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.
I like how honest you were in the beginning part of your blog. You said, "I simply believed it was solely to see new places, never even wondered why i felt the need to do so." I think many students might feel this way, but many were probably afraid to write that on your blog. I think you will find that you willingness to be open and honest will me a great advantage as me move through this course. You might end up getting more out of this trip than anyone!
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