It is true what they say about travel; it does broaden the mind. In fact most people who travel a lot tend to me more tolerant and open different ideas about the world. As people move from one country to another they begin to realize that all humans have things in common, and most of us are trying to do the best we can. Travel makes you not only more aware of your own culture, but it begins to make you feel like a citizen of the world. One problem with travel is there is just so much choice available. There are almost two hundred countries on our planet and visiting them all would take some doing, and a very understanding boss.
Not only this but some of these countries are huge and somewhere like China or Russia is not a place you could see much of in a two week holiday. Another thing holding a lot of people back from travelling is the expense. Travelling the world costs money, but if you follow the example of the backpacker and are prepared to slum it a bit then you can do it relatively cheaply. What most people end up doing is making a compromise; it is probably not essential that you visit places like Tuvalu or Kiribati, but even when you remove the smaller countries there are still a lot of places to visit.
One way of getting around this is by doing a tour of different countries; you won’t really see much of each country but you will get a taste of each and some great memories. A popular thing to do is by an around the world air ticket. This can be an open ticket and you could spend up to a year moving from one destination to another. If you want to follow the example of the backpacker and travel the world on a shoestring then you will be staying in lots of hostels and only eating local food. If you are prepared to sacrifice luxury and don’t party too much then you can make your money go a long way.
There are some countries where it is claimed you can manage on a couple of dollars a day. Places like the islands in Thailand are a popular destination for people to kick back on their world tour and save a bit of money. If you want to visit Europe then be prepared to spend a lot more money than you would in South East Asia or India. There are cheap alternative in most European locations, but you could pay for a nice fancy hotel in Bangkok for the same price as you would pay for a dormitory bed in somewhere like London or Paris. Japan is another country where you will spend a bit of money.
The many benefits associated with travel make it well worth the expense and time. If you want to broaden your horizons then travel is going to do that for you. If you can manage to take a year off to see the world then you will be sure to come back a different person. Stephan Seiler English essay: Travel broadens the mind Traveling makes it possible to experience new cultures; for example, observing different religions and customs, even if it just means visiting an Egyptian temple. While traveling, you can learn new languages, which may increase your general knowledge.
If you learn a few basic phrases, you are given the chance to interact with the native people. Also you are more likely to experience the friendliness of the locals because language barriers are broken. This may lead to prejudice ideas being destroyed. A new language gives a different outlook on life. Travel also teaches you independence, because it allows you to escape the familiar surroundings of home and stay in a strange or alien place. Just arranging travel and accommodation can give you new responsibilities. Often when people travel they leave everyday troubles behind and have to learn to cope without them.
Improvising or making What is meant by broaden the mind ? Its opposite is to be narrow-minded, and this implies a rigid outlook conforming to preconceived ideas, and reluctance to change or modify those ideas. Several factors go to produce such an attitude. First, we tend to follow parental guidance in behavior, in religion, and in social and political beliefs. These are often reinforced by school and state. Such conditioning leads either to inflexibility or to reaction. In the West, the 60s heralded such a reaction. In the UK and the USA, one effect of war had been to demolish many social and international values.
Moreover, air travel was becoming more available. The 50s saw an attempt in both countries to maintain pre-war values, such as the work ethic, class structures and general conformity to old standards. So young people began to rebel. They opted out of society. They joined movements such as Flower Power and other brands of oriental mysticism. Society was rejected, responsibility to the state discarded, and accepted moral standards rejected. The pop scene, with its songs of protest, came into being. San Francisco became the centre of this alternative society and the Mecca of young dropouts worldwide.
This major movement among young people persists to this day. It illustrates the complete reversal of the statement that travel broadens the mind. Minds had been changed by the media, and this resulted in travel. Recently, a more acceptable result has been achieved by the influence of the media. We are now made instantly aware by the media of the sufferings of the poor and powerless due to war, violence, terrorism, oppression, injustice and natural disaster. So many worthwhile young people now spend a year or so before or after their further education courses in voluntary service overseas.
Again, this shows that the topic-statement is true up to a point. Much is learnt by young people on these overseas ventures, but the motivation behind their departure is as much compassion as the desire to gain experience. This desire to learn from overseas travel was the ostensible motive behind the grand tour of Europe undertaken by rich young men and women in the 18th and 19th Centuries in Britain. The true motivation however was just to have a good time. Nobody bothered to learn the local languages.
