by Sophie Inthapanya

Created on: January 18, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

Only about 10% of Americans have a passport.

This fact, albeit an overused one, continually beguiles and intrigues me.

Why is it that such a small percentage of the population of my country is interested in seeing 'what lies beyond'? What is it that keeps Americans in America, more or less (save for the occasional cruise to our sunny souther neighbor, Mexico)?

I've heard arguments that America boasts such a grand a diversity in culture and landscape that foreign travel is 'unnecessary.' According to these folks, the world is at our doorstep and there's no need to travel beyond our borders to have a global experience.

Having spent many months traveling and, most recently, living in SE Asia since graduating from university 7 years ago, I can confidently say that such a stance is short-sighted, at best.

The unique experiences one has while traveling independently (not on an organized tour) in a country where the language is unfamiliar (new sounds and a new alphabet), where the food tantalizes the tongue with new tastes, and where people operate on a completely different plane, that opens one up to a new world entirely.

The world becomes at once larger (everything that one 'knows' turned on its head), but at the same time, the world suddenly shrinks - because we learn, through interaction, that people everywhere share the same worries, feelings, wants, and fears.

Fear.

Another dominating reason why so many Americans don't leave their homeland.

But, perhaps the biggest lesson learned while traveling is that anywhere you go, there you are.

When you travel, and really experience the culture of the country your visiting and get to know local people, you see that the world isn't some vacuous bubble you'll get lost in, or disappear from. It's not full of people who are out to get or hurt others.

Rather, the world is full of people very similar to ourselves, who live in a different reality than ours. Good and bad is everywhere, conflicting with each other - even in 'safe' America. Traveling opens our eyes to the good in the world, the rich diversity, and reduces the bad to a alerting concern rather than a predominant force.

Travel gets us out of our bubble, and forces us to realize that not everyone in the world lives or thinks the same way we do, despite our commonalities. Travel enriches our lives, and the lives of those we encounter, as we bring our 'worlds' closer together through understanding, curiosity and respect.

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