Travel, Experience, and Snobbery

I love to travel, and I am so fortunate that I have been able to go so many places, see so many great things, and meet so many interesting people. I think that travel gives us perspective on other people and places that can help us all get along better, and it helps us learn more about ourselves. And, it’s great fun.

What I hate, though, is the snobbery that is too often a part of travel, the “I was there before it was popular” or the “Americans are all too close-minded to have passports” attitudes. Most travel, especially international travel, is a luxury item. It takes time and money that not a lot of people have. And, from the United States, travel beyond Canada and Mexico involves spending hours squeezed in a metal tube that hurtles across time zones, and you know what? Some people don’t find that to be any fun at all.

But here’s the thing: the joy and wonder of travel are not limited to expensive international travel. I love wandering through my own neighborhood and seeing new things. A few days ago, I was on my morning jog and went past The Diner Grill, a neighborhood institution and one of the few train-car diners left anywhere in the world. And I realized that although I have lived a mere two blocks away for the past 12 years, I have never been there! I’ll take care of that this week. We all have these places in our communities, that we know of and have never been to, and you know what? We should cross them off our lists with the same zeal that we cross off states and countries.

The United States is a huge country with a diverse geography and population: the world’s third largest landmass, the world’s third largest population. We have restaurants featuring almost every type of food (I had Costa Rican food over the weekend); we have arctic cold and tropical paradises, forests and deserts, skyscrapers and Disney World. So let’s make sure we get out and see it!

Youngstown, Ohio, where I grew up, has a great museum of American art, and admission is free! I grew up near a 150-year-old flour mill with gorgeous hiking trails nearby. Every year, there’s a traditional county fair. (I have decided that no one should be allowed to own a Lonely Planet book without first having been to a traditional US county fair.) But it also breaks my heart to know that there are people in Youngstown who have never even been to the Butler museum. (Did I mention that admission is free? Free, people!)

These great places are all around us, or at least a short drive away, and they all help us learn more about our communities, our country, our world. Travel is great, but that doesn’t mean it has to be across the world. The so-called staycation can be great fun. Every town has a quirky museum, a library that puts on talks and events, churches that sell delicious local or ethnic food once or twice a year to raise money, fun runs through neighborhoods you might not otherwise see. Travel doesn’t have to involve passports and hassle.

Joshua Berman wrote a column about this for the Denver Post this week, in fact!

I chose the picture in the post because I think it sums it all up. It was taken in a small park in Chengdu, Juilidi Park, that I found when wandering around the neighborhood where I was staying. It’s just a simple neighborhood spot, but it was a slice of life in China, with people playing mahjong, practicing music, and hanging out with their friends over tea. I noticed this mother showing her son something wonderful right where they lived. And that’s what it’s all about: noticing something wonderful and appreciating it, no matter where you happen to find yourself.

Don’t let the snobbery hold you back, and don’t be a snob yourself. There’s too much fun stuff to see everywhere.