Saturday, 19 September 2009
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Why The Youth Should Travel
From Dolce of Art of Backpacking
Some youngsters, whether they are on a school trip or doing their first solo voyage, have the chance of a lifetime to experience world travel. Often, we tell them to “Take pictures! Write about everything!”But once they come back, all they have are a few pictures, an entry for day one and scribbles of tic-tac-toe games.
They will complain they were too busy having fun and did not want to bother writing while they were running a muck in Paris. It’s okay,we perfectly understand!
We can absolutely commend them for even taking the opportunity to travel, but we would like to share some advice on how to get the youth culture to embrace their travel experiences.
My first travel experience (out of the United States) was indeed with a coordinated school trip. I saved up money, sold many boxes of chocolate on the New York City subway and with a little help from my parents, found myself going to Madrid and Paris for 2 weeks.
I took plenty of pictures (no video unfortunately), but, even though I am a writer, I had very few entries about my trip. Being that at the time I was an avid and chirpy 16 year old, I was more interested in staying up late with my friends rather than recalling my days abroad.
I learned my lesson and made sure I would not only appreciate, but do everything I could to preserve these memories.
To better understand why it is important to acknowledge and remember your youth travel experience, first, lets understand why its important to travel in the first place.
Social Development and Interactions
For the youth, its important to be socially involved with their peers. It doesn’t take a sociologist to prove this point, but social development is important, especially when it comes to situations they might not encounter at home. Its vital to understand certain situations; such as trying to meet new people or make friends with a group.
The students that also went on my “Europe 2003″ trip became my “Europe 2004″ trip “crew”, as we became very good friends and decided to go on the next trip the following year. Sometimes, you won’t be with people you know or even understand so youth travel reinforces the idea that its good to travel and interact with people of different cultures.
Cultural Experience
No one could possibly put a value on the cultural experience one gets when they travel abroad. Looking at historical monuments, ancient artifacts and beautiful scenery just fulfills your heart with amazement. But it is not only what you see, but also what you feel and experience. Taking part in the culture of another country; when in Rome, do as the Romans.
Breaking the mold and getting yourself out there; getting lost in the busy streets of Singapore, feeding the exotic animals in Costa Rica or eating gelato with locals in Italy (like I did) and talking about American Idol. Sometimes, it can be so easy to open your eyes, take a walk on the wild side and let go. Next thing you know, you’ve done something interesting.
If you are young, how are you a youth traveler? Do you take lots of pictures/videos and write a lot on your trips?
For tips on how to help a youth traveler, read the original article here
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About the Author
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- From: artofbackpacking
- Name: artofbackpacking
- About Me: www.artofbackpacking.com Tourism is growing at an exponential rate. Tourists are exploring new destinations but sometimes don’t know where to go and with the economy, most tourists want to cut back on spending. Art of Backpacking provides information on safe destinations and eliminates their misunderstanding of other cultures. Not only are we providing the latest and greatest information, we are linking you to travel news, unique photography and videos, travel gear and much more. Whether you are fresh to the idea of backpacking or this is your tenth trip around the world, Art of Backpacking will cater to your needs. It’s cutting travel costs, but not cutting the exciting elements of adventure. Our mission is to help you travel in style; to distinctive places and to have fun doing so!
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Comments (37)
I've never been out of the country :( When I do, I plan on taking lots of pictures and notes and stuff when I go sight seeing :)
I'm 16, and so far I've traveled to the Dominican Republic for a service trip to help build a soup kitchen (and I'm returning in January to help start a day camp for the poverty-stricken children).
I've also traveled to Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, and France this past summer with American Music Abroad.
I've learned a lot about each of the cultures and languages from my experiences. I've taken hundreds of pictures (and not just of me and my friends), although I didn't write anything down.
