Why do we travel? Why do we have that desire, that yearning, to visit far away places?
What is it about our lives that we seek to fulfill elsewhere? Perhaps, it’s as simple as a curiosity about the world.
We’re faced with the appealing belief that there is more to life than the everyday encounters in our hometown, no matter how large. Tourists view Buenos Aires as an exotic destination, though porteños may twitch their noses, wondering why so many foreigners come here. Likewise, the curious porteño fills pulled elsewhere, possibly the very humdrum towns that we’ve gladly left behind. We all want to go somewhere else.
If travel is not about curiosity, experiencing a different culture, learning more about the world (and possibly ourselves), then is it nothing more than checking off a list of accomplishments – been there, done that?
For some, (many, most?), travel may manifest itself in that competitive breed of list checkers. But I would like to think that we have a deeper sense of purpose, even if our actions don’t always reveal that core. Yet, why do most travelers learn so little about the places they visit? Are they just not that curious? Do they not know what questions to ask, how to learn?
International travel costs thousands of dollars. If we pay that much for an experience, should it not damn well be life enhancing?
How should we prepare ourselves for encountering a distant part of the globe? How do we learn about a culture, a society, a place that is not ours?
In our travels how do we best engage our curiosity about the world?
October 31st, 2007 at 4:51 pm
thought-provoking! alain de boton made THAT the subject of one of his books, the art of travel, from which one can infer many reasons: profound and superficial and selfish and the many shades in between [based on confessions and writings of famous historical characters].
travel cannot be about checking off a list as i’ve already been to BA four times now…yet i am still drawn to the city. so personally, i travel to clear my head of my immediate locality, outside my comfort zone. which makes way, inevitably, for changed perspectives about everything as then my life is given new lenses from which to view the world. it is also a lot about packing and enjoying sensorial input: eating, drinking, seeing, etc. it is partly romantic, i create my own myths about self and place and its people. witnessing other modes of being thru travel either confirms my present mode of behavior or informs me of divergent approaches. it informs of potentialities, of providing new context of living and conducting my life. travel is about partaking locally to one’s comfort level”“I’ve found that the degree of fulfillment is a function of the degree to which one is engaged to the place and its people. but learning is a given– that each new place can teach me a valuable lesson about myself and the encountered.
October 31st, 2007 at 5:45 pm
That’s a great book, The Art of Travel. I’m going to be mentioning that a lot in some upcoming posts.
Thanks for your comment! We seem to think along similar lines. You said a lot of good things there. I liked what you said about a new “context of living” and much else.