There seems to be a dichotomy within the long-term travel arena: one that suggests if you are not constantly on the move, you are not “traveling”. For example, some would say during your two years in South Korea, you were an ex-pat and not a traveler.

I would surmise that naysayers of slow travel are not travelers themselves for the most part. I believe that until somebody actually embraces long-term travel themselves – and learns to appreciate the benefits of slow – sometimes really slow – travel, this will always be a point of debate. Like you said, your time in South Korea was the most life-shaping of your travel experiences. How can this not be considered travel?

How do you weigh in on this?

“…Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles to-day, To-morrow will be dying. The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun, The higher he’s a-getting, The sooner will his race be run, And nearer he’s to setting….”

If you’d like to keep this verse in mind while enjoying some late-nineteenth century artwork on your computer desktop, you can download a July 2009 desktop calendar (which includes Herrick’s poem) from http://www.Artmagick.com (look under RECENT UPDATES on the Artmagick homepage). I just downloaded it, myself, yesterday.