Vegan_JoeThe people that are open to exploration and travel are generally not the ones opposed to progressive city planning.
The fear-based mindset opposed to change at any cost is not exactly conducive to exploring other cultures.
As an American, I’d generally agree. However, I’d narrow it to those that are open to traveling and exploring on their own rather than the ones that only travel in large groups on buses or ships.
RememberTheApollo_This is definitely true. Get an American on a packaged trip where they don’t spend any appreciable time in one place, spend it at some all-inclusive, and their transportation is provided as part of the deal and they will basically be fed a caricature of wherever they visited that required little effort on their part. Cruise Ships are definitely guilty of that; but I’ll offer that it depends on the individual and very much the destination as well.
Going to a new place and having to figure it out on your own is very valuable. Though I’m sure plenty of Americans are just like the comic despite the exposure to other ways of doing things.
Exactly! To me, it’s like the difference between going to a Zoo and going on a safari. And, of course, not everyone on a cruise ship or bus are going to be the kinds of Americans that I speak of. There are plenty of good people that have mobility issues, anxieties, etc. that might prohibit them from traveling any other way.
My best friend and I travel really well together. We have a vague idea of the kinds of things we want to do and we figure it out while there. One time we were in a country with few English speakers, our housing cancelled on us, we were like fuck it let’s still take the train to the next city we’ll figure out housing on the way. The shit we get up to, problems we solve on our feet, these things help show how a place can actually be not how some tour agency pretends it is. I much prefer that
All true. Having unscripted time in a new city is incredibly valuable.