It used to be that the majority of people you meet in your travels were merely like “Ships who pass in the night”.
The cliche is that it is a small world. It is. And it’s getting smaller.
At our hostel in Toronto, we meet a lot of interesting backpackers. Places like ours used to be referred to as “Youth Hostels” but youth is no longer wasted only on the young.
We just heard from a past guest from Oz who first stayed with us almost six years ago. She returned two years later in 2007 after she retired (at a very young age). Actually, it was less of a retirement and more of a reinvention of herself.
Sue Storr has been a teacher all of her career. But like so many backpackers, always wanted to travel. So she “retired” and took to the road. And a traveling lady she is!
She set off for China where she had contracted to train Chinese teachers to teach english. We’ve followed her travels over the years by reading her excellent “travel blog” with photos and stories of her travels in remote regions of “The Middle Kingdom” as China is called.
These days, it is much easier to maintain contact with old friends. We now have smart phones, satellite phones; but, most importantly, laptop computers and email.
Sue’s nickname used to be “Treadie”, likely given to her because of her passion for travel. And here at the hostel we can see Sue’s smiling face in the photo/bio of her on our wall of “Notable Guests”.
It is not surprising that even after all these years, Sue is still on the road. She really gets around and we wouldn’t be surprised to see her just turn up at our hostels door.
Peripatetic pedagogue Sue “Treadie” Storr with friend in China.