“Quietly use travel to deepen your life, and to build stronger relationships – not only with other cultures, but with your home. Figure out ways to give back.”  –Rolf Potts

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and David talk about how travel allows you to “waste your twenties” in a good way, and how Rolf has come to define “adventure” (2:00); how to plan travels in such a way as to leave room for spontaneity, and how to meet people on the road (8:00); how to communicate in a place where you don’t speak the local language, and how to be daring in trying new foods as you travel (15:30); Rolf’s travel experiences on the Laotian Mekong, on foot in the Libyan Desert, and by van in North America (25:00); how to balance the desire to see lots of places with the desire to get to know a few places well, and what it means to find “authentic” places (32:30); why slow journeys create richer experiences than hurried ones, and how to honor gestures of hospitality (42:30); how the experience of travel changes as you get older, and why making time is more important in life than making money (48:00).

David Martinez is an Associate Professor of Spanish and the director of the Center for Study Abroad at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon.

Notable Links:

• The Vagabond’s Way, by Rolf Potts (book)
• Marco Polo Didn’t Go There, by Rolf Potts (book)
• Bosintang (Korean dog-meat soup)
• Fried spider (Cambodian snack food)
• Beondegi (Korean silkworm street food)
• Doritos (American snack food)
• Snails as food
• Merengue (Dominican music and dance)
• Asturian gaita (Spanish bagpipe)
• One Month on the Mekong, by Rolf Potts (essay)
• Van Life before #VanLife (Deviate episode)
• Elderhostel (educational travel for older adults)
• “The Loss of the Creature,” by Walker Percy (essay)
• Heraclitus (ancient Greek philosopher)
• Wall Street (1987 movie)
• Gap year (student sabbatical period)
• Wanderjahr (journeyman year for tradespeople)
• China and Mongolia with my parents (Deviate episode)

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

Note: We don’t host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.