Soldato
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If you haven't travelled you don't know jack...
- Thread starter Van Hellseek
- Start date
Travelling has certainly opened my eyes and made me appreciate how damn easy life in the UK is. It's changed my attitude and really made me appreciate just about everything we take for granted.
I haven't travelled a massive amount, have been to thailand twice, barbadose, majorca, rome, poland...shortly going to Fiji and Hong Kong.
I haven't travelled a massive amount, have been to thailand twice, barbadose, majorca, rome, poland...shortly going to Fiji and Hong Kong.
Typing this from your Jail?
No I just like to be different, I've also never been on a train.
I guess if you have a tiny perspective travelling will widen it.
Anyone who suggests some chavvy drunken slob who has been around Europe on a binge drink has more perspective than an intelligent, open minded individual who hasn't needs some perspective.
Anyone who suggests some chavvy drunken slob who has been around Europe on a binge drink has more perspective than an intelligent, open minded individual who hasn't needs some perspective.
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Soldato
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Spent many years in south east asia and Japan. Learnt Japanese while working in Tokyo and came back here and consolidated my learning through formal language training.
I know a geordie guy who taught himself to read and write Japanese solely through books, his language skills were superb, if lacking a little subtlety and he'd never left Newcastle.
Travelling doesnt have to be life changing, theres plenty of people I know who travelled for years, floating around the Asian continent in a drug and alcohol induced haze, and can't remember most of their time away.
You don't need to 'travel' or even leave one's country to gain a perspective, reading, reading and more reading is just as effective a tool, but this will depend in large part on the individual make up of the person.
I know a geordie guy who taught himself to read and write Japanese solely through books, his language skills were superb, if lacking a little subtlety and he'd never left Newcastle.
Travelling doesnt have to be life changing, theres plenty of people I know who travelled for years, floating around the Asian continent in a drug and alcohol induced haze, and can't remember most of their time away.
You don't need to 'travel' or even leave one's country to gain a perspective, reading, reading and more reading is just as effective a tool, but this will depend in large part on the individual make up of the person.
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Soldato
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It'll only widen it if you genuinely want to learn and are open-minded. My ex-girlfriend spent 2 years in Australia and came back hating Aborigines because in her words 'the government gave them loads of benefits and all they did was spend it on booze'.
Travelling didn't help her to consider the big picture one iota, but she had a good time.
Soldato
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My god, I wish you'd had a life changing spelling experience!
"Traveled" is one thing but "so fourth" is just rank bad ignorance.
No offence intended.
No offence intended? It comes across as offensive to me. Maybe you need a life changing experience and you won't sit on a forum correcting peoples spelling mistakes.
Anyway, whatever. I can see the mistakes but at the time wasn't in the right state to read over and correct anything I done wrong
.
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Tend to disagree, I've seen a fair bit of the world and whilst it opens your eyes to some things I wouldn't say I "wouldn't know jack" if I hadn't done so.
I know people who have barely left the country who understand "the bigger picture" far better than anyone else I've known.
Conversely I have a friend who is always travelling, never know which country he is going to be in today kind of thing, and I'd say he has a very strange view of the world that's almost like he's in some kind of fantasy land lol.
I'd say it depends on the person.
I know people who have barely left the country who understand "the bigger picture" far better than anyone else I've known.
Conversely I have a friend who is always travelling, never know which country he is going to be in today kind of thing, and I'd say he has a very strange view of the world that's almost like he's in some kind of fantasy land lol.
I'd say it depends on the person.
Lived/worked in two different countries - Poland and Korea for a year each. Travelled through countless other places.
I definitely came back to the UK with a completely different outlook to that which I left with, and generally find that people I meet who have never left the country have some rather wild misconceptions about this country and others.
I definitely came back to the UK with a completely different outlook to that which I left with, and generally find that people I meet who have never left the country have some rather wild misconceptions about this country and others.
I think the fact that the word "travelling" has been hijacked by gap year students is causing some confusion. In addition, as some have mentioned, travelling abroad can mean anything from a package trip to Benidorm where you spend all your time with other brits, to spending 6 months teaching in a jungle village as the only foreigner. Those and everything between them will provide experience, knowledge and altered perspective, but in very different degrees.
