Travellsome

The first thing that hit me was the air. I cocked my head curiously, trying to decipher the scent. It was… nothing. No prawns and vinegar like the city I'd just come from, or exhaust and tobacco like home. I felt my rib cage growing; lungs expanding as I took eager breaths, contrary to the constricting and convulsing I experienced at home. As our Scottish tour guide lead us through the Eco-Village I began to smell the Earth; the trees. It reminded me of the tacky 'pine-scented' air freshener in the shape of a tree than hung from the rear view mirror of my Mother's car.

Everything around me was alive. I had come from a city were everything was as bleak and grey as the concrete that monopolised it. The most prominent sign of non human life was the rats in the subway and the pigeons on the rooftops. Grey. Here I could see the forest breathing. Breathing me. There were birds with multiple colours and more shades of green than I ever thought possible.
Interspersed throughout the forest were quaint, dome shaped homes that were all ecologically sustainable. I cringed as I thought of all the appliances I'd left plugged in at home.

On our tour we got to meet designers, engineers, artists; people from all over the world with many diverse qualifications who taught us how to incorporate permaculture into our everyday lives. I had never really thought about how my lifestyle directly affected the planet. Sure I saw news about global warming and deforestation, but living in the 1st world made it easy to forget.

That night I partook in the weekly communal feast. There were more cultures in this one room than there were in any airport. Despite their obvious differences, all these people shared a common goal. They all desired a harmonious life with the Earth, and that one goal had brought them all together. The room buzzed with warm conversation and heartily laughs. I thought of my neighbours at home and the awkward conversations passed in the laundry room or when collecting mail, despite having known each other for years.

I had discovered a true community in every sense of the word. I used to think of a community simply being a group of people who live within a certain area code, and who frequent the local supermarket, but at it's essence a community is a group of like minded people who voluntarily intertwine their lives and work together to achieve a common goal.

I began to reevaluate what my home really meant to me.