Have you ever made yourself a tourist in your own town?

Grabbed your camera, put on your sneakers, grabbed a cap and gone tourist…down the road from you live. I started trying to do that last year. Walked around my backyard, in New Zealand, and I followed my nose and my feet and my TripAdvisor. 

You see I’m the kind of person that feels this urge to explore, without ceasing, but when you’re studying and trying to further your career, there can be moments that dropping it all and hopping the ditch or the ocean or the continent is not always possible, or at least not the current smartest choice. So I started learning to take a day, or half a day, or even an hour, when I felt the urge, and explored the place I resided. 

It was a lifesaving revelation for me. It was also a great way to really know my hometown, the backstreets and find some local treasures that were missed in the day-to-day busy. I packed my bag, with what I usually take on an trip (camera, headphones, kindle, bottle of water and local currency and I hit the streets. 

What I found was that even down my street, there was colour and variety, diverse humanity, great coffee, delicious food and conversation with individuals on their own journies. So if your craving your next outing, but the bank or your job or your intelligence is staying wait a bit, I’d like to suggest to cast yourself in the role of tourist, exactly where you are. 

I took this role seriously. It was good for my mind, and good for my heart.