Travel Broadens The Mind Essay, Research Paper

Travelling enables many people

to broaden their minds in certain respects.?

When you travel you gain new ideas and experience new things.? However you do not have to travel miles to

expand your horizons, and there are many disadvantages associated with

travelling.Travelling makes it possible to

experience new cultures; for example, observing different religions and

customs, even if it just means traipsing round an Indian mosque, or visiting an

Egyptian temple.? While travelling, you

can learn new languages, which may increase your confidence.? If you learn a few basic phrases, you are

given the chance to interact with the native people.? Also you are more likely to experience the friendliness of the

locals because language barriers are broken.?

This may lead to prejudice ideas being destroyed.? A new language gives a different outlook on

life.? Travel also teaches you independence,

because it allows you to escape the familiar surroundings of home and stay in a

strange or alien place.? Just arranging

travel and accommodation can give you new responsibilities.? Often when people travel they leave everyday

commodities behind and have to learn to cope without them.? Improvising or making do without them

teaches patience and determination, and when you return home you become more

grateful for the things you left behind. Not only does travelling allow you to see new

cultures, it also often allows you to learn the roots of your own

cultures.? Travelling enables you to

become aware of differences in lifestyle ? whether they are regional or

national – and to learn how different people interact and generally what they

base their ideas on.? Travelling lets

people explore their own customs and way of life, and appreciate their

countries? history and traditions.?

Travelling introduces new ideas that can change your opinions on

different topics and help you to become more open minded about things you would

normally disapprove of.? Such as

exploring different political situations in countries you visit.? By experiencing life in different social

systems or under different governments, you can see how successful they are and

form intelligent opinions.? Travelling

can also make you more aware of other traditions and help you understand

different views and perceptions that foreign people have.? Our neighbours in France, a mere twenty-two

miles from our shores live diverse lives from our selves, socially, politically

and legally.? By visiting new places you

are introduced to new etiquette, which you may be expected to abide by.? This provokes awareness in many people on

the correct rules of behaviour in society and broadens the mind.The opportunities of travel are expanding.? Package holidays are becoming more

popular.? And travelling to new

countries is being made more accessible, and cheaper.??? In the future there will be orbital hotels in space offering

?out of this world? holidays.? Ordinary

holidaymakers will be able to travel to space and back.? How could travelling to a different planet

not broaden the mind?? Space travel

could put a new perspective on life and change the way you think and the way

you live your live.However, travelling has many disadvantages and it is

possible to take the view that it does not broaden the mind.? Travelling can be very expensive and you may

have to be inconvenienced by having to get visas or a passport.? Why would you want to go to all this bother

when you are able to experience new cultures through media, such as television

programmes, newspaper articles or the Internet?? There are numerous travel programmes on the television and radio,

and it is much easier and cheaper to see new places by this method.? Also England is very international and there

are many foreign people living and studying here.? So you do not have to go abroad in order to learn new languages

or see different traditions.? An example

of this is ?China Town? in London.? Here

in this bustling town are many Cantonese and Mandarin speaking people.? There are a variety of restaurants offering

a taste of the eastern culture.There are also many dangers associated with foreign

cultures.? There are the hazards of

diseases and you may have to go to the trouble of getting injections and taking

malaria tablets.? You are relatively

safe in England as there is no risk of wars or terrorist attacks.? Some people could feel going abroad daunting

because of the different laws and punishments for crimes.? Also some might argue that there is no point

in going abroad, as everywhere is becoming the same and homogenised.? An example of this is the fact that in many

countries there are ?McDonalds? restaurants situated everywhere.? Moreover many countries? cultures are modified

to suit English tastes.? So in fact you

are not really experiencing the true way of life in that country.? Also when you go travelling you often don?t

meet people of new nationalities. As Laurence Sterne expressed it ? As an

English man does not travel to see English men, I retired to my room?.? Guests staying in many resorts are urged to

remain in the safety of the complex of the hotel, and urged not to venture out,

because of disturbing sights of poverty or fear of the unaltered world outside

the hotel.? Many tourists are reluctant

to venture forth and so seldom see the real country, and its people, which they

are visiting.However I feel that it is much easier to broaden the mind

by travelling than watching travel programmes.?

It is also much more enjoyable.?

By experiencing first hand the sounds and smells textures and tastes,

satisfying all of your senses, and witness the country first hand.? If you wish to do this then you have to

tolerate any misfortunes encountered.??

Such as deadly cobras, cancelled flights or flash floods.? So if you dare to be more adventurous than

going to Butlins, then you will reap rewards from it. Claudia Wilde Analytical Essay Summer Term 2001 English Language Coursework