I think it's such a great experience to travel at a young age. It really opens your eyes to what's going on in the world, and you get to see the differences. It's really awesome, and I'm very lucky to have done this much traveling so far. I appreciate all of the opportunities so muchh :)
@B1ANCACACA@xanga - Good good! I wish I wrote more about my trip. It was back in 2004 and I barely remember it=( Im getting old.
I don't have the money and the opportunities aren't something you come across everyday. The only trip I've been on outside of here was with my Grandparents.
I take tons of pictures and I like blogging about my trips =) I realized the value in writing down my memories a long time ago. Even if nobody else reads them, at least I have them to look back on!
I'm 15. I've been to England, France, Italy, Belgium, Monaco, Vatican City, Germany, Switzerland, Vietnam, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and various states in the US. On my trips I take LOOOTS of pictures with my sister. I also blog a lot about it. I love traveling.
i'm 16 and i've been in more areas than my older brother, I won't ever stop traveling, even if I visit the same places repeatedly, like the San Juans.
I keep a travel journal and print at least 5 pictures from ever trip/event.
i've been to London, and taken a bus tour around Italy, both with my grandparents and cousin/best friend. i take an obnoxiously large amount of pictures, and write in a journal at the end of every day. and honestly, even if it was a tiny bit of a pain in the ass at the time to write, i'm soooo glad i did ... 'cause whenever i want to, i can relive every single day of some of the most awesome times of my life thus far. :]
I travel a great deal, or certainly used to at least. I also move alot as well. I rarely take pictures or buy momentos, because while they may be nostalgic, they tend to hamper my abilities. I never take photos because I'm too busying being the moment. I never buy crap because it inhibits my travel.
In the end, only the memories that endure within your mind without external aid are the ones worth anything, so all of this is just a waste of time. I'd rather spend my time afar deep within the moment than halting it, and then stepping outside of it so that I can have a souvegnier.
i have gone hangchow for once only,there are many people visited .However,i went there during holiday,so it was very hot.....and i got the feeling was there is big and many shops,looks like a park.....the bad feeling is :there is nothing to attract me will vist it again,nothing to see and the street is very long and a few seats ,if you went there to buy a drink,the price is high.Nothing is made me have a good expression,and destory my dream of this place....i felt very disappointed ....
Fortunately, I'm lucky enough to have parents who were willing to send me on a mission trip in Vietnam and Taipei with my youthgroup.
You can learn so much in just a week or two, and it will make a good difference in your life, depending on how you use your time traveling abroad.
So. . . I guess it's about time you older adults start making grants for us Xangan kids to go to Hawaii and Morocco. Just kidding.
i think the length of the trip determines the best means to document it. if you have a month to spend in a town, there's time enough to explore it and still have time to write. if you only have a week to cover a major city, photography is a lot quicker and allows more time to actually take in the culture and form lasting memories with your friends. i've kept travel journals for long trips but relied on a handy camera to remember short vacations.
In high school I had the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. for "Close Up", a week long interactive history trip with high school kids from all over the country. It was a very memorable experience. The summer before I went on a 4 week study abroad trip with other girls from my high school... England, France & we studied in Spain. I will never forget this trip and I do wish I had journaled more during that time. But of course, I was wrapped in up in eating tapas & drinking shooters. I also had the opportunity to take a Mediterranean cruise with my best friend a few summers back. All experiences that I look back at with EXTREMELY fond memories and wishing I could relive them. I was really lucky and would encourage any young person to try and do some traveling with a group of friends. You won't regret it.
I'm SUCH a traveller. I'm 21 and have already been to about 30 countries (never left the States before I was 15) on 5 continents. I often travel with classes, and professors demand that I make journal entries. I also take up to 1500 pictures every couple of weeks while I travel... I had to buy an external hard drive just for them!
Many of my trips are with my family and this is to Virginia, Pennsylvania or South Jersey. The farthest we've been to was Florida for Disney World (land?) and it was my first time when I was 16. I took a lot of pictures because, well it was my first time and we never had that experience compared to most of my friends.