The rich young people stuck together, barely mixing even with their foreign counterparts. They usually came home as ignorant as they were when they left. Foreigners were merely quaint. They really belonged to the servant class. Colonialism, in the days of the British Empire, for example, had various subtle effects on British character. Members of the Raj and the army were dispatched to, say India, with a set of preconceived ideas about the essential superiority and rightness of the British character and system. The system did good in many ways, not least in maintaining the pax Britannica .
And undoubtedly some of the values of the colonized peoples brushed off on to the colonialists. Overseas trade which followed colonization had the same effect. Yet this applied to a limited cross-section of the British people. Xenophobia remained the general attitude. In 1938, a black missionary wearing a turban was invited to preach in a Midlands country church. On his arrival in the village he was followed to the vicarage by a jeering crowd. The writer of this essay learned something of the Middle East by spending some three years in Palestine after the Second World War.
The British Army’s task was to defend the mandate which limited the number of immigrant Jews. I went to Palestine a confirmed Arabs, somewhat hostile to the gradual takeover of the country by the Jews. However, having seen the condition of some of the survivors of the holocaust and learnt something of their indomitable courage, enterprise and willingness to work, I gradually achieved a more balanced view. Since the 1950s, air travel for business and pleasure has familiarized the ordinary person of many countries with the outlook, lifestyle, and good and bad qualities of other nations.
The degree of this mind-broadening however depends on the traveler’s maturity in the first place, because it is quite possible to travel and learn nothing. Many British people emigrate to warmer countries such as France, Spain, Italy and Cyprus to spend their retired years. These expatriates form colonies which might just as well be English villages. They do not learn the language of their adopted country, they take no interest in social and political affairs, they mix only with each other. Travel does not broaden their minds.
So perhaps the general principle that travel broadens the mind is true, although it should be qualified. First, there must be a genuine interest in the country concerned, and where possible at least a little of the language learnt. Second, there must be some attempt to learn something of the history, social outlook, customs and religion of that country. Third, an open mind is essential if travel is to confer any benefit; prejudice and preconceptions must be discarded. Finally, much can be learnt from foreign nationals living in your own country.
Given these pre-conditions, foreign travel will become an essential ingredient in mutual understanding and therefore, hopefully, the spread of peace. Everybody wants to broadens their mainds in different ways. People just want to become smarter and smarter while doing something like reading or watching TV. There are many interesting ways of expanding your knowladge but in my opinion travelling is the best one. In this short essay I want to show why it is better than other methods. To begin with there are lots of interesting places in the whole world that everyone wants to see.
Everybody wants to know more about the biggest cities, their customs or about ancient cities traditions. As I already mentioned travelling is the best method of doing these. Of course you can do it in the other ways that are cheaper and easier to realize but travelling is really better than others. Firstly – while watching TV you can not touch anything, you can just look at the screen of your TV that seems artificial. Secondly – You have to watch exacly what the movie directors wanted to show in the current moment. Thirthly – when you ware in the country that u wanted o visit you can buy suvenirs or gifts that u can not get anyware else. Buying gifts for family or friends is really important for many people. The pleasure of giving someone a gift after your arrivial is really worth a penny or two. However there are also lots of disadvantages of expanding your mind by travelling. Firstly – it is really expensive. You have to be really rich or greedy to afford exclusive trips to other countries. Travelling is more effective than watching Discovery or other channel but if you are poor you can only watch TV that is just not effective. Secondly – travelling can be really dangerous.
Danger of infection in exoctic countries is really high. You can easy get infection with bite of the mosquito or contact with „Tse-Tse” fly. Nowadays you can also really easy become a victim of terrorist attacks. To sum up travelling has more disadvantages than advantages but I am still strongly confident that it is better than anything else. More effective way is the best way! PS. Nie wiem czy to jest dobrze napisane, ocencie to poprostu, ja tylko odrobilem prace z angielskiego i staralem sie to zrobic jak najlepiej potrafilem. Za wszystkie uchybienia/bledy wielkie SRY! 🙂 [pic][pic]