Even so, whether or not working in a salt mine in argentina mean the person knows jack depends on the person. It's like saying that someone who hasn't been to university doesn't know jack and that someone who has is worldly and enlightened - It's not that simple and there's a world of difference between the student who uses 3 years at uni to actively gain knowledge and understanding of the world and the traffic cone thief who parties through uni spending most of their time drunk or hungover. The mere fact of going abroad, like going to uni, doesn't mean anything significant unless the person doing it actively makes use of it.
What annoys me is when students go "travelling" and become terribly arrogant. Though they certainly get experience by travelling away from home without their parents, the southeast asian travels (thailand etc) are a set menu masquerading as a innovative cooking class. There's nothing inherently wrong with the fact that I can guess a student visitor to Thailand's entire itinerary because it's the same cookie cutter trip as the next person's, but the knowitall attitude that they have is grating. I've been in Thailand for 7 months now and have made only one non-Thai friend, largely because the attitude of travellers is infuriating: 3 weeks travelling around and they're the expert on all things Thai - one British girl actually admonished me not too long ago for eating from a fork, because it says in the guidebooks that you shouldn't. Anyone who spends a time eating with Thai people (though not in michellin star restaurants, admittedly) would see they certainly don't have a problem with it, but miss 3 week expert's lonely planet said it, so it must be true. I've heard other people say they're looking forward to going to Cambodia because "Thailand doesn't really have any history."
Even so, whether or not working in a salt mine in argentina mean the person knows jack depends on the person. It's like saying that someone who hasn't been to university doesn't know jack and that someone who has is worldly and enlightened - It's not that simple and there's a world of difference between the student who uses 3 years at uni to actively gain knowledge and understanding of the world and the traffic cone thief who parties through uni spending most of their time drunk or hungover. The mere fact of going abroad, like going to uni, doesn't mean anything significant unless the person doing it actively makes use of it.
What annoys me is when students go "travelling" and become terribly arrogant. Though they certainly get experience by travelling away from home without their parents, the southeast asian travels (thailand etc) are a set menu masquerading as a innovative cooking class. There's nothing inherently wrong with the fact that I can guess a student visitor to Thailand's entire itinerary because it's the same cookie cutter trip as the next person's, but the knowitall attitude that they have is grating. I've been in Thailand for 7 months now and have made only one non-Thai friend, largely because the attitude of travellers is infuriating: 3 weeks travelling around and they're the expert on all things Thai - one British girl actually admonished me not too long ago for eating from a fork, because it says in the guidebooks that you shouldn't. Anyone who spends a time eating with Thai people (though not in michellin star restaurants, admittedly) would see they certainly don't have a problem with it, but miss 3 week expert's lonely planet said it, so it must be true. I've heard other people say they're looking forward to going to Cambodia because "Thailand doesn't really have any history."
Im currently at the end of a coaching management stint in Korea for a year, we sometimes have "english teachers" turn up fresh from Uni with the 1 month thailand experiance usually cant find work post Uni so they come to korea, they tend think that working here will be parties, palm trees and friendly locals, Korea can be an untterly illogical place sometimes which frustrates the weaker willed. Also some sinophiles give me death for using a fork most of the time but locals dont really care, Im a foreigner doing foreign things is expected.
Soldato
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The problem with this is your definition of perspective..
More and more, im thinking to just quote a single word in every thread and ask people to write a 3000 word essay to describe what that means to them, obviously no-one will do that, but if they did you will all realise very quickly that almost everyone is talking about completely different things, and arguing almost always only because of differences in interpretation..
I agree and disagree to an extent.
Firstly travelling 100 years ago, and even 50 years ago would have quite possibly made you more worldly about different cultures, however now we have the internet, newpapers and tv news that tells us stuff before as it happens. With the number of cultural programs on TV you don't necessarily need to go to the other side of the world to start to understand the culture, however it helps...
It all depends what you do and how you act when you're there, if you go with a closed mind and spend your time in a luxuary hotel drinking then you may as well have stayed at home and read the paper/watched tv culturally speaking, however if you get off the beaten track and actually spend time with people from that area/country and keep an open mind then you may well gain something that those that haven't travelled will not.
