Journal 9

Holy cow, Batman! Who would have guessed that travel writing (and indeed traveling) could be a business? Pick two styles of travel that we have identified so far and discuss the similarities and differences between each.

Two types of travel writing that we've talked about so far are the kind of writing in which you use humor, and the kind of writing in which you don't cross a literal border, but a mental border.

We all agreed that humor is very important in travel writing, but it should not be used in certain serious situations. Writing about mental borders can be sort of similar in this sense. While many people cross mental borders, they do not always feel comfortable writing or talking about them. Just like with humor, an author must pick and choose what they feel comfortable about readers hearing from them.

I think the main difference between these two situations is that when you use humor in your writing, you need to worry about whether your audience might be offended or if they will think it is funny; when you start to write about personal borders that you cross, all you need to think about is whether you are comfortable telling the world about these feelings - it should not matter what the reader actually thinks, because it is something personal you are telling them, and they should consider a priveledge that you felt you could share it.

Both of these types of writing are important to include in travel writing - in the right situations, of course. And knowing whether it is the right situation is probably what will be the difference between well-received writing and something that everyone hates. So be careful!

T

Journal 8

Identify one border that our writers have traveled that you think will come into play into your own explorations.

One of the main borders we have seen throughout the semester is demonstrated in Kapuscinski's Travels with Herodotus. In this piece, K. is interested in leaving his comfort zone, or crossing a border just for the sake of crossing borders. I feel like I will be doing this when I go to Rome next semester. I have never left the country - unless you count Canada, which I don't. It's pretty much Michigan, right? 

So when I finally leave the country, it will be a huge step for me. Even more of a challenge will be leaving my friends and family, something I've never done for eight entire weeks. But, just like K adapts to his surroundings even though he is outside his comfort zone, I know I will too. I will probably be scared and miss my family, but I'll also know that I probably won't get "taken."

Rick Steves also mentioned a similar border. He said that travel should leave us sadder but wiser, so that would also involve leaving a comfort zone. I look forward to leaving this particular comfort zone, though; as I've said before, I'd rather be sad than stupid.

Rick Steves

Journal 7

Travel writing can quickly become a competition between writers looking for the most outrageous trip. Do you see a benefit in such competition? Make your best argument.

I think that this competition aspect of travel writing can have both negative and positive consequences. If travel writers go out of their way to have grand adventures that they wouldn’t normally have without this “competition,” it will make for a much more interesting read. However, writing competitively can take away from the whole purpose of travel writing itself. While there is no true “purpose” of travel writing, and there can be different reasons for reading and writing in this genre, I highly doubt that anyone believes that the whole point is to have the coolest story.

For me, travel writing is all about learning something that you never would have known about had you not gone to a certain place. What you learn can be about the culture, about yourself, where you come from, or where you’re going.

Making this form of writing into a competition could challenge writers to cross borders that they would not normally cross, but it should not affect the intended purpose of the piece. Travel writers should tell a story, but it is always important to learn a moral or lesson about a different culture (or about oneself) from that story.

So yes, writers should challenge each other to push boundaries - but this should never affect the intended purpose of their work.