Asking and Answering a Lot of Questions About Our 2019.

If you don’t follow @sebmodak on Instagram, you should. He’s the NYT travel writer currently traveling around the world for the Times’ “52 Places” feature. His Instagram is so funny and informative.

He’s having a more budget/intrepid year than we are, but I relate to him on many levels.

He’s wrapping his year, just like we are soon, and has put out a call to curious readers for questions about his trip. Many he’s received in the comments are the same questions we’re getting and/or asking ourselves as we continue some seriously deep reflection that began back in Indonesia.

I’ve already got a massive document going — about 40 pages of learnings and supporting anecdotes — plus stats, numbers, “best of,” etc. Stayed tuned on all that.

But I wanted to put down in writing here some of the great questions Seb Modak’s readers asked him this week, so we can start tackling these as well. In no particular order:

Best day?Worst day?Favorite spot?Most memorable spot?Person whose kindness you will not forget?What food did you eat that you had to fake you liked?What did you learn about yourself? How do you think it will change how you live, work, relate to others and help to make the world a kinder and more compassionate place?What were locals’ opinions on US politics?Did you feel lonely?Are all humans the same, really? Or are we actually different?How do you feel people can travel better/be better tourists?Where would you return to ASAP and why?What’s the first thing you’ll do when you’re back?If you could settle in one of the places you visited, which would it be and why?Did you ever cry?When did you laugh the hardest?Is there any destination you questioned why you went?Did you take any vacation?How are you going to sit still after this?What place seemed to have people moving at the slowest pace, seemingly unaware of how fast it is going elsewhere?Do you think after moving so much that it’ll be a challenge to set down roots?Would you do it again?Have you ever been scared of a situation or place?What did you see that gave you the most hope?What was the weirdest cultural difference you encountered?Is there a place you wouldn’t go back to?What was the hardest part of all this?How did a new layer of your SELF reveal itself?In what ways are you forever changed?What did you think you needed in the beginning that you got rid of?What did you not know you needed that you picked up along the way?What are you most proud of this year?How do you make friends/connections when you don’t speak the language?What are your reflections on climate change (considering plane travel, etc.)Where did you have the best musical experience?Where’s the one place where you could’ve spent so much more time?Where did you feel most like yourself?How would you do it differently?How has this trip changed your relationships with your family?Describe your year in three words.How has this changed how you’ll travel in the future?What was the biggest mistake you made?What was the biggest surprise about yourself?Did you get sick?What was the saddest place you visited?What’s the question you get the most?Do some destinations feel like holiday and other feel like work?Where did you experience the most kindness? The least?

Whew. Wish us luck as we dive in.