traveling in Your Home Country

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by Dale Smith


Traveling abroad is a wonderful experience, and I highly recommend that everyone do it, if they get the chance. However, in order to properly understand other countries and their cultures, you need to explore your own, first.

I live in the United States, and have traveled extensively through it. I have seen the poverty of the Deep South, with families living in shacks that don't have electricity or running water. Compare this to Beverly Hills, where each house is larger than many commercial buildings, and only a couple of people live there. I have seen a homeless vet giving directions to a young man in a new Mercedes. And I have seen a young family sharing their picnic in a park, with another homeless person.

I have seen the Redwood Forests of the Pacific Northwest, the Mojave Desert, the Rocky Mountains, the Grand Canyon, the Great Plains and more. All in one country, anywhere else in the world, you would have to travel through several different countries, just to see similar terrain. Everywhere I went, people spoke the same language. I drove across the country, and it took me almost a week to do it. I have been places where the locals welcomed me with open arms and others where everyone seemed to be wondering why I was there, and when I would leave.

I have been to the Smithsonian museum, and was awed by the history that I saw there. I have been to Disneyland, and was astonished by the feeling of happiness that can be had in a place so crowded, near one of the largest cities in the country.

I have been to Europe, and was impressed by the immensity of the history there. I stood in buildings that were put up before my country was even a thought. I visited the tombs of Kings who never even knew that the Americas existed. I wouldn't understand or be impressed as much, if I hadn't explored and understood my own history.

I have met people who didn't even speak my language, yet were friendly, courteous and helpful as could be.

I have been to Central America, and driven from one side of a country to another in less than half the mileage than it takes me to drive to my brother's house in the same state. It almost took the same amount of time though.

People claim that you have to leave home to find adventure, but I don't believe that. I believe that traveling anywhere is an adventure, but how can you appreciate the adventure of a new place, if you haven't explored an old one. We all need a point of reference to understand something new.

Learn more about this author, Dale Smith.