I've always had the desire to travel since I was young, unfortunately my parents didn't have the same desire that I did. I grew up with four sisters and so traveling with my whole family wasn't ever easy and it wasn't ever cheap, which I understood. I knew if I ever wanted to travel it would be when I had my own money to do so. I think waiting until I could pay for traveling myself made it more rewarding being able to see different parts of the world thinking that I could do it on my own, it might not be as often as I would like or with the fanciest accommodations, but what's important is that I still am out there getting a different perspective on how the world is.
I've traveled different places within the United States that I've loved visiting and could potentially see myself living in at some point in my life, but I still have a large portion of the United States that I have not visited yet. I have not visited any states in the North East region of the U.S., and I hear it's beautiful. I think so far, my favorite states or trips that I've taken in the U.S. would be Colorado and California, both for similar reasons. Everything done on these trips always involves outdoor activities, in Colorado I love being in the mountains whether it's skiing, hiking, white water rafting, there's so much to do. With California, being near the ocean, seeing the beauty and hiking around Lake Tahoe, there's an abundance of things to do.
For international travel I've been on your typical tropical vacation where you stay at a resort and don't leave your resort unless you do a guided tour or an excursion with other tourists. Or a cruise where they drop you at the port and you get a day to explore. But for me that is not the travel I enjoy at all, I understand this may be what others dream of and love doing but for me I don't feel like I'm in a foreign land if I'm not experiencing the culture or really seeing the land and interacting with different people.
I studied abroad in the Czech Republic in 2016 and that has been such a highlight in my life, I was out of my comfort zone living in an area where people's first language was not English and their customs are different than mine and it was really eye opening being exposed to a new way of living. I visited 12 different countries while abroad and I would do it all over in a heartbeat if I had the money to do so. My most recent trip was back in October to Canada and that was another one of my favorites, not only because I got engaged while on this trip but also because Canada is so beautiful. We visited the province Alberta while in Canada and traveled to Banff National Park and Yoho National Park. The main motivation for my travel is to see the world and create memories and experiences that I'll never forget. My biggest fear is getting to an age where I can no longer travel and having regrets of not seeing all that I want in the world.
She explains to them that it would be a new way of seeing and doing things, but really what she learns is how different the world is from Maine. She learns to appreciate the safety she feels at home after she had been molested on her walk in India, she learns how fortunate she is to see these parts of the world where others don't have the opportunity to go anywhere else like in China. She doesn't travel to find a new way of doing things, she travels "to look with new eyes on familiar things". I think that's very important to remember when traveling, not all people can escape from the lives they live in different places of the world.
I think the three reasons that would be most important to me would be it teaches you about the world, it teaches you about yourself, and it provides you with unforgettable memories and experiences. I do agree that I learn so much more about a part of the world if I'm actually experiencing it firsthand and interacting with the people that live there. You learn about yourself when you travel because it gets you out of your comfort zone and so you can see what you'll tolerate or how you'll adjust to certain situations. I feel that gaining confidence and independence as well as being more tolerant fall under the learning about yourself. Making unforgettable memories and experiences is another one that I find important, life is too short to not do what makes you happy.
Peterson's reasons why young people should travel include; getting out of your comfort zone, building confidence, developing cultural sensitivity, adapting to globalization, being immersed in a new language, and infinite opportunities to network. I think traveling allows you to become more open minded, you realize everyone lives different lives and has different norms and that's okay that it's not the same things that you're used to.
Some reasons listed why Americans don't travel are because of cost or they don't have the time to take off work. I will say that my after working at the same company for over 30 years my Dad has accrued so much paid time off he could take months and months off of work to go travel, but because he is more comfortable here in the U.S. he won't ever use that PTO. Some other reasons Americans don't travel is because they think all they need is in the U.S. and that we have everything to offer here. While we do have regional differences and maybe cultural differences in some areas, it still does not compare to visiting a foreign country.
Each of us lives in varying degrees of isolation from the rest of the world. This isolation is both happenstance and self-imposed. If we are born in an isolated part of the world with few opportunities to travel, we will likely lead an isolated existence. Self-imposed isolation occurs when have many opportunities to see other parts of the world but choose to spend our time and resources in one tiny area. We isolate ourselves because we are afraid or uncomfortable in other parts of the world.
I am very much the type of person that impulse buys flights and plans trips and thinks why not? I don't have a plan all the time, but I know I'm going. I also don't always have the extra money for it or should be spending money on it due to other bills and payments but like I've previously said I don't want to miss out on seeing the world. I have friends that have never left the country and are okay with that because they would rather spend their money on clothes or going out. A few of my sisters don't have a desire to travel internationally (or domestically really) and it's hard for me to understand how they wouldn't want to see different parts of the world. My parents are about the same way with travel, if they get the chance to go somewhere, they're okay with it but if they don't it doesn't bother them. To me these are all ways of self-imposed isolation.
Maps of passport ownership in US by state have been used in different ways. Do a Google Image search and include one of these maps below. Discuss the distribution. What does passport ownership indicate?
Submitted by Hannah Lambert on January 25, 2020.