<Author>Michael</Author>
<Topic>Traveling</Topic>
<Source></Source>
<Nationality>USA</Nationality>
One of my best hobbies is probably traveling. In China, I have traveled some to the northwest, the southwest, to the south, and to the north. My parents started taking me on three week trips when I was fourteen, with a long trip across the United States from the midwest to California going the southern route and back on the northern route. Another year, we traveled down to Florida. The year I graduated from high school, we took a trip to Canada, and especially visited the French part of Canada. My father didn't like the idea that I would sleep as we were driving sometimes and miss parts of the scenery. Also, in Canada, he really did not enjoy being in an area where people were not speaking English. Nonetheless, he wanted me to travel and see my country and our neighbor--Canada. In college, I had the chance to travel briefly to Colorado for a national student conference after my first year.
I saved my money by working for three summers, and took a wonderful two-month trip to Europe the summer that I graduated from university. I visited about a dozen countries, and found it an experience in which I was able to grow up a good bit. The next summer, I traveled again in Europe and actually went to Russia--an unusual experience for an American student at that time. Later, I took my own children to Europe when they were only 6, 4.5 and 2.5 years old. That was a challenge, to be sure. Seven years later, I returned to Europe with my children, and when they were young adults, each of them went to Europe again on their own.
Whenever possible as a university faculty member, I tied my travels to events such as national or international conferences or summer teaching opportunities, where I earned income while enjoying a new part of the US or Canada. Now, I have taught a year in Africa, with a reasonable amount of African travel involved, and have enjoyed teaching in China too, also with a good number of trips in China. In some of my travels, I have made various new friends and have expanded my acquaintances as well as my knowledge. This has been a very good aspect of my travel hobby. I am often more interested in meeting people during my travels than simply seeing tourist sites.
Traveling can cause problems. Sometimes people feel homesick or have culture shock or culture fatigue. The new diet often can cause problems. It is possible to find ourselves traveling in areas which are dangerous. Sometimes, where we travel we are not very welcome, because of unfavorable views towards our own government. If we get ill while traveling, it may be difficult to find acceptable health care. Having a different language, different body language, or different values can always cause us problems.
However, for myself, I am always glad to travel, as long as I feel safe. I hope to continue traveling as long as conditions permit. To travel is to live a happy life.
