Beating The Backpacker Blues

You’re home. Now what? The past few weeks or months have been filled with experiences and adventures that you’re still convincing yourself really happened. You’ve met like minds and unique individuals, some scary, others delightful. Maybe you’ve picked up new skills, been tested in ways you never thought you would be and learned things about yourself. You’ve been to another world, immersed in a different culture, seen the world through different eyes.

Now you’re home things don’t really feel like they’ve changed much. It’s easy to start feeling stagnant when you have to start thinking about getting back to the daily grind, especially if you’re looking for a new job. The joys of re-writing your CV while feeling no one will really be impressed that you can fill two industrial bins with onions in an hour or spot a rabid monkey at fifty paces.

It can feel a bit depressing when all you want to do is get back out there but lack the capital. When looking at your bank balance that untravelled horizon can start feeling all too distant. While you wait, save up and long for something different from this there are a number of ways to keep the backpacker blues at bay.

Make a plan. Not all those who wander are lost, but it’s easy to feel that way if you don’t know what direction you’re heading in. If you really want to get back out there start planning for your next trip. Do it now. This will give you something to look forward to and something to work for. Plan your budget, get talking to people who have been, figure out how much you need for how long. You don’t need to know every aspect of your trip in fine detail but having an educated guess of how much you need helps. Once you have an idea that clues you in to how long you’ll be around for, which is far better than not knowing at all. Suddenly every shift, every pay day brings you that little bit closer to where you’re going.

Re-connect with people. Now that you are back it’s time to see your friends and family. Go and see those people that wanted to talk to you at ungodly hours while you struggled to find enough internet signal to send a message. They’ll want to hear your stories and they’ll have ones of their own as well. Maybe your pictures and stories will inspire someone to come with you next time and you’ll have a travel buddy to start plotting with. If you’ve learned a new recipe while you’ve been away invite people over to try it out. This might be one to try and the parents first because even if it’s a disaster they have to like it. If you surround yourself with loving company being home is never really a bad thing.

Stay in touch with those you met during your travels. There are few things better to keep the spirit of your adventures alive than talking to the people you share those memories with. Now more than ever it’s easy to stay in touch with people, you don’t have to let time zones and distance separate you. If you’re feeling the blues contact them, maybe more than your friends back home they’ll understand how you’re feeling. Even if just you happen to think of something you did together get hold of them, see what they’re up to, ask them what their plans are, catch up. They might even be headed in the same direction you are.

You don’t have to look too far for an experience. Adventure is out there and you don’t have to go jetting off to find it. If you find yourself getting particularly bored look around you. Sometimes we spend so much energy thinking about exploring foreign places that we can forget that there are adventures to be had right on our doorstep. Get on a train and go on a city break. If you don’t want to spend too much money then hop on a bike or pack a car with friends and gear, go camping, hiking, find somewhere to spend a few days in the countryside. Use your imagination and go have some fun.

Keep perspective by asking yourself, is it really that bad being home? The weather might not glorious everyday, you might not be able to head to the beach or step out onto the piste. You can’t eat excellent food for next to nothing or go to a rave in a rainforest but there are definitely some benefits to being home. Not being an all you can eat buffet for mosquitoes and wanting to bathe in Tiger Balm is a relief to be sure. If you’re adverse to creepy crawlies at least the ones back home aren’t as menacing or abundant. You know the language and asking for directions doesn’t turn into a game of charades. While getting to your destination people actually follow the rules of the road instead of treating them like suggestions. Always being on the go, spending a few days here, a few days there can be stressful, especially trying to lug a backpack around under hot sun and high humidity. Washing your clothes is not a rare treat any more. You can even drink the water without worrying you might spend the next week trying to hold your guts in and mapping out toilet stops. Most of all be grateful, for the people you met along the way, that you have had experiences worth missing and to yourself for having the drive to get out there and do something different.

Keeping the blues at bay while you’re home is pretty easy when you try. Every now and again they might creep in and that’s fine. Try not to wallow in longing for a new adventure, make a new one happen instead. Just because you’re home it doesn’t mean the journey is over. What you’re doing now is part of it, the struggle, the sweat and the effort to get back out there again is all part of a bigger story. With some imagination and some mindfulness you’ll find yourself out there soon enough but hopefully not before feeling it’s not so bad being home.