I didn’t plan on having an adventure today.
I just wanted to buy a jacket.
My jackets have been packed away in a suitcase in a friend’s storage closet in Chicago since 2020 and I've been chasing summer for the last 5 five years so my body had forgotten what “cold” felt like. But now I’m in Alicante, Spain, where it’s been rainy, windy, and just cold enough to make me choose working out of my bed instead of going on a walk.
But after 2 weeks of cold, I caved and I finally decided to do the practical thing and head to the nearest H&M to get something warm to wear.
It was supposed to be a quick errand. Instead it became one of the most grounding and unexpectedly beautiful days I’ve had since arriving.
The errand that became everything
What should’ve been a ten-minute Uber ride turned into thirty thanks to Semana Santa processions taking over the city. When I finally arrived at the mall, I quickly realized jacket season was technically over and so were my chances at finding something in my size.
Still I wandered. I tried things on. I got frustrated. I found something that worked.
Then I answered a facebook group post to co-create content with someone in town. It was a paid gig and nearby so why not balance the new jacket with some income. I met up, did some UGC style videos for a fitness app and ended up having a great time with the other people there. Once we finished I realized I was an hour away from home and my phone was dead.
No maps. No translator. No way to call an uber home.
Luckily one of the girls I met and her mom were also heading toward the city center. I was able to catch the bus with them, connecting about our lives and travel, and from there I found my way home on foot.
By then it was pouring rain. The bus let us off next to a tourist stand where I bought a flimsy five-euro umbrella, knowing it wouldn’t hold, but it was better than the raw onslought of rain. I was soaked. Cold. Slightly disoriented.
And for the first time in days, completely present.
The gift of not rushing
I passed by the most beautiful architecture that people were huddling under to stay dry. I walked through a park with big ancient trees, enveloping a beautiful fountain.
Did I have calls? What was on my calendar?
Who knows? I couldn't check. I had to just succumb to the walk
No phone to capture content. No GPS to check. No playlist to skip through.
Just me, noticing everything.
The sound of shoes slapping puddles. People laughing under too-small umbrellas. The golden light casting a soft glow on the wet pavement.
I realized I’d seen more of the city today than I had in the last eleven days combined.
I remembered why I fell in love with travel in the first place. Not for the postcard-perfect moments, but for the ones that sneak up on you in the rain.
Why small disruptions can be good for your brain
When we’re exposed to unexpected situations, like getting lost or navigating a new city, our brain’s default mode network quiets down. We shift into a state of heightened awareness and learning. It’s the opposite of autopilot. It’s presence³.
Even better, when our nervous system isn’t overwhelmed, these moments of novelty release dopamine. That’s the feel-good chemical that helps us stay curious and motivated¹. That explains the strange contentment I felt as I walked home soaking wet. Still shivering under my new jacket. Five euro umbrella flailing in the wind. I wasn’t escaping anything. I was just there.
Let life interrupt you
Most digital nomads, myself included, can easily fall into a routine of optimizing everything. Squeezing work in between exploring. Planning our days with precision. Forgetting that not everything meaningful has to be productive.
But today reminded me that the best parts of travel aren’t always planned. They’re found in detours. In dying phone batteries. Huddled underneath umbrellas with surprise conversations.
You don’t have to go somewhere to experience something real. Sometimes all it takes is deciding to buy a jacket and being willing to get caught in the rain.
Footnotes
Bunzeck, N., & Düzel, E. (2006). Absolute novelty is more rewarding than relative novelty. Nature Neuroscience.
Killingsworth, M.A., & Gilbert, D.T. (2010). A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science.
Vatansever, D., et al. (2017). Default mode network dynamics for global functional integration. Journal of Neuroscience.
