"Hitching was also the main way I moved between my home in the Midwest and my university on the East Coast. I loved hitchhiking because it offered a fantastic way to get to know an amazing cross section of people from many different classes and races and walks of life."
"Everyone is an expert on at least one thing: themselves. All you have to do is ask a person open-ended questions and be genuinely interested, and they will talk forever about almost anything they have ever done."
"I used to climb out of trucks after 10 hours of driving through the night and know the most intimate details about the truck driver's life - and he would not know a single detail about me, including my name."
Hitchhiking from London to Cape Town in the early 1980s covered over 11,000 miles and took more than six months. The journey traversed Europe, North Africa, and East Africa, highlighting the unique experiences of meeting diverse individuals. The author emphasizes the value of open-ended questions in learning about others, noting that everyone has expertise in their own life. This approach to hitchhiking not only connects travelers with marginalized voices but also enriches personal understanding of different cultures and backgrounds.
Read at Big Think
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