IN TRAVELING THE world the most joy filled experiences I have are those of sharing with people--more than the places I go. While the places are delightful and exciting, dramatic and colorful, the people are my reason for traveling.
     It would be easy and comfortable to stay in modern hotels with the latest facilities salubrious to my enjoyment, but if this is what I would do, I could better have stayed at home. In the commercial establishments there is a protocol that is observed as well as in each home. The protocol that is observed in a home is a friendly involvement in family life. My choice!
     When I can live with a family and be one with them I feel that I am in a wonderful new world. Eating meals with a family, sharing their bathroom, their home in all its facets, is to me the dream of living.
     Most every host tells me to make myself at home. They say enthusiastically "Our home is your home. Fully enjoy our home. You are a member of our family." Then I see how they really live and they see how I really live. In every home I respect the family habits. I dress accordingly. If they wear a robe or not, so then do I likewise. If they eat at a certain hour, I join in and share the responsibilities of preparing the meal and table as I am invited to do so.
     Perhaps the most fun is I am a member of their family, for even a short time. Reading to their children, sharing love and care, entering into the active family conversations these are the truly rewarding and exciting adventures of traveling the world.
     I offer the same to all those who come to my home and enter into my life. To me, this is what traveling the world is all about. 

-Dr Herbert L Beierle