Stereotypes and Experience of Travelling - Essay Example

 Hello, Bonjour, Ciao Human life is developed and modified according to the experiences and situations from everyday life. It is true that life of a person is significantly affected and sometimes changed by the journeys taken from time to time; travelling is after all considered to be one of the best teachers in the world. When a person gets an opportunity to travel, he gets a fair chance to learn the art of dealing with unexpected situations, to broaden his exposure, to be able to tolerate the differences in cultures and individuals and to develop a better judgment about the world, its people and his own existence. One of the most wonderful experiences of my life was the time I was blessed with the opportunity to visit Europe. I was 17 years old and in my senior year of high school, a time when I was full of energy and desire to rule the world. I was brought up in United States so a trip to Europe meant a lot to me as Europe is altogether different in culture and lifestyle from United States. The stories and the myths I heard about different European countries made me excited as I had the chance to observe the world with my own senses rather than through the tales of the unseen world. Sometimes your dreams turn into reality in such magical way that you yourself are amazed by these happenings. My trip was something of a lucky break. While a normal trip would have cost me thousands of dollars, I was able to secure this chance to travel with my ceramics class at school for half the price. The class needed one more student to complete the member list for the scheduled trip. Since I was one of the finalists in our ceramic show, I earned this golden opportunity of being the last selected member for the trip to Europe. It was more like fate itself meant for me to go on the trip. The next target was to figure out a way to gain permission to go on the trip from my parents and that wasn’t the only hurdle in the way; I also had to come up with a way to finance this once in a life time opportunity. My parents took time to decide about the activity and everyday while they deliberated on the decision to let me go or not felt like an eternity. Finally, after a few days they made their decision. After school my parents sat me down to discuss this trip and how was I to cover the cost. I decided to put an effort to avail the opportunity no matter how hard I had to work for it and true efforts always produce results. I accepted a job as a babysitter and as determination and sincere efforts is always the key to reach your goals; hence I was also able to save quite a sum of money for the trip. When a dream is converted into reality it brings some extra energy and excitement to your life. My morale was so high in those days that I was enjoying each and every detail of the trip from the very beginning. A first class flight to England landed in the grand city of London, and the trip had begun. I could hardly contain my excitement at that time. We arrived in the capital city and quickly began our tour. The good part about this trip was the fact that I was allowed to take my mother on the adventure. We discovered quickly that the people of Europe were somewhat different but completely enchanting. Page 1 A London pub was matched in appeal by the British soccer game that we were able to watch. This was called “Futoball” by the people on the Isle; the British soccer fan redefined the term “passion” and gave new meaning to games and physical activity. We were told that the league that we had watched was the Premiership, which according to the locals, is the best soccer league in the world. I do not have much know how about soccer, but I enjoyed the presence of the fans that were certainly unbelievable, nothing compared to the greatest Green Bay Packer fans I know. Our tour in London went beyond futoball and into some of the finer things. London is truly a city of culture with modernization blended in the basic values. We toured the old churches, stayed in a fine downtown hotel, and went to visit the clock that is known as Big Ben. From London, we took the Chunnel (a railroad tunnel) that connects London to Paris, France. For countries with such a history, they shared a road like best friends. Upon arriving in France, we quickly discovered that life in France is completely different from life in England. While England culture is all about class, prestige, etiquettes and knowledge, the French tend to lean on a culture that features the art, philosophy and the delicacy of life. France has an air of encouragement for the pursuit of deep and thorough meaning of life and individuals through various modes of art and craft. Page 2 As one of merry travelers we learned that some of the myths about the French people hold some truth in them, while others lacked a little bit in their statement of belief. The French women do not shave a great deal of their body hair. Also, deodorant is an extra only for the movie stars. They do not see the need for this unlike people on the other side of the ocean in the United States. Beyond the differences in personal hygiene, the French people have a country that is well behaved in tourism. We visited the Louvre and saw some of the most beautiful paintings in the world, Mona Lisa of course being one of the highlights of the whole trip. The painting was beautiful but the real beauty of the painting can be seen only by some vigilant and patient observer. The city of Paris was truly worth the trip, but the French countryside was where the real beauty lay. Like something out of a book or a history lesson, the hills seemed to speak a history about France, which no teacher could possibly teach. French people treasure their ancient art heritage and the cities are preserved in their actual mode at many places of the country. We moved from France to my favorite part of the trip. While the French culture and the British nuances were a good learning experience, the Italian tour of the trip was the best part. The cities of Venice and Rome were the ones that have been the focus in both poetry and prose over the past two thousand years and more. Our school trip took us first to the city of Rome where we saw the Coliseum and toured the old city. The nightlife lacked somewhat, and that was a striking point to those who were with me. The history of the city was evident with every step. One can feel the presence of Roman Ceaser and the stories of Roman Parliament, Cleopetra and many other names of history. The buildings, roads, pavements and the environment all lead you to the doors of spectacular historic stories and characters. Page 3 We walked to the Vatican City where the Poe resides. The center of the Catholic world was magnificent, even for a non-Catholic. Venice was probably even better then Rome. The streets were buzzing with a sense of busy allure of people of the city. Its romantic appeal is certainly right on par with what has been recorded over the centuries. Our trip finished in the lovely city of Venice where we stayed at the finest hotel and experienced the knightly ride on the gondola before boarding our flight back across the ocean. The experience of traveling Europe’s finely cultured nations was one that will always be remembered as a positive experience that provided exposure, knowledge and increased cultural compatibility. We made the best of this trip from the first day until the last day. Finally, the cities of Europe had become a reality. While it can be said that the cultures differ among the different nations that we visited, they all contained the same sort of romanticism in a natural tone that folks relate to Europe. In addition, the people seemed to have a passion about the things that they cared about. In England, the people were passionate about soccer. In Ireland, the folks cared a great deal about their traditions, their pubs, and their drinking. Across the channel in France, there was a passion for art, and in Italy, there was an aura of love that the people seemed to embrace. Where as in the United States of America things are taken for granted and the aesthetic values, romanticism and emotions all are measured in terms of materialistic units. This experience was made worthy because I had a purpose of learning something from the activity as the travelling without any purpose leads to boredom and decreased mental stimulation.(Stewart,R. ,2005, p.1) References: Stewart,R. , ‘Tread Lightly: A Guide to Travelling Green in Australia’, Black Inc, 2005, pp.1 Read More