Jen+Doll

I spend way more time than I should on Airbnb1）. I love scrolling through other peoples lovingly decorated （or hideously appointed2）） rental properties and homes around the world， and imagining which most suits my needs for a beach weekend away， a jaunt3） in the woods， or a cheap-but-restorative mini-vacation to an idyllic small town. Why am I considering a vacation anyway when my life is pretty good right here？

The thing is， Im not planning an actual vacation. I just like to look.

For a while I chalked my Airbnb penchant up4） to routine procrastination， which meant it was bad for me. It was something to do while I thought about doing the stuff I was supposed to do， and we all know thats the hallmark of a time-waster， something that should be eradicated from a productive life post-haste5）. However， unlike sitting for hours in front of Americas Next Top Model reruns， looking at rental properties online had the additional benefit of making me feel productive and enlightened， like it was research that might actually get me somewhere， quite literally.

After all， we are supposed to occasionally leave the comfort zones of our daily lives and explore and see and learn， or lie in the sun， or both. So it was justifiable， in a way， to log hours on the site， checking in in the morning to see if maybe thered be some new properties listed in a dreamed-about location， starting wish lists for places ranging from coastal American towns to Paris， and checking out locations where my dollar seemed to get me a lot farther than in Brooklyn. Even if Im not really going to go.

Ive imagined countless trips， for “writing retreats，” “l(fā)eaf-peeping，” “girls weekends，” “romantic getaways6），” “adventure travel，” “l(fā)earning to speak another language，” or “building my global consciousness.” I let my mind roam wild， picturing myself in places that were a far cry from7） my typical vacation. There was the glamping8） tent where I might luxuriate in nature with 100 percent organic sheets and hotel bath towels. There was a teepee9） on a waterfall. There was an adorable tiny house with a composting10） toilet. （Could I be the sort of person who would vacation somewhere with a composting toilet？ Who WAS the sort of person who would vacation somewhere with a composting toilet？）

There can be greater clarity， sometimes， in inhabiting other peoples lives than our own， and thats why vacations are so important. In a time when people turn to screens and the internet before maps and guidebooks， Airbnb and sites like it provide ever-more potent opportunities to take a walk in someone elses shoes （after potentially waking up in their bed）. After all， from where we live， its not so far a journey to who we are. The process of vacation-shopping isnt that far from trying on clothes or thinking about what job might fit us best. My time on Airbnb is another way to consider who I am， and who I want to be.

Another plus： Its not even entirely procrastination， really. “Taking a vacation wont necessarily make you happier. But anticipating it will，” writes Stephanie Rosenbloom in The New York Times. She cites researchers from the Netherlands who “interviewed more than 1，500 people， including 974 vacationers， and found that the vacationers felt most happy before their trips.” Anticipation is a powerful aphrodisiac11）， and when youre conceptualizing a trip theres none of the pain of having to battle airport security， the interstate， or that most horrid of trip-ruiners： other people. There is no disappointment， not even the pain of seeing that your hoped-for vacation dates are already booked because， guess what， youre just window-shopping12） for the windows you might consider looking out of， sometime. And it costs nothing.

Surfing online isnt traveling， and traveling is great and eye-opening and necessary， whether you do it alone or with others. But if youre strapped for time and want to feel a frisson13） of possibility without ever taking off your pajamas， may I humbly suggest a free jaunt down the wandering lanes of Airbnb？ As Rosenbloom explains， getting to know the place you plan to visit is a kind of immersion that “encourages you to not only learn about your destination， but to dream， providing some concrete details for your mind to latch on to.” I think thats true whether you ever go there or not. Lately， Ive been dreaming about a composting toilet.

. New Oriental English

Good Reading

Vacations

讀有所悟

別樣旅行：

Why I Love

我在空中食宿網(wǎng)站（Airbnb）上的確花了太多時間。我喜歡在網(wǎng)上瀏覽世界各地人們那裝飾可愛（或難看）的出租屋，想象著哪一個最能滿足我的需要：在海灘過一個周末，在林間來一次短途旅行，或在一個田園詩般美麗的小鎮(zhèn)來一個費用不高但可以修復(fù)身心的迷你假期。我當(dāng)前的生活很好，為什么還要考慮外出度假呢？

