De Botton 1-3

Reading this made me realize about the mental steps that are involved in traveling. Its interesting to read Botton’s approach at explaining traveling through different stages. Through anticipation, expectation, and realization. I believe I am one of the travelers that came without any expectations because no one I knew has ever visited the Czech Republic before. I think having no expectations was a positive thing for me. However, for Paris, I had a plethora of expectations. I saw movies and heard about how wonderful Paris was supposed to be. I expected this fabulous world that would fulfill all my expectations. However, to my dismay, Paris was not so great.

To be fair, Paris was fun and pretty. But it was just not everything that I had hoped for. And I believe that the only reason why I was so disappointed was because of my high expectations for Paris. I realized that the best way for traveling is to go with an open mind without any expectations. Sure, it will be inevitable to hear stuff about the place you are going to, but try to go without expecting too much. Going to Spain was a great experience for me. I heard that it was beautiful, but I had no real expectations. And I went to Barcelona and Madrid and absolutely fell in love with Spain. I think going some place and finding it unpleasant is really hard to do. Although I did not LOVE Paris, I still enjoyed my time and wouldn’t have left after a day. Because with each culture and country, it’s important to be patient and optimistic about your remaining stay.

I plan to study abroad this summer again and I’m going to go with an open mind and just hope to experience new and exciting things. I never overly plan anything so I wont be disappointed. But I’m sure I will have a lot of fun traveling around Asia. I’ve always wanted to go to Japan and Thailand. So hopefully I will go and have a wonderful time.