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Reports

During my travels, I received free accommodation for a night in exchange for writing a daily travel diary. This diary documented how I reached my next destination, the hosts who welcomed me, the food I was offered, and other experiences along the way. Below, you will find the archives of these extensive reports. Please note that English is not my native language, and most entries were written quickly, often around midnight. Enjoy!
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Monday, 7 July 2003
Saskatoo, Saskatchewan, Canada

Dave and Darlene Stuttard let me stay another day, yesterday, to let me catch some breath in my journey. So after two nights at their place it was time to get going again.

From their place I moved on to my next host in the same city, the student and teacher Daniel Krupp. He lives in a comfy one-bedroom apartment along Central Avenue in Saskatoon.

Next to being a student in Basic Behavioural, Daniel also teaches Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Saskatchewan. Basic Behavioural? Evolutionary Psychology?

While getting settled at his place, he told me what it all meant. I was impressed. To make things easy for me (and many others) he has a website about Evolutionary Psychology that explains clearly what it is all about.

After he took me along to the University campus where he showed me around the different magnificent historical buildings from up close, he included me on a part of a test. By throwing a Velcro ball to the black spot on a carpet wall, there is actually a chance to link that with my testosterone level. More additional tests, and investigating somebody's saliva, can actually result in the answer of the question if I might be a psychopath! (Danny already assured me that I can't be one, thanks!)

For a good lunch bite Danny took me along to the smoked meat restaurant Liberty's in downtown Saskatoon.

During this lunch we had some interesting discussions about psychology, my travels in connection with psychology, my future in connection with psychology and psychopaths in connection psychology.

Danny concluded that my future might be in some field of psychology, as I have gained a lot of interesting information about people from different countries and cultures and have experiences a lot of different psyches.

What I like most about my travels is not where I am but with who I am. And everybody is different, nobody is the same.

Everybody has its on different social skills and as a person who visits unfamiliar people on an almost daily basis, I have discovered many differences.

What I do everyday with a host I just met, is exactly like throwing up a Velcro ball to a carpet wall. Sometimes the ball sticks, sometimes the ball rolls away and sometimes the ball comes back to me. Meeting different people has always been the accelerator of my travels.

I find I can't openly post about people's social differences or ways how hosts go along with an ordinary guest, because it would scare people I might stay with in the future. People don't asked to be psychologically analysed...

And then again not everybody would understand what I meant with the words I might use to describe it. So far, I take these psychology classes in my head. Danny is right; maybe I should do something with that!

After lunch we had a walk around town and Danny took me to Broadway Avenue. Danny loves music and loves browsing around the alternative music stores, where you don't really find the top 40 albums in the 'latest releases' section.

While sipping from a Guinness beer on the roof top patio of a pub along Broadway we continued our fascinating talks.

It was clear that Danny and I were totally connected in our subjects of conversations and both knew what we were talking about. That was ironic to me, because he had actually studied it for a long time, while I just travelled around in the last two years.

To reveal something not often published here: I don't always "connect" with my hosts. Some are great talkers, but only talk and not converse. Others are masters in non-verbal communication, but can't talk about anything than what goes on in their daily life. With some hosts it all stays on a host-guest relation, with others I feel like I meet long-lost friends and there is an ability to talk together about lots of various topics; not only the facts and figures of a town.

Put these conclusions in a blender and add the variables like differences of age, different cultures, different way of being raised and different languages together in it and press the button for some real fascinating stuff! And that might be interesting for a one-day-some-day upcoming book.

It's an intriguing world out here - on my travels - that's for sure!

At the end of the afternoon we had another splendid walk through the city centre and ended up at the Spadina Freehouse Restaurant. This is where Danny had planned our dinner for tonight and he had invited four of his university friends along.

I felt really good in a circle of students of the department of Psychology. I mean, psychology people are complicated people themselves, they go very deep in certain topics and they mostly have a complicated study or profession. I don’t really know how to describe why I felt pretty comfortable with them, but maybe because I am a complicated person myself too (grin).

Good night Saskatoon!

Ramon.


On the forum Danny Krupp has posted his side of the story about my stayforaday at his place. Read it here.

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