Travel encourages an invaluable shift in perspective
By VIOLET ZANZOT— vmzanzot@ucdavis.edu
Daft Punk once created a song with a duration of 7 minutes and 9 seconds, the only lyrics being “Around the world, around the world” — and I think I finally get it now. Three simple words repeated a lot of times, and for what reason? Maybe it’s a fun song to listen to during dark, late nights, but maybe, more romantically, it’s because the idea of traveling “around the world” is so utterly fantastic — maybe it deserves 7 minutes and 9 seconds on repeat.
This over-analysis of Daft Punk’s song lyrics is all to say that travel is good; it is good and it does good. Travel is substantive, in that it teaches a person to be a better citizen of the world. It changes you. That’s why Pitbull went from “Mr. 305” to “Mr. Worldwide” when he began to explore the world and gained global appeal, because, once you see it you never go back. You always know your “normal” is only one way of being.
For the last two and a half months I have been keeping up with any-and-all beloved Aggie readers from London, where I have been doing the UC Davis program in international relations at the London School of Economic and Political Science. It has been my esteemed pleasure to share any insights I may have, and let this great city influence and inspire me.
The greatest lesson I’ve learned over the course of my time here is that travel is the greatest teacher. Since I arrived in September, I have seen barely a fraction of the city (on account of it being so huge), and I have been lucky enough to explore Cardiff, Dublin, Vienna, Prague and Berlin on weekends. I’ve become friends with my nearest pub’s bartender, found my favorite coffee shops and Westend shows and scraped my knee playing pick-up “football.” I‘ve learned through experiences and conversations with strangers that, though we find meaning in different things globally, at our core, it is our ability to make meaning that connects us.
I was in line for border control in Prague, when the man behind me seemed visibly upset about the long “queue.” He was sighing and looking around anxiously. We locked eyes, and I sent him a look of silent commiseration, before he said, “It never used to be like this before Brexit.” Before Britain left the European Union (EU), the British could use the line for EU passport holders, which tended to be much shorter.
It’s funny: You can learn so much in school about the impact of geopolitics on people, but only when you experience it first-hand does it actually make sense. There is clear political turmoil in England, and the widespread Euroskeptism is palpable. I think in the United States, it’s easy to feel removed from other people across the world. But, through learning about the divisiveness of Brexit and then seeing it up close — from one polarized state to another — the world felt a little less separated.
Not only does traveling give you a unique insight into outside cultures, but it also allows you to see your home country from the outside. Witnessing firsthand how the British perceived Brexit — while simultaneously learning its mechanics in lectures — made it seem both simpler and more complicated. Likewise, realizing how people see the U.S. was all the more enlightening. Watching the fascination in people’s eyes when you reveal your country of origin (America) is unmatched — and definitely humbling; patriots to non-U.S. countries don’t hold America in such a high regard. It is flawed and disgraced in many ways, but revered all the same. More than anything, it’s the curiosity that is revealing: The same intrigue I have for them, they have for me.
When you step into a new world, when you try their “biscuits” and take their “lifts,” it’s all too easy to feel like an outsider. But if you can embrace, chase and learn to love that feeling, it becomes easy to learn something new about yourself, your world and their world, and to find a world in between that you can share. It is absolutely a luxury, but, if you can, perhaps you should; the best way to conquer the idea of “normal” is by seeing your world from the outside and another world from within.
Written by: Violet Zanzot— vmzanzot@ucdavis.edu
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