I took my first real trip with the People to People program. We went to Australia and New Zealand in 2008. I took almost 1,000 pictures and wrote every single night to the last detail on the plane. I did this because it was something that I really wanted to remember and shared. I even kept the stickers for my luggage and all the little things which will go into a scrap book later.
I do hope when I become a navy nurse, that I'll be able to do the same. Traveling is absolutely a great experience if you're looking for something new. Its almost like being in a different world. Its most enjoyable when you really put yourself out there and try what their culture is like; their daily activities, the food, the night life, the wild life! Its amazing and I would do anything to go back to Australia and New Zealand :]
my sister takes LOADS of pictures. she is always snap-happy ...
I find that I just have too much fun to take them. But if there's something interesting to take then I will (=and with writing about it I can never be bothered cos there's too much to write about!!
I'd rather be nostalgic about it and reminisce with people that I went on the trip with ...I used to take lots of pictures. LOTS!!! But then I realized I was looking at everything through the camera's lens instead of my own eyes, I stopped and cut back. Now I snap a few when something really moves me.
I don't really write that much when traveling. But then I was too busy immersing into the cultures of the places around me.
I'm hoping to see every continent (except Antarctica) before I'm 30!!!!
I've traveled to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
It was probably the biggest cultural shock I have ever experienced.
I would've took tons of pictures if I had my camera the last time I went to China. My mom did, but it wasn't like my pick of pictures. =/
So far I haven't had much travel experience at all. I'm hopefully going to be studying in South Africa, at the University of Cape Town, this spring though, for the whole semester! I can't wait. I definitely think that the cultural experiences will be extremely valuable. I've always been interested in other cultures and felt like I needed to gain a broader view of the world. I can't wait to go!
I miss Summer Camp! We went to Tokyo, Japan during our Summer Camp and it was so much fun! We took a lot of pictures and had a great tour. We've met new friends and had a wonderful time! We discovered their culture, fashion and lifestyle. Wished we captured it on video. :)
Well, I've only been out of the country once (Mexico), but I've managed to visit a dozen states, and because they've mostly been youth trips and vacations, I've had the privilege to visit iconic places like NYC, Denver, Austin, Cleveland and Columbus, Nashville, Orlando, Baton Rouge, Indianapolis, Branson, and the best, Maui and Oahu. I never wrote anything because I was too busy, but I remember things perfectly and I could probably still fill a journal with highlights. I did take tons of pictures, though, but sadly I only have those from Hawaii, my most recent trip, because the computer all of the pictures were on broke. Right now I'm planning a trip to Jamaica for next summer, and I couldn't be more stoked. I also want to start collecting equipment fit for roadtrips and backpacking because next spring, we want to take a roadtrip to Arizona to visit some family, and my and my husband's dream is to save up enough money to to fly somewhere unplanned and be "homeless" until we've done enough odd jobs to fly back home.
My parents are convinced that if I go outside of the country (much less my house) I'll be kidnapped and sold as a sex slave on the black market in Asia.
No joke.
i traveled out of the country the first time thanks to the make a wish foundation, and i was still young and didn't even think about recording my memories, though i got a lot of pictures. the second time was on a daring trip with a good friend of mine, and i had no camera, but plenty of journals. i got nearly all the pictures my friend took, but they're all still on my computer, and i plan to take a bunch of disposable cameras the next time. that way i'll take pictures only when they're really meaningful, rather than taking multiple shots of the same dull view. also, i'll be forced to develop the pictures, and can then put them into an album that i can look at later. as far as the writing goes, i kept a little notebook on me at all times, and would write down random things that i saw or heard, and i only journaled intensely when i had time to sit and reflect (and when i wasn't just plain too tired). I don't regret that i didn't write down every little thing that happened. my memories are still preserved in my mind, and anyway, that's mostly what matters, as i cannot possibly satisfactorily explain to anyone the emotions i felt at any given moment.