For trips under three weeks, I usually miss very little. When I’m gone for this short amount of time, if I have time to miss anything that means I’m probably not exposing myself to new experiences and risks. If I open myself up more to meeting people, visiting new places or even eating new foods, there’s less time to “miss” anything.

If the trip is longer than three weeks, I usually start to get into a bit of a routine. This can actually be a good thing – feeling comfortable enough in a new city to find things you like to do regularly is quite positive. But at this point I’ve been gone a little longer and I have time to think about the differences between where I am now and where I call home. I start to miss things like driving and having the freedom to go where I want when I want instead of having to rely on a bus route or train schedule. I also miss the conveniences of living in America. The 24-hour stores, the cult of customer service (which is almost more important the product being sold), the well-paved roads and the access to any kind of food from every corner of the world. And lets be honest. I also miss training capoeira with my Capoeira Brasil – LA family. After more than seven years of training, my body almost craves a good workout at the academy.

Still all of these “missings” are good and I would never give up travelling just to avoid the feeling. Instead missing things makes coming home a little easier…until that travel bug bites again.