Nobonita Chowdhury
Do you consider yourself to be an ardent traveler? Would you risk becoming permanently broke and couch surfing just to see the world? Then welcome to the club! Now that you’ve confirmed yourself as a person with a serious case of wanderlust, here is some vocab that you’ll definitely want to know.
•Numinous (adj): A word of latin origin, this adjective describes the feeling of being both fearful and awed by what is before you. Maybe how one would feel when they’ve reached the peak of Mount Everest. The original intention of this word was to refer to divinity, but it’s still a wonderful way to describe your feelings when you’ve been to a crazily astonishing place. I felt this way when I did my first 12 meter dive in Thailand.
•Eleutheromania (N): This is a Greek noun and is defined as an intense desire for freedom. Now as a Bangladeshi teen who loves traveling, this registers in my mind in two connotations. One context would be the freedom to break norms. How is this travel related, you ask? Well a girl backpacking alone is often subjected to a lot of criticism. But once you get past that scrutiny and make it to your destination, you literally feel eleutheromania running through your veins. The other context in which I see this word is in finding freedom in other cultures, or just being outside of the dorm.
•livsnjutare (n): This is a Swedish word which describes someone who loves life deeply and makes the most out of it. The acronym Yolo was probably invented for all the livsnjutares out there. But something that I’ve learned from traveling is to take risks to make the most out of your experience. Step outside your comfort zone. It also allows you to gain valuable life skills.
•Sturmfrei (adj): This is a German adjective which means the freedom of being alone and having the ability to do what you want. Dear Bangladeshi teens out there, I’m sure you can relate. Being a major introvert throughout my entire life, I’ve always preferred traveling alone. Traveling solo can be especially rewarding because everything is up to you. You can go wherever you want without having to compromise with your travel partner. You might make new friends on the road, but even then the solace is what makes that experience so amazing.
•Saudade(n): This Portuguese word has a really wonderful and almost poetic meaning. It defines nostalgia and the love that remains; a desire to be near something or someone distant. Have you ever had this feeling of withdrawal on the way back home from your travels? I guess you can use saudade to describe that particular feeling. It’s the feeling that makes you want to return to your favorite place, even if you know that it might not be the same.
•Yūgen (n): I’m not surprised that this is a Japanese word, for the Japanese have always been a spiritual race. The word yūgen is an awareness of the universe that triggers emotional responses too deep and mysterious for words. It’s that feeling when you look at a sky full of stars and contemplate on the creation of the universe and whatnot.
•Trouvaille (n): This is a French word which describes something lovely found by chance. Ever stumbled across a really good local food place by chance while traveling? That’s basically one of the most basic examples of Trouvaille. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a food place; it can range from things like a street or even an experience of sorts.