Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
rich with learning opportunities, and how the ultimate souvenir is a broader outlook. By
incorporating those lessons into my being, I am changed. Any traveler can relate to this:
On returning from a major trip, you sense that your friends and co-workers have stayed the
same, but you're...different. It's enlightening and unsettling at the same time.
A wonderful byproduct of leaving America is gaining a renewed appreciation for our
country. When frustrated by overwrought bureaucracies overseas, I'm thankful that it's
not a daily part of my life back home. When exasperated by population density, I return
home grateful to live in a sparsely populated corner of the world. Traveling, I sample dif-
ferent tempos, schedules, seasoning, business environments, and political systems. Some
I like better—others I'm glad don't follow me home.
When I return home from any trip, I realize that I am a part of the
terroir
of my home
turf, just as the people who so charm me in distant corners of the world are part of theirs.
Those people might visit me here, find it interesting, incorporate a few slices of my life-
style into theirs, and be just as thankful to fly home. While seeing travel as a political act
enables us to challenge our society to do better, it also shows us how much we have to be
grateful for, to take responsibility for, and to protect.
In addition to gaining a keen appreciation of how blessed we are, travelers also un-
derstand that with these blessings come responsibilities. Protecting the poor, civil rights,
and our environment are basic to good global citizenship. Travelers experience lands that
have a wide gap between rich and poor, places without basic freedoms an American might
take for granted, and regions where neglect has led to ruined environments. Packing that
experience home, we can become more compassionate, even (or especially) during diffi-
cult times. Because we've seen the extremes in faraway lands, we can better understand
the consequences of continued neglect in our own community.
