I got a memory like an elephant, erm...or maybe it's a goldfish...I forget. It's definitely not a steel trap, more like a sieve. If that isn't bad enough, I only exacerbate the situation when I travel and start my no-sleep, sensory-overload marathon of a trip. If I only knew how many travel moments and memories I've lost, I'd probably cry. They're not easy to get back either ("You remember, talking with that old man in Japan who knew where West Virginia was?" "No, but I do now."); so, how do you remember those lost moments or keep from losing them in the first place?
Take picture: The pictures don't have to be the exact moment you want to remember (trying to capture the moment with a camera can ruin the atmosphere), but taking pictures around that moment will jog your memory enough for your situational memory to kick in and fill the gaps.
Write in your journal: A journal entry can tell you so much more about the moment than you would ever imagine. Is your writing shakier than normal? Is it smoother and more relaxed? Did you make more mistakes than usual? All these are tell tale signs of your mood at the moment you write. Journals are a great way to supplement your memory, in an old-fashioned but relevant way.
Take home a momento: A shell from the beach where you met her, a pressed flower from outside your hotel, a bottle of fresh mountain air. A concrete reminder of the place you were will get those gears turning.
Souvenier: Similar to that momento, a souvenier is something concrete to remind you of what you did. Maybe it's a painting of the area, maybe it's some kitschy touristy souvenirs, maybe it's just a postcard. Unlike a momento, purchasing a souvenir will support local merchants while establishing your memory.
Blog: Combine words, pictures, and videos into the ultimate scrapbook of your travels. It doesn't have the exact feel of the journal, but the extended features make it better in some ways. This allows other to experience your memories, too (if you desire to publicly blog). Unlike the rest of the ways of concreting memory, a blog is hard to lose and is posted somewhere you can access at any time.
Those are my ways of plugging up the holes in my memory sieve. Did I forget anything?
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