In recent months, as I’ve been developing my travel advisor business, I’ve realized how all my interests connect through my curiosity about the world. I’ve always been fascinated by the world and all the differences and similarities between us. As a child, languages and horses were my main interests. I loved looking at books that showed examples of different languages and traditional costumes, and I had an encyclopedia of horse breeds from around the world. I felt the connection, but to the world outside of me, it seemed like no one got it.
I never imagined there was a world of television beyond the United States, besides some world cinema that my mother wanted me to watch. When I started working at the International Emmy Awards, I was thrilled to see so many different programs. I saw shows from France, Argentina, and Macedonia that have stayed with me over the years. Each was very different, but each had a distinct feel with its own languages, stories, and budgets.
What started as a summer job led to another summer, and over the years, to dozens of international business trips, meetings with people in the television industry, and watching hundreds of programs each year. I never tied that to a future working in travel, but here I am.
The shows for me were, and still are, a way to connect to different places, absorb information, and see what life is like there. I know television often isn’t a direct representation of life in a country, but I think you can get a glimpse of that place and learn a little about it. For instance, a French series I watched recently mentioned whirlpools in the lake near Annecy. That surprised me, and I might think twice before jumping into that lake for a swim. Another Italian series I just started mentioned a ferry that goes from Italy to Montenegro. I thought they would have had to drive up and then back down through Croatia to get there.
What is it like to actually live in a different country? One of my first discoveries was in London. I was convinced the taxi driver was taking the long route, and at first I thought taking the tube would be too confusing. Well, as a New Yorker, it turns out color-coded subway lines make sense to me. I started getting around London like a pro after the first ride, as if I had lived there for some time.
When I started doing business travel more regularly, I always tried to leave some time to explore the everyday side of a place. For instance, what kind of cereal do they sell in France? Where can I buy contact lens solution in Milan? What cities feel like home to me? What is the subway like in this city? Combining the major tourist spots with these more practical questions gave me a broader perspective.
Those questions may not sound like the usual starting point for planning a trip, but they are exactly the kinds of questions that make a city start to have a “personality”. And they are part of what I want to explore more through Moksha World: the stories, details, and unexpected connections that help us understand the world and the people in it.
Please comment or email me if you have any travel or TV stories to share.
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