Tom Kando This piqued my interest not only because of our affiliation with this fine high school, but also because I, too, have been an avid traveler.
There are 193 countries in the world, if you count all the members of the United Nations. If you add the two “countries” that are only “observers” but not full members (Palestine and the Vatican), you get a total 195.
Be that as it may, Asher has been in every single country, including North Korea and Palestine. He started traveling internationally when he was twenty, and he is now thirty-seven. So that’s more than eleven countries each year. Asher’s feat gave me the idea to catalogue my own travel record. Granted, it pales in comparison with Asher’s. But I am not competing. I just wanted to make my list and see what it looks like. I hope that you’ll agree that my list is (also) pretty
impressive:
Europe:
1. Hungary, 2. Austria, 3. Switzerland, 4. France, 5. Belgium, 6. Netherlands, 7. Germany, 8. East Germany, 9. UK, 10. Ireland, 11. Denmark,12. Sweden,13. Norway, 14. Iceland, 15. Finland, 16. Spain,17. Italy, 18. Greece, 19. Czechia, 20. Slovakia,
21. Poland, 22. Croatia, 23. Russia, 24. Belarus.
Africa:
25. Morocco
Oceania:
26. Australia
Americas:
27. US, 28. Mexico, 29. Canada, 30. Jamaica
Asia:
31. Japan
32. South Korea
Micro-countries:
33.Liechtenstein, 34.Luxembourg, 35. Monaco, 36. San Marino, 37. Vatican
So I have been in thirty-seven countries of the world, on five continents. I have lived in four of these: seven years in Hungary, eight years in France, ten years in the Netherlands and the remaining fifty-six years in the US.
My moves followed an interesting trend: We left Hungary at the end of World War Two, spending the next eight years in Paris, which some people consider to be the most beautiful city in the world. From there, we moved to Amsterdam, an exciting and charming city as well, but not quite on a par with the “Ville Lumière.” Ten years later, I moved to Minneapolis, which can be viewed as another downward step. Finally, I moved to Sacramento, which is even more provincial than Minneapolis. So you see where my lifelong course leads me to? I must end up in Lodi, which was immortalized by John Fogerty and Credence Clearwater’s song, “Oh Lord, Stuck in Lodi Again.”Just kidding. I have been perfectly happy in Sacramento. There are probably more unhappy people in Paris than where I live. I just wanted to share with you my life’s interesting trajectory. And let me add that, now more than ever, living in California sure beats Eastern Europe, where I started out. Russia made sure of that when it occupied and bombed the hell out of Hungary back then, and it continues to wreak havoc on that part of the world today (Ukraine).
Here are some other interesting factoids which reveal the extent of my travels over the decades: I have crossed the Atlantic ninety-seven times by air and four times by boat, for a total of one hundred and one, so far. Most of this has been family related, some of it was for conferences and other job-related reasons, and much of it was vacation travel.
My most frequent European destinations over the years have been Paris and Rome, often in combination with visits to French and Italian provinces such as the Riviera, Normandy, the Alps, the Dordogne area, Tuscany, Venice and the Amalfi Coast.
Domestically, I have been in every one of the fifty states, but nowhere more often than in Hawaii.
Some people say, why go back to the same place over and over again? Do they say this also about sex, or about the divine pizza served at the Campo de Fiori, or a serving of Coq au Vin? Do you say, “I already had that last month, I don’t need it again?”
We go back to the same destinations over and over again because we love it there. leave comment here
11 comments:
I LOVE reading your pieces and this one is just the BEST!
I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Thank so so much
We really have a lot in common,Tom!
So happy you and Mom will have the opportunity and good health to make it possible to revisit your favorite places again this year. DKK
Really enjoyed this listing and assessment of your travels! In May, I going to Rome for the second time, then Venice, Prague and Krakow for the first time. Exciting to hear about that young man who is so travelled!
Thanks for your interesting blogs, Tom.
jg
Got curious and also made my list - very similar. Never realized that there were so many.
Wow! Tom, great work to do all that wonderful travel. I think if I had the time and money I would try that too! Think of all of the experiential knowledge you acquired! Amazing!
Thanks for sharing!
Love,
A slower pace is better now Tom
Thank you all for your gracious reactions.
Yes, Csaba, I know about all you have done. Our lives run amazingly parallel.
June: I wish you “bon voyage.” All those cities are marvelous - Rome goes without saying, Venice is magical, Prague is superb, and Krakow is Poland’s most beautiful city.
Margo: yes, many of us have rich lists. Let’s hope we can continue to travel.
Linda: right, it takes (some) time and money, although there are ways to cut costs. For me, the most obvious “acquired experiential knowledge” has been the necessity to become fluent in four different languages, as I was not just traveling, but moving to a different country for several years each time.
Henry: absolutely. We are planning major travel this year, some of it international. We hope that these trips will not be too “eventful.” Travel becomes more challenging in old age.
WoW! Dr. Tom you have a very diverse traveling experience! And you traveled when it was less of a stressor to do so! Good for you!
I love the rich detail that you provide, and hope to see future blogs that break down individual traveling experiences and interesting facts that stood out such as distinct social places you visited, and the cultures of the people that you interacted( what foods did you eat and what languages did you speak during travels ). The Sociologist in me is curious about the cultural dynamics of each place you visited, as well as the peoples’ perceptions of the United States during your travels…any complicated ethnic relations, such as we have in the United States.
I have become an armchair traveler, so this is of great interest! Thank you for the international tour!
Gail
Hi Gail,
thanks for your good comments. You are right, my travelogues would benefit from (more) sociological analysis. I do that a bit in my autobiographical book, as the blog needs to be succinct so as not to lose impatient readers...
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