6 Reasons a Traveler's Life is like The Doctor's

Doctor Who is lucky. He gets to fly around in a box that's bigger on the inside than the outside. He gets to meet aliens and visit other planets. On the surface, nobody else lives like him. How many earthlings can claim they were born on a distant planet? Most of us are also not anyone's coming storm. But on a second look, an international traveler's life isn't quite so different from his.

You're an alien

When you're not in your home country, you're considered an alien. You also meet other versions of this type of aliens - others who aren't citizens of the particular country you – or they – happen to be in. Plus, any of your electronics that locals don't have could be considered “alien technology”. However, don't follow the Doctor's example – always secure the proper paperwork to enter other countries. People are always trying to catch and exterminate the Doctor. Don't give anybody a reason to exterminate you.

You're traveling in time

While you might not literally visiting Gettysburg in 1863, you can still visit the location of the battle. If you happen to luck into a recreation, it could very easily seem like you ended up walking into the actual battle. You also probably won't watch Thomas Edison create the first lightbulb, but you can tour a recreation of the laboratory in Greenfield Village at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit, Michigan.

You fly

While not in a blue police box, flying is sometimes used to refer to traveling extremely quickly. Board a high speed train. When someone comments on how fast you arrived at a location, just say, “Yeah, I really flew.” Also, with the speed at which modern planes fly, you can say you flew in more ways than one after a flight.

You arrive in the wrong place

You know the feeling. A loudspeaker announces, “Welcome to San Antonio!” and you realize you're in Texas and not San Bernardino, California, where you intended to soak up some sun. You also have to arrive at the right place at the right time to catch another flight, train, or bus to get to somewhere else. One of the bright sides of being human and not a time-traveling Time Lord: you work with minutes, not years, to arrive at the right place at the right time.

You have a companion

Some people travel alone, but many travel along with someone else. While you might not be able to whisk anyone away simply because your craft is bigger on the inside, many people would love to travel, but don't want to do it alone. Just don't try to land your aircraft on someone's street to convince them to travel with you. It's not worth the damage costs – leave that to the Doctor.

You use a Translator

It might not be automatic once you open your traveling vessel's doors, but you do use translators to communicate with others who don't speak your language. Instead of Galifreyian technology, however, earthly translators are either multi-lingual people or a service like Google Translate explaining that the other person was, indeed, asking for directions and not actually talking about the going rate for first row seats at a Barcelona football game.

How much different is a traveler's life from the Doctor's traveling life? Not that much different if you change your mindset. Look at yourself traveling around in your speedy way. 75 years ago, this was as possible as a telephone booth that flew. You do have alien-like technology at your disposal. However, if you suffer a life-threatening injury, I would suggest finding a hospital. You won't regenerate and turn into David Tennant, Matt Smith, or Peter Capaldi. Sorry to burst your bubble.

Harris Boyink is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program

Photo courtesy and copyright Harris Boyink