To travel with a tester feels like a disaster.
People passing by in a hurry. A short wait at the baggage claim and then out to see the city.
So where should I begin this expedition? I know the name of my hotel, but that’s about all the background information I have. It almost feels like a session testing when I travel.
Many of my friends like a plan. I like getting lost and only then finding my way to the hotel. Usually the first thing is to figure out how to travel the public transport in a new city.
Just yesterday I landed to Amsterdam for the European Testing Conference. And this session started just like any other trip that I do. By asking questions.
So what do I need to get around here? Is there a card of some kind for the public transport? Where can I buy one? And quickly I found someone who knew how to help with the OV-chipkaart.
For some perverted reason, I like the sense of confusion and the feeling of being lost. I trust that those feelings will eventually lead me to a steeper learning curve. The only problem is that to most of my travel buddies, if feels like a disaster instead.
By doing the familiar things, we tend to get familiar results. By doing new things we tend to get new results.
Sitting in the bus number 300 towards my hotel, I had some time to contemplate on it. What if the best bug hunters are the ones who simply have the highest tolerance for those chaotic feelings of confusion and being lost?
We learn to make sense of the stranger things around us only by first exposing ourselves to the stranger things.
To become a better bug hunter, I propose going on a long walk in a new place. Travel without a plan. Take the detour or that curious shortcut. Ask a stranger for help. Go with the flow, then divert. Take the train instead of an Über and only then have the latte in an oh so familiar Starbucks.
Confusion is the emotional prepayment of discovery.
