Why We Travel

Many people travel for different reasons. Personal joyful travel, or travel for business, whatever the reason for travel, our experiences along the way can strengthen who we are as individuals, how we perceive ourselves and how we want others to perceive us. I travel in order to experience the world and different cultures. I find joy and excitement in this and love learning of new places and cultures, one of the most enjoyable things for me is trying to break the cultural barrier and communicate with some of the locals wherever I may be traveling. I do not feel shy while doing this because of my ambition for learning about the world around me and how my culture differentiates with the other cultures. My mother has had the opportunity to travel the Mediterranean and I have questioned her about her adventures. One of the places she said was most appealing to her in Italy was the Vatican, more specifically the Sistine Chapel. She said the artwork was phenomenal and the locals were open to discussion about where the “best place for a home cooked Italian meal” was and where the best wines could be tasted. This strengthens my desire to one day travel to Italy and experience all of this for myself so I can one day make my own interpretations of such a trip and inspire someone else to travel.
While traveling I have seen many amazing and astounding things that have had me at a loss for words. I can recall a trip with my family to Yosemite National Park where it was early dawn and I was awoken by a loud grumbling and a crash coming from a campsite that was approximately one city block away. As I emerged from my tent I could see my friends and family staring a monstrous bear tipping a dumpster over in order to get to her bear cub that was too small to get out by itself. I had never seen a bear in person before. This excitement captured my ardor for camping and fulfilled my camping trip experience.
In Pico Ayer’s article explaining his beliefs on “Why We Travel”, he states “Travel is the best way we have of rescuing the humanity of places, and saving them from abstraction and ideology”, which is not particularly true for myself. When I travel somewhere I do try to communicate with others and enjoy the different cultures however “saving them from abstraction and ideology” is something I do not stray into. For this could cause potential conflict if I try to inflict my westernized ways of living upon a different culture. Because of this, I would only share the array of different hobbies and possibly add in a few fixed intervals of business into the conversation.
I do consider anonymity to be an important part of the entire traveling experience because without it, personal encounters would not be as exciting. When I am traveling I do in fact imagine the place in my mind to the fullest extent. For example, when I go camping in a new location I imagine everything in detail. From what the lake will look like as the warm sun shines on the undulated murky water, to the granite mountains surrounding the lake announcing their decorum of beauty of the entirety of the place. Upon arrival I think of how my campsite will appear to me as well as how I would like it to be. As I drive through whatever environment I am venturing into I feel like a voyager who is merely out on a quest in search of relaxation. Once I arrive to the campsite, to my dismay it is not how I appeared it to be. However being and optimist and one who is open to newfangled ideas, I accept this newly found vacationland and rather than suffering from a slight case of neurosis from the entangled vision I once had of this place I on my quest in search of relaxing satisfaction.