It was an ordinary day. Just got my latest issue of "The Saturday Evening Post" from my mailbox and started leafing through it. Wasn't long before I was on page 27 which featured a story titled "Longing for Faraway Places." Short story told about pining, almost aching, to travel to faraway places, even places close-by in the United States. Went on to list several words that could define a travel situation or place, but have no English equivalent. Accompanying the story was a photograph showing a person's finger pointing to a location on a map that appeared to be a location in Canada. Was talking to my wife about the story and we began to talk about locations which we have visited during our married life; some locations with our three children while others since our retirement. We have been lucky to have traveled to perhaps a dozen or so states in the continental United States as well as Hawaii and over the border into Canada. Have also traveled to a few countries in Europe as well as Mexico, Belize, Panama and Costa Rico. But, our favorite places to travel have been to the islands in the Caribbean which include Jamaica, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Aruba, Curaçao, Antigua, Tortolla, Barbados, Anguilla and St. Martin/Sint Maarten. Some islands were part of a few cruise trip visits we took with our friends Jere and Sue while others we visited just by ourselves. We realize how lucky we have been to see the world, but find we are now at the age where travel will perhaps mean a trip to the Jersey Shore for a week or just a weekend with our friends in State College. Can't complain since we have been so lucky to have been able to travel as we did for most of our lifetime. As far as the words that can be used to define a travel situation or place without an English equivalent, the first one I can list for you is "Voorpret" which is a Dutch word that literally means "pre-fun" but relates to that feeling of anticipation for upcoming travel, before you even leave the house. Another word is the Swedish word of "Resfeber" which has the same meaning as the previous word. The French word of "Dépaysement" means disorientation, but only applies to the out-of-place feeling that people experience while traveling. The Mandarin word of "Rènao" translates to "lively" or "bustling" vacation spots. The word "Smultronställe" is a Swedish word meaning place of wild strawberries, but can be used to refer to your "happy place" be it a private hideaway or favorite vacation spot. "Trouvailie" is a French word that is a lucky find. It's that iconic or one-of-a-kind place you stumble upon while exploring. The final word which has no equivalent in English is the Danish word "Onism." I have saved it for last since it means a heartbreaking awareness of how little of the world you will actually get to in your lifetime. I guess I should have no complaints since my wife and I have had a full life of traveling and have enjoyed every minute of it. We know we have been lucky enough to have traveled with both friends and by ourselves. We have met so many wonderful people in our lifetime in towns and cities throughout our travels. Some of the friends we have met still stay in touch with us. We do have reservations for one more trip back to our all-time favorite vacation spot of St. Martin. This trip was scheduled about two years ago and has been changed 3 times since the COVID-19 virus arrived. We fear that if it has to be changed too many more times, we will be too old to get on the plane. So, we will definitely remember the word "Onism" unless we get the chance to travel just one more time...in the near future. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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