Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Ignorance Isn't Blissful

“Country roads, Take me home, To the place I belong” are the immortal words sang by John Denver, and artist I refuse to listen to days before any plane ride due to his untimely death.  That said, his lyrical ability to create beautiful sceneries is something that I’ve always appreciated as I’m stuck indoors under florescent lights with pseudo flooring as ill, damaged or dismembered patients await my service.  Though I love what I do for a living, my favorite hobby for which I spend most days thinking about is traveling and exploring the world’s various wonders, valleys, mountains, lakes and cultures that I’ve failed to educate myself about.

But traveling is expensive, out of my reach and just not doable for someone in my position.  This is the lie that people constantly tell themselves especially here in the United States.  I would say there are 3 main false barriers that people feel they are not able to circumvent.  Breaking down these walls will allow you to travel with confidence that you can open up your world from the small dot that is represents.
 
NUMBER 1:
First being the financially daunting cost of traveling as foretold by the Travel Agency Gods.  My roommate - and, yes, I have a roommate so that I can save money to travel -  came to me this year and explained to me that her school was having a trip in Italy to Rome and the Tuscany region.  It would only be for 8 days, would include food and accommodations, and tours all for the low price of $6,500 USD if at least 20 people went on the trip.  This would be for double occupancy and you would have to book your own flight of course.  For those that haven’t had the chance to travel much, that price is ridiculous!  It is taking advantage of students and a culture in which people are most likely unaware of the costs of traveling abroad and assume Europe with its Euros is expensive.  For Thanksgiving 2012 I went on an 11 day vacation from Dallas to Venice, from there I went to Croatia for a few days, then Slovenia for a couple of days, then trained to Florence and ended up my last few days in Rome.  Including my flight, hotel, transportation, food and miscellaneous expenses I spent under $2,500 and that includes the cost of flying my friend in from Turkey.  If you use websites like AirBnB or VacationRentals you can rent your own apartment or home and have all the comforts that a home offers.  For those of you who are students Hostel World, and if even more adventurous, Couch Surfing can assist you in finding affordable accommodations.
 
This is not all done without sacrifices, well what appear to be sacrifices to others, but for me it is simply a well thought out calculation.  By cutting out a cable bill, but keeping internet and switching to a phone service without a contract, I’ve reduced my expenses per month by about $100, which equates to $1,200/ year.  Now add in not eating out that often or my abstination from drinking out, since a bottle of wine for $9 is usually marked up to $36 when going out.  That alone can save you $100-$200/month.  Add in with other savings, such as sharing rent, and we are talking about $2,400 to $3,600/year or more. That amount of savings is enough to fly to Belize, eat well, stay in a nice place and return with gifts for far less than $2,400 for two people.  I only know because I did that trip last year during the high season.
 
NUMBER 2:
I don’t know if it is safe for me to travel.  My friends are hard to organize to go on a trip and I won’t go by myself.  Do they have all-inclusive resorts there?  Though I may understand one’s insecurity when it comes to going abroad or visiting a new place, and sometimes irrational thoughts and behaviors have an innate reason for existing to be protective.  But I do not believe that ignorance is bliss and there is a lot more to learn about the world and oneself than there is to lose.  If you have not traveled a lot, or have never ventured abroad I would choose a developed country over a developing country to begin.  The infrastructure, information, assistance from agencies and footprints of previous travelers are well ingrained in developed countries allowing you to travel with much ease.  There are developing countries like Costa Rica, Belize, Peru, Ecuador and Thailand that have a robust travel industry that also makes them an easy destination to plan from abroad. 
 
When traveling the only way to make sure you are alone, is to go stay in a hotel.  These are boring, dry and usually possess no inherent character of the local culture as they were most likely designed by a “creative” team in another country that read some books on the local culture, if at all.  While I was in San Carlos De Bariloche, Argentina a family of four from France were staying in the same hostel as I was, they did not share a room or bathroom with anyone else, just a room for themselves and another one for their children.  This allowed them to travel on a budget, retain their comforts and mingle with locals at the same time.  The worst hostel is no different than the worst hotel and I would never recommend them, but by using Hostel International or Hostel World you can travel alone, but as anyone who has stayed in a hostel knows, you’re never alone.
 
For my female readers I shall solely refer to my friend, let’s call her EB who amazes me with her various adventures.  At this moment she could be state-side, still working in Afghanistan or finishing up her trip up the East Coast of Africa before it was interrupted with her job opportunity in the Middle East.  She has lived East Asia, North America, Western Europe and now the Middle East all by herself as a confident woman who takes all the necessary precautions that are needed.  As previously stated, I would choose a location that is easily traveled to for your first trip, but there are many women out there who have conquered the world alone and their hard work should not be forgotten.
 
NUMBER 3:
This complaint really is the silliest of them and it saddens me people consider this to be a real reason to remain ignorant of the world.  Even here in the States I’ll hear people making fun of the fact they cannot do this task as well as locals.   English is the most widely spoken language in the world and only the second most spoken language to Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese).  Through my experiences I find Spanish to be the second most beneficial language to understand as those two languages can easily help anyone conquer North and South America.  The moment I stepped off the plane in Argentina I could only say hello and goodbye.  When I left I was holding conversations and well immersed in the culture and to this day still miss it.  If you are not able to speak the language that is okay, since you’re reading this, it means you speak English and in most countries English is the form of communication for the travel industry.  From the cabs of Cyprus to the Train Stations in Budapest, English is well accepted and present on every ATM machine around the world.  It is one of the United States greatest exports via music, movies, and sports stars.  People love the fact they can practice with you, so dare you try to speak the local language they will probably insist on speaking English instead.  Don’t let that prevent you from learning the local language though, a friend of mine let’s say MF, did the same in Honduras for 3 years and to this day she has retained friends she has made there and is still interested in the news coming out of the country.
 
Final Thought
On this last note I would like to remind you of a man who not until his job forced him to travel, remained in the United States and never visited another country.  He was wealthy, well connected, famous and could easily have hired his own plane to fly him around the world, yet he stayed state-side.  He left office as Africa’s most favorite President, and ended up spending his 67th birthday there. President George W. Bush waited what was almost a lifetime before experiencing the wonders of traveling, and we all should learn that most of the time, it is the mind that holds most of us back, never the actual challenge. Live for the journey, since the destinations have always been there awaiting our presence.

Till Then.

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