and choose to try new things 🙂 There is a term for being “addicted” to travel, called Dromomania, coined by the French in the 19th century. Although it is a tad on the extreme side 😉

  5. I also love returning to a place I’ve been before as a guide to someone new. Just seeing that same awe and surprise on their face, for the excitement of it all… it’s unbeatable.

    After a while on the road the colours tend to run into each other. So its a wonderful feeling when you are somewhere completely new, unexpected, and you feel your heart racing again.

  6. Dromomaniac sounds a bit like someone really into Dramamine. Or really into Dromedaries (Llamas and the like.)

    I like the wandering aspect of cities that and people watching. So for me the travel is more about meeting people and seeing random things. I don’t get that rush so often, but it is cool. For that reason I like to get to a place early in the morning to see it in early light and watch the people come out.

  7. So beautifully written. And so true. I love that feeling of falling in love with a place when you visit for the first time. Just wandering and exploring a new place is so refreshing. It’s part of what keeps me travelling.

  8. First Time experience is really momentous! Glad that you enjoy your first time experience there. I bet you have lot of photos taken and have tasted new food. In my case, if it’s my first time in a place, i always got a souvenir be it a ticket, a card or a disposable table napkin. I just love to collect and place it in my travel book.

  9. Yes absolutely! Seeing a place for the first this is the best feeling. It’s like opening my eyes for the first time 🙂

  10. Well said and inspiring, Caz. You are a magnificent scholar and reporter, and I’m so glad you share your writing as you do.

  11. The moment I step into a place I’ve never been to before always makes me feel alive. I feel like a kid again with so much curiosity as to what the new city I just entered has in store. Even the moment I see signs in a different language I get excited because I know I’m going to experience something out of the norm that I’m used to.
    Q & I enjoyed Rotorua too… despite the funky smells. 🙂

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