Deborah Rita Paterson

Opening your mind to a different way of life is inspiring and scary at the same time. You try to imagine yourself doing things a different way whether it's getting to work, negotiating business deals or buying groceries and you start to feel either the 'back-bending' or the 'euphoria inducing' emotions the difference in experience triggers. Those emotions are what travel is all about and they are a sign you are learning or at least starting to put yourself into someone else's shoes.

A week is by far not enough to understand a culture and it's unique intricacies, especially if you're only experiencing the surface as a tourist, but it's enough to trigger an imaginative thought about how life could be different.

Thank you Doha and all my wonderful friends there who gave me a great first taste of the Middle East and what life here can offer. It was an inspiring addition to the end of my post-chapter creative retreat! Now to figure out life in Nairobi...

My boarding pass collection is one of my most prized possessions. It includes every boarding pass I’ve ever had from an international trip since I was 18 and represents an adulthood full of memories, adventures, friendships and learning. From New Zealand to Sri Lanka to Greece, there’s a whole spectrum of cultural and geographical distance that I’ve travelled.

It’s time to add one more to the collection. Where to next? While I am figuring out where I am going in Africa, I’m off to Kent and London, then Southern Spain for some much needed reflection and creative time.