I do think there is a border between tourism and travel, and that it can be found when you find meaning in , or are somehow changed by, the place you've traveled to. This does not necessarily mean you have to go off the beaten track, because meaning can be found in the most mundane, everyday experiences. For example, the Louvre is a typical tourist attraction, but it can become travel when you see the Mona Lisa in person and are somehow moved by it.
One example from the Shukman text can be found on page 30. He is describing the village of Upachich and Ivan's home; when he describes the strange, delicious berries he also says that they frighten him - yet somehow (okay, vodka) he is changed enough to end up eating them by the handful later on. Sure, you could argue that this is just an example of strong adult beverages having the effect of lowering one's inhibitions, but I would also argue that he is still changed by his experience Even though he technically has a "tour guide" and is probably being tracked by the government, Shukman is also a traveler and not just a tourist - all because of this moving, life-changing experience, and others like it.
I think another example can be found on page 90, in Garcia's piece, when he is writing about an ex-IRA volunteer from Crossmaglen. The reason Garcia can be considered a traveler rather than simply a tourist is that he understands the plight of this local; you could almost say he "learns a lesson" from him. After talking to this man, Garcia gathers a universal human truth, "To know one of your own did this is soul-destroying." In a general sense, this could be anything terrible that makes you not want to be associated with a certain group. Many of us can relate to this when we as Christians think of the terrible things others do in the name of religion.
Even if Shukman and Garcia weren't as moved or changed by these two examples as I imagined, I think the fact that we can make connections to crossing borders means something. Even making their readers question what it is to travel, makes these men travel writers.
Steeves mentioned that faithful travel should move and change you, but it might not always make you a happier person; Shukman and Garcia show perfect examples of this in their travel writing.
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I could not agree more with your opinion about the border between tourism and travel. The border is simply what an individual takes away from his or her traveling experience; either a new meaning of some sort or possibly even being changed by the experience. Your examples from each of the reading tie very nicely into your blog as well. Also, I liked the way you tied everything in at the end while relating it to Steeves quote about faithful travel.
ReplyDeleteI thought you made some great points in your response. I really enjoyed what you said in your first paragraph about meaning can be found in the most mundane places. This is very true. You don't have to do something insane or expensive to find meaning, it can be found in the simplest forms.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your views on there being a definite border between tourism and travel. I particularly liked the example you used about how seeing going to the Louvre can, on the surface, be seen as a tourist thing to do, however; it is the individual who determines whether it is a tourist or travel experience.
ReplyDeleteThe quotation you provided from Garcia, “To know one of your own did this is soul-destroying,” speaks so eloquently to the border between tourism and travel. It is through travel, and not tourism, that our souls become involved in the process of our experiences, so that we may bring into question what we think or feel or believe when another human soul treats their brothers or sisters in a way that is unkind, or harmful, or atrocious. In tourism we simply skim the surface, and so our souls may likely be unaffected.
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