BY VICTORIA CAMPA

The first word I think about when I hear “Vietnam” is alive. I remember how the cities move, no matter what the clock says or where the sun is in the sky. In the early morning the park is full of people doing exercise, and on the streets are hundreds seated on stools close to the ground eating pho for breakfast. There is constant honking all around, with movement from motorcycles, bikes and pedestrians.

For someone coming from New York City, this commotion shouldn’t seem extraordinary or anything but commonplace. Yet in Vietnam there is a different kind of activity, a different city sound, a different smell around every corner. More importantly: everything is new to me. I often wonder why some of us are so enamored by travel, why we are so in love with discovering new places. Maybe it is the appeal of learning about a new culture firsthand, and living a different way of life. But the essential notion is that we are more curious, more aware, and more attentive when we are exposed to a new environment. Our senses are heightened, which makes us notice things we otherwise wouldn’t. If only we could exercise these feelings all the time, and thus fill our day-to-day lives with more awe, excitement and inquisitiveness.

The truth, however, is that nothing beats the real thing. There is nothing like biking through dirt trails in the Cambodian jungle. There is no comparison to visiting the temples in Angkor and breathing the same air as those who built them a thousand years ago. You can see Halong Bay in photographs or film, but it will never be the same as waking up before the sun and watching the first rays hit the water with your own eyes. To be grateful every day for what the trees, the ground, the sun and the Earth has to offer, that is what I am learning. That is what travel has given me: the ability to find beauty in the quotidian, the admiration for sights not only seen for the first time, but repeatedly, bringing a different kind of wonder with each viewing.

當我聽到”越南”，第一想到的詞就是鮮活。我還記得那裏的城市是以怎樣的方式在運轉，無論時鐘在說什麽，或太陽在天空的什麽位置。一大清早，公園裏就充滿了做運動的人；街道上，上百人坐在靠地面的矮凳上吃著河粉當早餐。四周喇叭聲不斷，伴隨著摩托車、自行車、行人的來來往往。

對於從紐約來的人，這樣的喧鬧並非不同尋常，而是司空見慣。但是在越南，出現在城市每個角落的是一種不同的活動，一種不同的城市聲音，以及一種不同的氣味。更為重要的是：每一件事對我來說都是全新的。我常常在想為什麽有些人如此著迷於旅行，為什麽我們如此傾心於發現新地方。也許是出於一種吸引吧：可以親身體驗新的文化，用不同的方式生活。但其本質是，當我們被置身於一個新的環境時，我們會更加有好奇心，更加有覺知，以及更加聚精會神。我們的感觀會被提升，這讓我們註意到原本不會留意的事物。但願我們一直鍛煉這樣的感覺，讓我們的日常生活因此而充滿敬畏、興奮和好奇。

然而，事實是，沒有什麽比得上真實的事物。騎車穿過柬埔寨叢林的泥路是獨一無二的。遊覽吳哥的廟宇，就像和一千年前修建這些廟宇的人呼吸相同的空氣是不可比擬的。你可以在照片或電影裏看到下龍灣，但它絕對不可能和你在日出前醒來親眼看見第一道日光打在水面上是一樣的。每天感恩於樹木、土地、太陽和地球給予的饋贈，那是我正在學習的。旅行給予我的是：在平凡中發現美的能力，以及對所見景象的贊賞，這些景象不僅指第一次看到的，也指重復所見的，要將新的好奇帶進對它的每一次註視中去。

Victoria Campa grew up between Madrid, Spain and New York City. Her bicultural family engrained in her a love for travel and an appreciation for the unknown. She enjoys a good book, the light of Madrid, and time well spent with friends and family. You can see more of her latest work here: www.instagram.com/vwcampa

Victoria Campa 成長於西班牙和紐約。她對旅行的熱愛和對未知事物的欣賞根植於她的二元文化家庭。她享受於閱讀一本好書、馬德裏的光、以及與朋友和家庭友好相處的時光。你可以在這裏看到她最新的作品: www.instagram.com/vwcampa