Maslow's Hierarchy of Travel Needs

I'll be honest: traveling is not entirely pleasant at first. Puppies and unicorns could fall from the sky at your destination and it wouldn't change the fact that airplanes are tiny and cramped, and sleep deprivation should never be combined with customs agencies and bureaucracy in general. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a psychological principle which is printed in almost every freshman textbook (I have found it in 3 to date). The Hierarchy states that to survive and thrive in their environments, human beings need basic essentials such as food, water, shelter, and sleep. I have never found this theory more personally applicable than during the past 5 days while I was traveling. Of course, I had all of the above resources, but my routines were changed around and things like meals took on extra importance as I had to learn to be more flexible.

My imagination suffered as a result of my bodily exhaustion. For years, I built a grandiose image in my mind of England. It was (and still is) comprised of sparkling green hills and the awe of seeing museums full of Victorian relics. I expected to see this image take shape the moment I stepped off the plane. Instead, I found myself confronting a stereotypically jet-lagged tide of new experiences and deprivation of many typical comfort items. I will have to get used to walking often (in the US, I'm from a small, mountainous town where driving everywhere is the norm), and the blisters on my feet will need to turn into callouses. I should mention while whining that I found an enormous amount of kindness here which helped my needy issues. The kindness stemmed from the program's humorous and motherly coordinators who are always willing to help out, and the other students, who often stopped to help me as I lagged behind in the streets after walking a long (from my perspective) distance. Now on the third day after arrival, as I am getting acclimated to my surroundings, and I sit here with a fridge fully stocked with Pepsi products and await a good night's sleep in bed with not one, but two pillows, I am finding myself more able to slip into the dream world in which the heart of this country is hidden. Every day I cross the threshold from surviving to enjoying myself a bit more.

Now that we have discussed this first limping leg of the trip, it's on to the fun stuff! The next full post will be about the amazing experience of visiting Warwick Castle.