Speakout Street Interviews 5

F = Finn     W1 = 1st woman etc.     M1 = 1st man etc.

F:      I’ve spent a lot of time living in different countries so there isn’t one place, I think of as home. I’ve lived in Scotland and Poland and China. I love going to new places and learning about new cultures. Today, I’m asking people about travel.

W1:  I love travel. It’s one of my passions.

M1:   I enjoy it a lot. I have travelled to India several times. I lived there, and I’ve lived here, and I’ve been to Istanbul once and I enjoyed that very much.

W2:  I’ve done quite a bit of travelling with holidays and stuff. I think it’s good- good experience.

W3:  You get to meet different people from different backgrounds, and that’s pretty important to get an understanding.

M2:   It’s always nice to just get out and experience a different culture and different lifestyle.

W4:  I get very excited about the thought of going to most countries, any country.

W5:  I love to travel to different countries.

M3:   Absolutely love travelling. I’ve been travelling for about two and a half years solid now.

W6:  I’ve been to Turkey. I’ve been to Egypt. I’ve been to Malta.

M4:   I work as an expedition leader and so I actually operate in different countries around the world, many places outside the United Kingdom.

F:      What do you like about travelling?

M3:   I think you mature a lot when you travel. You learn… oh, just completely different experiences to what you’re used to at home.

W6:  I like the airport experience. I love that.

M5:   I like the arrival more than the travelling.

W5:  To see art especially. We love to see theatre in other countries.

M4:   You see some of the most beautiful scenery around the world which you wouldn’t experience in other countries.

M2:   I just really like getting out there and experiencing a different culture, getting far away from, you know, what we’re used to in Australia, and meeting new people.

W4:  The anticipation of being in a new place, of seeing very different things, of hearing a different language, of eating different food. Everything that travel has to offer.

F:      What don’t you like?

W6:  I don’t like long flights.

W3:  I suppose plane journeys are not always the most exciting of things.

W1:  Flying. I don’t particularly like flying, but it’s a necessity when you live in Ireland, you know.

M2:   I suppose the biggest problem I have with travelling is living out of a suitcase.

W4:  In all honesty, I actually see the whole travel as an adventure in itself. So when I was backpacking, and we ran out of money, or we were in dangerous situations, I actually quite enjoyed that.

M4:   You spend a lot of time outside the United Kingdom and the disadvantage of that is, that you tend to miss families and friends. I miss out on normal things in life, so … I’ve been outside the United Kingdom for two thirds of the year. I’d say that’s the main disadvantage.

W5:  The hardest thing for me is that I’m handicapped. And so sometimes getting around, especially very old cities, is very difficult.

M5:   My wife’s usually late getting to the airport. It wasn’t until I got married that I actually started missing flights.