I Travel Because...

1. Why do you travel? Do your reasons align with Iyer’s essay? Please explain.

I have never analyzed my reasons for traveling as Iyer does. I simply believed it was solely to see new places, never even wondered why i felt the need to do so. One reason i travel is to see how small the world truly can be. Instead of measuring the distance between two places, i notice the similarities between the people. The reasons Iyer brings up also apply to. I do lose myself in new places. I'm carefree and try to make conversations with civilians if i can. Around here, i have school related stress and keep to myself/ my friends. Everything is so different from how they appear on brochures. I love being able to see it or myself and comparing it to what others said about it.

2. Iyer says, "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new places, but in seeing with new eyes." What does this mean? How might this relate to you?

Iyer means that one must do more than simply looking at a structure. He can do that kind of thing on the computer at home. Instead he must look at the structure with a different perspective. He cannot look and judge based on his assumptions. He has to look at it by seeing what it actually is, not what he expects it to be. You have to look past yourself to others. Reach out to the natives of the country. When we are in Australia, i have to converse with the people that live there. Not other tourists, but the actual natives. I have to see Australia as they see it.

3. Iyer says, "What gives value to travel is fear." What does this mean? How might this relate to our journey?

Iyer means that people have a lot of fear when traveling, and that is what makes traveling so exciting. Being in the unknown exhilarates us. When you travel you go to a completely new and different part of the world. You leave your life people behind and only bring with you clothes and identification. Everything around you is different; the language, the culture, even the clothes! When you are lost, you have to guess or assume which way you're going. When purchasing souvenirs, you have to assume the amount of money that you should pay for it. In our trip, we will go to a place we've never been to before and explore based on directions and ideas others have given us.

4. Iyer talks about a traveler being a human "carrier pigeon", transporting ideas and culture from one society to another. Do you believe that travelers have a responsibility to share their knowledge and experience with all they visit and those they return to?

I don't think humans have the "responsibility" to transport their ideas to others. Rather, humans just feel the need to do such. We love talking about ourselves and can't pass down the chance to do so. When one has a conversation in the other country, he will tell of how it is around there. In turn, the civillian of the other country will tell him of memories in his life. When he returns to his friends he will feel the need to recount his journey. Who he met, where he went, etc.

5. "Travel, then, is a voyage into that famously subjective zone, the imagination, and what the traveler brings back is—and has to be—an ineffable (def: deep) compound of himself and the place, what’s really there and what’s only in him." As your teachers, this is our favorite quote. Please find your favorite quote and explain why you chose it.

My favorite quote from this essay is "If a Mongolian restaurant seems exotic to us in Evanston, Ill., it only follows that a McDonald’s would seem equally exotic in Ulan Bator". I laughed when i read this quote because it is so true. I always forget that I am not the only person in the world and that every country is not like America. When i travel i have to see things in other's perspectives. One time in a different country i told a guy that i thought his accent was cool. In turn he replied that my accent was cool. I was younger when this happened so i was baffled. Accent? I have no accent. All normal people speak this way. It took me a while to realize only people from Illinois spoke like me. This quote reminded me of the moment i realized that everyone and each place is unique. They all have their own characteristics that others do not. Or characteristics that others find new or strange.

Intro to Avery

Hello all, welcome to Avery's blog! I am a 15 year old sophomore at Grayslake Central High School. I'm kind of new to this whole "blog" thing, so I am extremely sorry for how this will turn out. So let's see.. I have a fish named Jeffrey. This fellow has been with me for over two years. He is extremely weird because he was supposed to last, at max, one year. Yet here he is, over two years later, still swimming around in his fish tank. I love animals. The reason i went to Australia with my mother was because i wanted to meet some Kangaroos. That was the sole purpose of my visit. If i see a dog in the street, i HAVE to stop and pet it. Even if the owner doesn't want me to, it will happen. Another interesting thing about me, is that I play soccer. I'm not too great at it, but i have fun with the sport. Even with all the running involved. Last thing i have to say about myself is that, even though it doesn't seem like it from my personality, i do pretty well in school. I hate getting up so early for it, but i don't really despise school itself. 

I love traveling. Every chance i get to further my experiences in other countries i take. Most people hate airplanes rides, they are like my bread and butter. O hare airport is my absolute favorite place in Chicago. It beats the Bean, the Water tower, Willis tower, all of it. I spent a lot of my childhood in the airport and many of my favorite memories are there. 

I love the moment i see a new place. A place that contains years of history, some that i can find out and some that i will never know about. I love the mystery behind every place. With this program, I am able to find out just a bit more that others might never have a chance to see.

First of all, the Sydney Opera House is beautiful. Such an outstanding and unique structure on the other side of the world. I want to experience the delight that everyone from previous year trips love to talk about. They rave on and on about how fun it was to visit places with your friends. I have only gone with my family and I know that probably decreased the appeal of traveling to the certain place for me. My mom's constant nagging easily ruins my mood for a whole day. That can distract me from the wonderful sights that i could have seen and i might have had a better experience. I really want to experience the wonders of this place without the constant struggles of family. Since i went a few years ago with solely my mom, i feel i lacked a few important memories that i could have done in this program. Hopefully with this program i will see all that i missed otherwise.

I think by having an insight in what I'm seeing before i actually experience it will open my eyes to all of the possibilities around me. Instead of wondering when and where of monuments, because i will already know, i can just look around and not analyze it. The fact that all around the world amazing things happen every day to people just like me. With knowledge of Australia/New Zealand already with me, i won't have to sound like an annoying tourist everywhere i go.