It's needless to say that travelling tops the list of means of spending free time during vacations. Why? There can be many reasons starting with broadening one's horizons and ending with psychological treatment. Travelling means getting away from your dirty crowded city, escaping from the boring routine and watching impressive, fascinating, spectacular, incredible, fantastic and simply amazing sceneries, pieces of architecture, well, perhaps in another dirty and crowded city.

No matter how strange it may seem, but I'm not fond of travelling, at least if that's a common drag - descent conditions, conservative guides - I find it boring to look at man-made buildings and monuments, no matter how beautiful they are. That is the reason I'd rather visit rural parts of India such as Goa and Chinese monasteries, lakes of Canada and jungle of Brazil, deserts of Australia and everlasting brightness of the Hawaii islands - they all have the original wildness and there are no vendors around offering to buy souvenirs.

I can't understand the popularity of European capitals with tourists from all over the world. Do they really include many "sights to see"? I guess I'll never understand it.

Anyway, there was a trip I really liked. Perhaps the reason for it is simple - it was a trip to Yugoslavia, one of the less attractive countries in European tour business. Being not so ordinary, it made me remember it. After a 2-hour flight we found ourselves on the Mediterranean seashore of Yugoslavia. We neither did a lot of sightseeing, nor had too many excursions so it was high time to enjoy the place that was really marvelous: fir-covered mountains, the sea, sun-soaked beaches, friendly locals and amazing weather. The most vivid experience was being on a small island during the gale. The sea was so rough! It was the most fascinating sight I had seen before that!!

After a week by the sea we were glad to change the scenery. We had to suffer a 12-hour coach journey to the National Park KOPAONIK, that unfortunately later suffered NATO attacks. The place was fabulous, and it was impossible to get aware of the fact that you aren't dreaming of being a gorgeous hero of a fairy-tale.

There was no chance to be homesick and I was actually disappointed when it was time to leave. Surprisingly, I didn't miss home at all! In fact, I've never been homesick, perhaps just because I've never been away for more than a month. But it doesn't really mean that I don't love my home. As for me, home is not just my house, it's something more - the surroundings, the people around, at last the energy of the place. I doubt that I can make it any place. I've moved 3 times for the last 15 years and every new place was in the very same district. I really got addicted to the place where I live and I won't move to any other.

I can't share the statement "Home is where you make it". I'm sure that having a real home is like having a faithful friend - once in a lifetime. For some people home is a special place, for me personally it's not just the place where you live, it's the place where you can get shelter from rough social waters, feel relaxed and enjoy every minute of being there. Even prehistoric people tried to decorate their caves. That means that its Nature who "makes" us try our best to make our homes the most enjoyable places in the Universe, but it's up to everyone how to do that.

Alexander V. Myskin, gr. 3o1