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BeingThere

Travel has no substitute
By Paul Lasley and Elizabeth Harryman
Clay pipes, quill pens, and sheets of parchment lay on several square tables covered with green cloth. It felt like the room's inhabitants were taking a brief respite but would soon return. "That's where Ben Franklin sat," said our guide, pointing to a straight-backed chair. We were standing on the spot where, on July 4, 1776, members of the Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence.
Our experience, on a recent trip to Philadelphia's Independence Hall, underscored the importance of travel. There's no substitute for visiting a place in person. Standing in the very room where 56 men from 13 British colonies risked being hanged for treason for acting on their beliefs gave us more of an appreciation for our country's revolutionary history than any book, class, or TV travelogue could ever do.
In a time of high fuel prices, unattractive exchange rates, and international tensions, some people question the need to travel. We, however, believe that today travel is more important than ever. Touring the U.S. reminds us of how privileged we are to live in a free, infinitely diverse country. Venturing abroad, we can learn about other cultures, and share our culture with people in other countries.
When we toured China in 1985, we spent hours talking with our guide, a 24-year-old woman we knew as Miss Yang. We had dinner with her and her fianc; the couple expressed hope for a new, more open Chinese society. We corresponded with Miss Yang but lost touch in 1989, the year thousands of students protested in Tiananmen Square. We wonder whether she participated in the demonstrations. A picture she painted for us of a craggy, ethereal-looking mountain still hangs in our dining room. Because we got to know her, every news item we read about China resonates in a way that it otherwise wouldn't.
In Edfu, Egypt, a port we visited while cruising the Nile in 1986, we chatted with two local teenage boys who offered to sell us trinkets. We responded with a polite "la, shukran" (no, thank you). "Oh, you speak Arabic," one said. "Only a few words," we replied. Resourceful entrepreneurs, these young men could also converse in English, German, French, and Spanish, depending on their prospective customers' nationalities. They wanted to know about America. When we hear of troubles in the Middle East, we pray that they're safe.
Seeing the ruins of a shoemaker's shop in Athens where Socrates was known to visit made Greek history come alive for us. Walking the white marble streets of Ephesus gave new meaning to old Bible stories. And standing before two brick ovens at Dachau, Germany, evoked the horror of the Holocaust with a power that has inspired a lifelong commitment to tolerance and justice.
So, when travel costs increase or tensions rise, we might stay in more moderately priced hotels or be more discerning in selecting our destinations. But we won't stop traveling. One of the legacies we cherish from those 56 men in Philadelphia is the freedom to travel.

Making Travel Meaningful

• Be a traveler, not a tourist. Wherever you go in the world, try to see a place through the eyes of someone who lives there.
• Before you leave, learn about a place, and not just from guidebooks. Read works of literature or rent films that are set in your destination.
• Ask friends or relatives if they know people in the places you're planning to visit. When you arrive, let the locals show you their home city.
• Follow your hobby. If you like astronomy, for example, look up people who belong to an astronomy club where you're headed.
• Spend more time in sidewalk cafés and less time in museums.
• Allow travel to change you. You should return from a trip a slightly different person than you were when you left.

— P.L and E.H.

This article first appeared in Westways,
the magazine of the Auto Club of Southern California.