Diary of a Dreamwalker ? SILVETTE

7/15/12
When I was in Munich a year and ? ago, the Bavarian man I was staying with told me in German that I was a dreamwalker, chasing places and experiences across the globe. My friend?s mom tried to translate to me in English but said there was no real word in English; dreamwalker was the closest. This has always stuck with me.
This is my third consecutive summer abroad, on a three different continents, working with some aspect of poverty. During all of these experiences, I have come across other travelers with enough stories of adventures to light up the world. But never far from my mind is the recognition of the immense privilege it is to be able to travel so much, even if it is on the University or some other funder?s dime. Because for all the other fellow travelers I have met, I have also meet natives of those countries, many of whom will never get the chance to travel even their own country. While I sometimes try to dismiss my opportunity to travel as a change in generations, a benefit of globalization, I am also faced with the realization that most of the world- particularly the global south- do not usually reap the benefits of globalization in this way.
While traveling last summer, an Indian man told our 5 person group that he appreciated us as travelers, and recognized that we were not just tourists. This small distinction has also made me question the difference between these words; is one really better than the other? Are there true differences? I hope there are. He said tourists come for a short time and take pictures, often exploiting local communities, not knowing the harm they are causing. Whereas travelers are generally there for the longer term, being conscious of their impact in foreign communities.
As this is the type of work that pulls at my heartstrings and motivates me, then this is the type of traveler, the type of dreamwalker, I aspire to be- one that can stay, can build meaningful cross-cultural relationships of understanding, and can mutually give and receive.

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Source: http://silvette.wordpress.com/2012/07/22/diary-of-a-dreamwalker/

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