Travel: eternal renewal

Travel: eternal renewal 

A recent book, a collection of previously unpublished texts by Nicolas Bouvier, entitled It will leave (1). The title arises as to the issue of travel because of its recurrence seen as a need to start over. Without pretending to solve the riddle of this 'drive', let alone provide the exhausting answer the question, the study of a corpus of letters of complaint written by travelers disappointed however led us to distinguish at least four major categories of root causes of this recidivism ... 

1 Initiation 

The trip is considered by the traveler as a perpetual learning reoffend is not so much in this case as a rehearsal educational pursuit of an ideal enshrined in the indefinite continuation of an experiment initiation. No matter whether they are living or roaming, internship or circuit, immersion and circulation. Travel, in all cases is to learn; and it never stops to learn over a trip therefore less again that continued steadily increased and continued after all ... As Montaigne said, "the world is a sufficient book" and travel, c is in some way to travel on a journey, as a chapter after another, step by step, round after round, detour after detour, learning by exploring: learn by "reading" the world - to be discovered or we check it in Don Quixote conscious corroborate his readings. 

2 Collection 

Didactic or mystical, scientific or humanistic religious, aesthetic or missionary, possibly altruistic or therapeutic (under current forms of humanitarian and shamanic tourisms), the use of initiatory journey however knows a quantitative offset. He then saw the desire to learn to turn into a desire to build, so the pedagogical challenge is supplanted by a serial which feeds a fantasy game and accumulation reflects a "quantifrénie" - a frenzy of quantity. 

The acquisition of knowledge project here gives way to performance. Advanced by this recurrence pattern is a perfect completeness ("I want to do all countries," says quantifrène). But that alibi can not hide concept drift towards uses manic ostentatious transforming the experience of discovery-trip lesson in booty-trip or traveling trophy. Collectionnite This is not a new trend, or an uncommon cause. She participates same long been active in the myth of the "flyer" often mistaken about this pluralist who "rolled his hump" everywhere, "fact" all countries and "curly" ten times around the world. Revenue of all, it is usually called globetrotter and many are inspired. But it also takes the form of what might be called a ... serial traveler. 

3 Addiction 

This time it's for good in the offense, in its purest form. Here the traveler wants to find fun but lost so much reminded of a first successful experience. The comparison with the addict is needed, stubbornly looking in the reproduction of an experience he has ever had in a previous, identical. After the trip continued through initiation and travel added by the collection, it is this time in the trip for good reiterated by reproduction, as a fantasy reconstruction that generates immutable habits, indétournable fidelity, this rigidity addictive being carried by a categorical imperative forecasting setting the repetition of everything - the place, days, itineraries, milestones, holidays, activities, actors, etc. 

4 Consolation 

Finally, if this time we are still in recidivism, it is not to find pleasure or a tried and lost happiness. Instead, it is better to take revenge on a misadventure, and be revenged conjure memories of displeasure and misfortune unfortunately encountered. This time it is repaired it travels is: one or more failures and corrected by another symbolically intended to forget disappointments, injuries or disasters and shipwrecks sometimes traumatic and quality which it is important to serve, to wash, to heal itself. Cauterize and heal wounds. Some travelers are doing by lying, even compulsive lying or crazy, who are seeking treatment for the failure by the fable or illusion. But others prefer the antidote to the fiction of a real alternative experience, which is also the origin of the desire to leave, based on the principle of travel-medicine ...