I like going somewhere I haven't been before. When I literally go somewhere I've never been, I explore how the local culture is different from the culture I'm used to. For instance, toilet paper. When I was traveling in Europe in college, I remember learning first hand about different paper technologies. Why would anyone make toilet paper that had the consistency of waxed paper, I wondered. That got me to thinking about the different ways people value their time in the commode, adaptations made as plumbing changed, and so on.
Even with the challenges of spicy food and ineffective toilet paper, it's fun going new places. I often have the sensation of going somewhere new when I'm exposed to new technology and to new art. I define technology as the application of science and knowledge, usually to create a tool or device to solve a problem. I define the arts as the manifestation of man's creativity in the forms of visual art, music, writing, architecture, and so on. Technology and art make a nice history of man's culture, show how the species has grappled with its existence in a particular time and place.
I'm blogging to make my own record of finding new places literally or not. You can think of this blog as a metaphorical travelog (or travelblog).
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