Road Reading: Exactitudes by Arie Versluis & Ellie Uyttenbroek

I've always been curious about what other people are doing, constantly wondering if everyone else was having more fun than me. I'm fascinated by other people's experiences and how they process them. Part of the reason I'm traveling is to create my own stories, to feel more like a participant and not just an observer.

After a while you realise there's a fine line between someone with good stories and a great storyteller. Its a futile exercise comparing stories as our experiences are personal to us dependant on our personalities and value systems. People who've been to the same places or have traveled alongside one another will have their own perspective of that time.

There's a comfort in knowing that we only really control our journey, to strive to be the best version of ourself as possible. To quote the great Sly Stallone "We might not be the best in the world but we can be the best in our own life"

I found this book in a Utrecht boekenwinkel. In 'Exactitudes' the Rotterdam based duo demonstrate that there is a sense of uniformity even in our attempts to be unique. It challenges our definition of self, it absurdly realises the conflict we have with wanting to forge our own path whilst wanting to feel a sense of belonging.

Exactitudes: Arie Versluis and Ellie Uyttenbroek
Since 1995 photographer Arie Versluis and stylist Elly Yttenbroek have worked together on the project 'Exactitudes'. Exactitude is a contraction of the words 'exact' and 'attitude'. It concerns a long-term photo project in which a wide-range of different groups of people are portrayed in an identical frame, in the same pose and with strictly observed dress codes...

I no longer feel the need to compare experiences with my fellow man, now the curiosity comes more from a place of interest rather than envy.

Other people's stories
Here is a listing of blogs I've collected from fellow travelers:

Europe 2011
Australian met in Barcelona, Spain - Spanish Wanderlust
New Yorker met in Utrecht, Holland - Foxx tackles the Globe
American met in Madrid, Spain - Hostel Hopping
American met in Lisboa, Portugal - Todd Geasland

American met in Lisboa, Portugal - Untitled (Because I am just a cloud)
Korean met in Selcuk, Turkey - Floating Chara (Korean)
New Zealander met in Fethiye, Turkey - Quins Adventure

Storytellers met in Lithuania

Dutchman met in Klaipėda, Lithuania - TimToTango

Catalunyan met in Kaunas, Lithuania - Cargol Treu Manya (Catalan)

Frenchman met in Kaunas, Lithuania - Avec moi pendant 4 mois!! (French)

Lithuanian girls met in Kaunas, Lithuania - Kombajns' YouTube Channel

South America 2013
Englishman met in Santiago, Chile - I'm Half the World Away
Chilena met in Valparaíso, Chile - Nada en Realidad
French couple met in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile - Les aventures de Fanny et Jay autour du monde
American met in Mendoza, Argentina - Still Lifes
2 French girls met in Buenos Aries, Argentina - Mochilejos
2 English girls met in Cuyabeno River, Ecuador- Where in the World is Imogen?
Englishman met en route to Lago Agria, Ecuador- SAMUELFENSTERHEIM