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The Desire to Travel
Sign for a tourist destination in Ghana: Not exactly the American notion of tourismAs Americans it really seems like we are conditioned to travel. This was a fact I didn’t quite realize until I got out of this country and started experiencing other cultures. Last semester, I studied abroad in Ghana. My time there was great, but truth be told, the city of Accra was not my favorite place in the world, so my friends and I spent a lot of time traveling around. Not only did we see a lot of Ghana outside of the capital, but also we ventured outside to neighboring countries Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin (not the greatest tourist destinations, but awesome cultural experiences) for long weekends and made it as far as South Africa and Namibia (much more in tune with Western ideas of tourism) for spring break. While I saw these trips as a great experience and really cool for my passport, Ghanaians that I interacted with every day couldn’t understand why we were always going somewhere. When discussing travel plans with a TA from one of my classes, I asked him if he ever wanted to go to the United States or Europe and he answered, “No! Why would I want to?” Prior to leaving for spring break one Ghanaian friend even said, “OH, you Americans like to travel too much!”
And in fact that might be the case, we Americans do indeed like to travel, whether it is just throughout the country or abroad. Michael Berkowitz’s essay “A ‘New Deal’ for Leisure” reminded me of my anti-travel experiences abroad. It’s strange to think that something core to our culture is so absent from other cultures (it is understandable in terms of economic development and the fact that in Ghana tourism isn’t a top priority because of that, but to lack the desire to see other parts of the world seems a bit odd). Berkowitz quoted Don Thomas on the nature of travel in the United States in the 1940s: “it is regarded as a necessity purchased by 60 million Americans.”
It is interesting how we moved from travel as a luxury to travel as a necessity and how it became so ingrained in our culture. Regardless, through the interwar period it became a quintessential part of our lives as Americans such that many even saw it as “essential to their personal pursuit of happiness” (Berkowitz 207). Whatever the cause of our cultural obsession, I won’t fight it. My many travels have been some of my greatest experiences and great sources of learning – I would have had no idea of other’s anti-travel viewpoints had I not gone to Ghana and experienced it firsthand.
Culture Collage
Berkowitz’s essay also made me wonder about Americans’ need to travel—the way he describes it, and the way I’ve experienced it on many a hectic family vacation, seems to make travel a stressful but extremely necessary task. It’s kind of like getting a good score on your SAT or reading War and Peace or something; if you’re not well-traveled in America, it’s almost a stigma.
I am not well-traveled, and can basically only boast seeing the Grand Canyon and Cape Cod a few times, but I’ve never left America. I guess it makes sense that we put so much value on traveling, because it does expose you to different cultures and world views. But sometimes I wonder if Americans travel so much because, since we are a “melting pot” country, we have so many different cultures here at home. It seems like we have a country that’s sort of a collage of cultures, like one of those pictures made up of lots and lots of tiny photos. We only get snapshots of different cultures—in Chinatown, or Little Italy, or Spanish Harlem—and so we travel to see what these places are really like. So it makes sense that we place so much importance in travel because our understanding of other cultures leads us, in a way, to understanding American culture better.
I also spent a semester in
I also spent a semester in Ghana and encountered a similar sentiment towards traveling from locals, especially traveling outside of Ghana. Why go to Lomé when you can go to Cape Coast?
It brings up questions about infrastructure though. In West Africa it is difficult to travel, especially if you want to get somewhere quickly, because roads are terrible and there are few trains and overpriced airfares. Is this the case because nobody travels, so there is no pressure on the government to pave roads? Or do people travel less because of the state of infrastructure?
In America it seems like the two (travel habit and infrastructure) sprung up at the same time. But what can first? The wanderlust or the roadside diner?
It is really interesting that
It is really interesting that we are taught that travel is so important to personal growth and happiness. It is definitely a huge part of American culture to desire to travel, not only around other parts of our own country, but also to see as much of the world as we can. We find it strange when people from other cultures or even from different parts of America don't really have an interest in seeing other parts of the world. With magazines like National Geographic and shows on the Travel Channel, we are so encouraged to find travel necessary to our lives. One thing that is interesting about travel though, is that we are never really satisfied. Seeing one place just wants us to see more. If marketing is what made this idea so ingrained in our culture, then that was a great scheme, since the travel bills always add up.