Wednesday 3 November 2010

Experiencing the world

“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” – Jack Kerouac



I went to Berlin this last weekend with Matthew and our friend Woody and it was an excellent weekend away.

On Sunday we went out to visit the Sachsenhausen concentration camp with Mosaic tours. Mosaic Tours is a 100% non-profit registered charity and our tour guide Colin was amazing. 

The emotions that I felt while visiting that concentration camp were like none I had ever experienced before in my life. It's hard for me to write about it and the experience has changed me as a person.

On my way back to London I thought about how important it is to travel and see the world and experience places and cultures outside of your own. It's one thing to read about history, it's another to go and experience it. 
I sometimes think about what my life would be like if I hadn't come to study in England. Would I be traveling to half of the places that I've been to since I've moved abroad?

I had a passport before I came to study abroad and had been to Europe a few times, but it's a strange feeling to know that I might not have ever been to the places that I have if I was still living back in the States.

I have friends who have never left the state of Minnesota let alone the country. Which just seems really strange to me now. To just spend your entire life in one small geographical location. 

While I have friends here in London who think nothing of taking 3 to 4 weeks or even longer to go traveling. I don't know many American people who just decide to go traveling for a while. It usually happens before you go to college for a couple months and then you get to say that you've done Europe.

Every time I visit a new place my understanding of life and how the world works expands. I think there's no better way to learn about the life and I look forward to many trips all over the world.


No comments:

Post a Comment

 
Real Time Web Analytics