The problem is most peoples idea of travelling is either a package holiday (and lets be honest we all go on them because the are convenient and inexpensive and sometimes useful at insulating us from the actual culture of the area we are visiting, sometimes we just want to relax and not have to think about the hardship outside the hotel...) or doing the south east asia tourist route, like the thousands of other 20 somethings every year, most of who spend their time ****** and socialising with their fellow countryfolk. Obviously both of these will give you an understanding of the culture and nitty gritty of the area you are in but it's more the tourist culture and not the real culture (A bit like going to the major london tourist attractions and thinking that is how everyone in England lives).
I guess to get the "real" culture and get under the skin of the area you need to spend a significant amount of time in the country, with the locals, which is very rare in reality. However good reporting could quite easily give the newspaper reader at home just as much understanding...
What I think "travelling" does instill in people who do it is a much broader sympathy as such for other cultures and they way they do things, especially things that people in the UK may consider barbaric. Just look in loads of threads in here where something that is different to what would happen in the UK is classed as barbaric, whereas those exact things in the middle east for example are perfectly fine, whereas sex before marriage..!
I've been to a couple of countries that may be classed as third world and have had mixed feelings about that sort of thing.
Gambians (The smiling coast...) are supposed to be the happiest people in the world (according to the brochure) and they are all smiles in the hotel, people walk up to you on the beach and start chatting... Except you soon get to the bottom of all of it... As soon as they realise you aren't going to part with any money they ignore you... I went to a security guards house to see how he lived, which was interesting, however it was blatently obvious he was lying about never having taken anyone back to show it before. He was obviously motivated by the prospect of getting a months worth of food from us (the standard gift for house visits is a months ish worth of rice), after having sorted a "cheap deal" with his friend the taxi driver... Once everything was over his smily face and constant attention we had for the first few days vanished and he didn't speak to us again... However having gone out into the surrounding area and villages the people seemed far more normal and friendly.
A second example is working in Tunisia for a couple of months. I spent most of the time working with Tunisian labourers and some Libians and Algerians having a great time and really starting to touch the true culture, mid morning tea in the desert and chats about all sorts. I then spent a few days in a tourist area and it was back to the usual, the white "money pot" (including a slightly worrying situation of a couple of big blokes trying to get me to do down an empty side street with them, then hurling abuse at me when I declined...). Obviously only a few are like that, but it's the vocal few that most people who go on holiday get to see the most.
Far from ruining the trips both types were quite interesting to get to know both the tourist culture and the real culture. However the real culture is much more hidden and aside from the lucky (IMO) few who get to work with people from other countries in their own country most people will get far more from reading a well reported story in the newspaper/book/TV...
Soldato
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Well, I do agree that some people who have traveled can come across as holier than thou but they are very very rare, infact some of the nicest most down to earth and grounded sorts I know are those that have traveled extensively.
OCUK EXPERIMENT TIME
Iv literally just arrived in HK and im sitting in a hostal right now on the net planning my day and what to do, iv traveled a little before, greece, a few places around europe etc, but not this far and never for such a long time! (16 days here)...........want me to keep you guys updated?
Will it change me as a person ? lol, will I feel its helped? Ill make a few notes if like, I could link my blog ?
I can tell you right now right this second, live update as I type (you get the idea ) Im happy to be here, still somewhat confused at what time it is, and slightly nervous about heading out in the streets of hong kong, its all abit overwhelming in a good way, also exciting, thats all im feeling at the moment, im having the intention of finding my bearings and find shops near the hostal that will be useful, I guess these sorts of things help you grow as a person ? dealing with situations your not familiar with ?
Its going to be interesting.............ill keep a few posts if like of how my 1st day went later on ?
OCUK EXPERIMENT TIME
Iv literally just arrived in HK and im sitting in a hostal right now on the net planning my day and what to do, iv traveled a little before, greece, a few places around europe etc, but not this far and never for such a long time! (16 days here)...........want me to keep you guys updated?
Will it change me as a person ? lol, will I feel its helped? Ill make a few notes if like, I could link my blog ?
I can tell you right now right this second, live update as I type (you get the idea
) Im happy to be here, still somewhat confused at what time it is, and slightly nervous about heading out in the streets of hong kong, its all abit overwhelming in a good way, also exciting, thats all im feeling at the moment, im having the intention of finding my bearings and find shops near the hostal that will be useful, I guess these sorts of things help you grow as a person ? dealing with situations your not familiar with ?Its going to be interesting.............ill keep a few posts if like of how my 1st day went later on ?