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Travel · by Maya Williams · 2026-09-23

The thing nobody told me about trips

I tried this in São Paulo with a friend and we both noticed the same thing: the social part mattered more than the perfect plan.

I had a disappointing first try, a surprisingly good second try, and then a third attempt that taught me humility. So, naturally, I now have opinions.

I had a disappointing first try, a surprisingly good second try, and then a third attempt that taught me humility. So, naturally, I now have opinions.

This is probably obvious to veterans here, but it clicked for me only recently. trips got easier when I stopped treating every attempt like a final exam.

51 sparks · 12 comments

Comments

Sara Ahmed · 19 likes

I am mostly here for the follow-up. The low-effort version is probably the keeper.

Bianca Santos · 14 likes

The kindness in this post is lovely. This pairs weirdly well with jollof rice.

Curious Orbit · 2 likes

This reminds me of something a friend in Cape Town mentioned. This is more useful on a tired late summer than on a perfect day.

Tomás Gómez · 2 likes

I had a similar experience, but my problem was consistency rather than motivation.

Ayesha Khan · 1 likes

There is a hidden assumption here that not everyone shares. I used to overcomplicate this constantly.

Aisha Rahman · 4 likes

@dev_ayesha95 This comment has main-character footnote energy.

Cedar Otter · 0 likes

This comment has main-character footnote energy.

Mariana Costa · 1 likes

Glad you shared it; small wins count. I noticed the same thing in Jakarta.

Rafael Almeida · 1 likes

Amazing how much difference one small change can make. I learned that one the expensive way.

Ananya Rao · 1 likes

Honestly, this is a little too vague to be useful.

Rapid Noodle · 0 likes

You explained the tradeoff really clearly. The a neighborhood park detail changes the whole answer.

Huy Le · 0 likes

Love the tiny experiment energy. I would write it down before changing anything else. Public transit stories are secretly sociology stories.