Aim To Be A Traveller, Not A Tourist
Full disclosure. I’ve been lucky.
Born in England to Greek-Cypriot parents, I had a head start when it came to understanding different cultures, though straddling cultures definitely had its drawbacks. I was never truly “English” or “Greek”. My personality is most definitely English – my sense of humor, the way I think, my behavior towards other people, the way I do business are all so much more “British” rather than “Greek”. At school in England I stood out not because of any intellectual or sporting prowess, but because I was that kid with the curly hair and long, unpronounceable surname. But my blood…ah my blood. Put on Zorba’s dance and I’m out there, arms out, head bowed, kicking my legs and shouting “opa”. There is no denying my bloodline or heritage and I am secretly proud of being able to associate myself in some little way with the likes of Aristotle, Plato, Euripides, Archimedes, the Spartans, OXI day, and the like.
When you grow up in Europe going from country to country is relatively easy, and with family in Greece, Cyprus and England my parents made sure that we visited the “homeland” frequently. In the 1970s my parents decided to move to Cyprus permanently, only to return to England after Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974, leaving the country in tatters and many without husbands, without fathers and without homes. War is an experience that is part of my being but one that I would never want to relive.
Above: Greek Cypriot refugees fleeing to the south. Image © Getty Images.
As a student, whether as a result of my bilingual background or not, it turned out I had a knack for absorbing new languages. At school, I learned Spanish, German and French, along with the Classics, and went on to study French & Spanish language and literature at University. This meant that I also had the opportunity to spend extended periods of time in Spain and France either studying or working. When I met – and married – an American, the idea of relocating to the US did not present itself as an unsurmountable obstacle. After all, I had already lived and/or studied/worked in four different countries all before the age of 25.
That having been said, I recently realized that I am a “travel snob”. For the first time in my life, I went on a group tour – you know the type – 5 cities in 4 days, it’s Thursday, so you must be in Paris. That was when I learned that travelling is so much more than sightseeing and when I also appreciated – maybe more than ever – my multi-cultural background and education.
Even at the early age of 17, I realized that there is no “best country in the world”, because each and every country has its unique beauty, strength, and indeed flaws. Because I was able to see that no one nation is better than any other, because there are good – and bad – people in all nations. That people in different countries think differently, and what may be important, interesting and inspiring to someone in the US, does not carry the same value or relevance to someone in Spain, Singapore or the Seychelles.
And that is where so many people stumble. Too many people visit countries and compare them to their own – usually to the detriment of the countries they are visiting. To those people I quote Clifton Fadiman:
“When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.”
When people ask me what I enjoy most about speaking several languages I usually give the same answer. It’s not about being able to successfully order a sandwich in a different country. It’s bigger than that.
Imagine you are in a huge room, surrounded by books, art, history, culture and the ability to observe and comprehend how the people in this room conduct business and live their everyday lives. This is your country and everything in that room is accessible to you – whether you choose to access it or not.
Now imagine that this room is also surrounded by a number of locked doors that you cannot access. Each time you learn a language and visit the country, speak with the people of that country, learn about what they believe in, what they love, what they hate and how they think, you unlock another door.
Read their literature in the original language. Understand their art. Learn how to cook their food. Talk to the people – preferably in their own language. You have just unlocked another huge room.
And the more languages you speak, the more you engage with the people of that country to learn about their beliefs, their hopes, their dreams, the more doors you open. It’s not just about visiting castles, cathedrals, or canyons. It’s about so much more. And it is not until people understand this in its essence, that they can open their minds to tolerance and understanding. This, my friends, is what it means to travel.
I’ll end as I began. I have been lucky. My family believed in the old adage of giving your children both roots and wings.
To close out, here are some of my favorite travel quotes that maybe, just maybe, serve to illustrate the idea. And remember, try to be a traveler, not a tourist!
“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” - Miriam Beard
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page” - Augustine of Hippo
“Travel brings wisdom only to the wise. It renders the ignorant more ignorant than ever.” – Joe Abercrombie
“Adventure is allowing the unexpected to happen to you. Exploration and experiencing what you have not experienced before. How can there be any adventure, any exploration, if you let somebody else – above all, a travel bureau – arrange everything beforehand?” – Richard Aldington
“The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see.” – G. K. Chesterton
“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” – James A. Michener
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain
“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert
“The value of your travels does not hinge on how many stamps you have in your passport when you get home – and the slow nuanced experience of a single country is always better than the hurried, superficial experience of forty countries.” – Rolf Potts
turnnoffyourmind
titsay
dailybridgerton
snowghoul
andulkaphoto
annaxmalina
discoholicmusic
ellievsbear
2087
prguitarman