問題是，我不是在規(guī)劃一次真的旅行，只是喜歡在網(wǎng)上看看。

有一陣兒，我把自己瀏覽空中食宿網(wǎng)站的嗜好歸結(jié)于日常的拖延，這意味著這樣的行為對我是不利的。當(dāng)我想著去做該做的事的時候，我卻登上了這個網(wǎng)站。而且眾所周知，這種行為是浪費時間的標(biāo)志，是應(yīng)該盡快從富有成效的人生中杜絕的?？墒?，和在電視機前一坐幾個小時觀看《全美超級模特兒新秀大賽》重播不一樣的是，瀏覽網(wǎng)上的出租空房信息給了我額外的好處，讓我感到很有收獲和啟發(fā)，好像這種研究會真的把我?guī)У侥硞€地方，簡直就跟真的一樣。

畢竟，我們應(yīng)該偶爾踏出日常生活的舒適區(qū)，到外面探索探索、開開眼界、長長見識，或只是躺在陽光下，或兩者兼而有之。因此，從某種程度而言，在這個網(wǎng)站上瀏覽幾個小時是合情合理的：早上登進去看看在自己朝思暮想的地方是否列出了新的房子；開啟一個愿望清單，列上幾個城市，從美國沿海城市到巴黎；查查有哪些地方，在那里美元能讓我比在布魯克林擁有更強的購買力。即使自己不是真的要去那里。

我在腦海中想象過無數(shù)次的旅行，目的包括“寫作靜思”“賞秋葉之行”“女生周末”“浪漫短假”“冒險之旅”“學(xué)說另一門外語”，或者“建立我的全球化意識”。我任憑自己的思緒如野馬脫韁，想象著自己身處與通常的度假地迥然不同的地方。有時是在有著純有機床單和酒店浴巾的豪華露營帳篷里，我在其中盡情享受自然的饋贈。有時是在瀑布上面搭起的一個錐形帳篷里。有時是在一座配有堆肥廁所的可愛小屋里。（我會是那種能接受在度假地使用堆肥廁所的人嗎？什么樣的人會選擇到用堆肥廁所的地方度假呀？）

有時候，相比過自己的生活，體驗一下別人的生活會讓你對人生有更清晰的認(rèn)識。這就是為什么假期如此重要。現(xiàn)在人們在旅游前先用帶屏幕的電子設(shè)備和互聯(lián)網(wǎng)尋找咨詢，而不是查看地圖和導(dǎo)游手冊，在這樣的時代里，空中食宿網(wǎng)和其他類似的網(wǎng)站提供了比以往更有效的機會，讓人們可以“穿著別人的鞋子走一走”（當(dāng)你可能在別人的床上一覺醒來之后）。畢竟，從我們現(xiàn)在生活的狀態(tài)到我們是誰之間，并非一段遙遠(yuǎn)的旅程。這種只看不度假的過程與試穿衣服或思考什么工作最適合自己的行為相去不遠(yuǎn)。我在空中食宿網(wǎng)站上花時間也是用另一種方式來思考我是誰，以及我想成為什么樣的人。

另外一點：真的，這甚至不全是拖延。“度假不一定會讓你更快樂。但對假期的期待可以做到這一點。”斯蒂芬妮·羅森布魯姆在《紐約時報》這樣寫道。她援引了來自荷蘭的研究人員的調(diào)查結(jié)果，他們“訪問了1500多人，其中包括974名度假人士，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)度假的人在他們旅行之前感到最快樂”。期待是一種功能強大的興奮劑。當(dāng)你構(gòu)想旅行時，你不會經(jīng)歷以下任何痛苦：不管是費勁通過機場安檢還是駛過漫漫州際公路，或者遭遇最可怕的旅行破壞者——別的人。你不會失望，甚至不必經(jīng)歷這樣的痛苦：看著你想度假的日期已被別人搶先預(yù)訂，因為，你猜怎么著，對于你想著從其中的窗子望風(fēng)景的房子，你只是看看卻沒預(yù)訂。而且，你分文不花。

瀏覽網(wǎng)頁算不上旅行，而旅行是激動人心、大開眼界和必不可少的，不管你是獨自旅行還是結(jié)伴而行。但是如果你時間有限，而你又想不必脫掉睡衣就體驗一把旅行的可能性帶來的令人激動的戰(zhàn)栗，那我可以謙恭地建議你沿著空中食宿網(wǎng)站蜿蜒的小路來一次免費的短途旅行嗎？正如羅森布魯姆所言，了解你打算造訪的地方是一種沉浸其中的方式，“促使你不僅了解你的目的地，而且心生想望，為你的頭腦提供一些可以牢牢抓住的具體細(xì)節(jié)”。我想不管你會不會去那里旅行都是如此。最近，我一直念念不忘堆肥廁所。