Travelling and Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Travelling and Culture - Essay Example Critically, travelling is an avenue to an open mindset. It is a way of understanding the very essence of live and coming to terms with what the world has to offer in the form of diversity. That travelling is bridge to cultural adaptability and orientation can never be disputed. Indeed, much knowledge in the world is gained through exposure to different experiences and perceptions. This very exposure and experience is a function of travelling which connotes the movement from one situation to another. Spent a stint of your lifetime in Africa, another timeframe in the States and some stay in the Orient countries and you are certainly a well-rounded individual who understands the world in greater depth than the conventional observer. Many educational institutions across the world focus on cultural exchanges between students in different cultural backgrounds with the motive of inundating the students with all that relates to the different cultural backgrounds. This greatly contributes in shaping the mindsets of such students so that they realize and incorporate different aspects into their lifestyles (Arnold 98-9). In many countries across the world, global travelling comes under great onslaught from its critics on the account that it ruins people. In Africa, most students who travel abroad for further studies go back with totally different lifestyles that are often unwelcome in their countries. It then begs the analysis of the whole concept of travelling and its relation to an individual’s cultural opinion. In the analysis, it appears the whole matter boils down to an individual and how they approach different situations. In many instances it can be seen that people who get exposed to different cultures by virtue of travelling approach the whole situation on a different perfective (Bastian 85). While some people get totally indoctrinated with new ways of live and shun their former cultures, others simply appreciate and understand the differences. That create s the whole jam. However, it is imperative to realize that the general make up of an individual is the greatest determinant in the whole cultural equation. Interestingly, culture cannot infuse by itself from one country to another. It must be conveyed through the actions of man like travelling and entertainment. Therefore the argument on whether travelling helps to communicate between cultures gets much backing considering that as people approach new cultural environments, they also spill part of their cultural adaptations in such environments thereby creating the whole link. However, some people may argue against travelling on the account that it is not the only avenue for cultural communication (Lincoln 55). For instance, in most large cities across the world, it is not uncommon to locate a French restaurant that offers purely French cuisines or a Chinese restaurant that brings Beijing to such local environments. The argument then goes that it demands more or less than travelling to communicate different cultures. Travelling contributes to the growth of knowledge and prevents narrow-mindedness. It creates the chance to annihilate the many different stereotypes that people hold against each other especially from different cultural environments. Even inter-cultural marriages are negotiated in such forums, making unity amidst diversity. Indeed travelling makes this