Answer about how I stay in contact with travelers and people I meet on the Road:
Hello Byron,
Good question. Well, when I think about how I keep in contact with friends that I meet while traveling I realize that I almost totally relay on email. Sometimes I will take down addresses or phone numbers, but most often even these forms of communication are facilitated through email. I have never owned a cell phone and even with Skype telephoning people requires a decent amount of effort, and I have found that no matter how good intentioned are my desires to write letters to people, I usually do not mail them out in a very timely manner. So email has been the key for me to keep in contact with my travel friends.
But taking down the email addresses has been a little bit of a ritual for me that has been changing over the years. I will often times opt not to take down someone's email if I know that I will never really write to them. This sounds a little silly, but it is true: I have filled up notebooks with email addresses that I have never used and I kind of like the idea of never being able to contact people ever again, as it makes the time that I have with them a little more pertinent haha.
But for the most part, if I even suspect that I will want to meet up with someone again I take down their email. It helps out if you are traveling in the same direction or if you are going to - or may return to - a place where a certain friend lives. I once had a great plan of taking down the contact information of all the friends that I meet in a great notebook so that I could use the information as a haphazard "couch surfing" like resource. I like the sound of being able to come into a country and pulling out the notebook and being able to meet up with someone whom I've met years previously, or being able to refer new friends to people that may be able to help them out on the Road. I may start putting this notebook together in a more organized fashion.
It would be interesting to have a sort of ad hoc world travelers directory, but I suppose that is what Nath at Ubertramp.com is trying to do. Have you checked out his page lately?
Thanks for writing.
I like getting these questions so keep them a' coming!
Walk Slow,
Wade
P.S. If this information helps you out at all (or if you just appreciate my effort in trying haha) I would love it if you could tell or email a friend or two about Vagabond Journey.com or Song of the Open Road. Thank you!
Question about how I keep in contact with friends that I meet while traveling:
Hey Wade, this may seem random, but I had a question
pop into my head today. When you meet friends on the
road, what do you usually do if you want to stay in
contact with them? I have a cell phone now, but I
won't have one when I start traveling. So do you
usually exchange emails or what?
thanks man -Byron
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