As our trip comes to a close, I thought I would end with a couple of final reflections about traveling.  I began this set of posts with some big questions about visiting new places.  I still don’t have any answers for those, but I have had a couple of other realizations about travel in general, and I thought that this would be a good time to review them.  I have always found travel important; it teaches you new things and gets you out of your comfort zone.  These are the reasons for travel we hear over and over, and I certainly agree with them.  But I have realized this time that for me, travel teaches me something about myself by requiring me to be adaptable.  As I grow older, I grow more and more comfortable in my life.  I know what I like and what I don’t like.  I know how to move through my day without too much traction.  When I was planning for this trip, I tried to find ways to maintain all of this comfort.  How would I keep my hair looking perfect?  How would I stay dry, comfortable, and stylish all at the same time?  I couldn’t.  But that’s okay.  When we say that travel forces you out of your “comfort zone,” I usually think of it in the sense that travel forces you to try new things – to eat something exotic or do something dangerous and exciting.  This time, however, I realized
that leaving your comfort zone can also just mean adapting to new surroundings and modes of living.  So my hair is flat.  So what?  My feet hurt.  That’s the new normal!  If one embraces it, it doesn’t take long to learn to adapt from one form of comfortable to another.  Sometimes people don’t do this, and I think it greatly reduces the quality of the traveling experience.  Belfast is a relatively small place, and the circle of tourists is even smaller.  I have crossed paths multiple times with a mother and adult daughter who have found it difficult to adapt.  Every time I see them or hear them, they are complaining and they look miserable.  Okay, so her hair looks better than mine, but the scowl on her face ruins the rest of it!  Adapting is an essential part of travel, and the more comfortable I become at home, the more important I find it to be uncomfortable sometimes.  Adaptability is a muscle that needs to be stretched and worked or it can quickly become atrophied