Motorcycle Explorer November 2016 Issue 14 | Page 122

Travel Story: katie jennings
Acceptance
Despite the positive experiences, I felt I’d let myself
down as I was aware that our negative experiences
overshadowed the positive ones. One question kept
nagging at me: “what are we doing wrong?” So
many people we know told us how wonderful
Romania was, how much they’d enjoyed it. Had they
tried harder than me? How had we had such a
different experience of it? Was I at fault, was I to
blame? It niggled and nagged relentlessly. Until,
that is I could get some distance, perspective and
reengage with the plus points.
Now I understand a little better.
better and staying connected with the positives as
time goes by. Romania provided part of the learning
curve and stamped the lesson in a little further. Hard
times are just a part of the wave of life. I can’t
prevent them. All I can do is try to meet and accept
them without blaming myself or others
inappropriately.
Vulnerable, unplanned, out-of-your-comfort-zone
travel helps with this. As one commenter with a lot
of this kind of travel experience said: “sometimes,
we just have a bad time and that’s OK”.
Still, being the worker I am, I can’t help but feel I am
I no longer blame myself for the bad experience we missing out on something. I feel that I stand on one
side of an invisible wall that is no less impenetrable
had. I don’t think we did anything wrong. It was
what it was, I don’t think anyone was to blame. I was for its invisibility. A stranger on the outside, trying in
vain to catch a glimpse of inside. Would I go back to
angry at the careless driving that endangered me
but that’s natural. My anger was justified. However, I Romania? I think so, one day. I would do things a
let it colour my experiences more than I would have little differently next time to try and see the best of
the country. Maybe on a different bike, or by
liked and I regret that a little. The cultural
different roads. Almost certainly with different
differences and small problems that would usually
expectations and a different attitude. I think I would
wash over me hit harder because of that. I’m glad I
like to try and experience it in another time, as the
got this insight as I think it’ll help further down the
different person I’ll be then. One day.
road. I hope by facing these challenges I develop
more ease with them, throwing them off a little