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The joy of traveling abroad with children

August 12, 2000 By Leave a Comment

The Joy of Traveling Abroad with Children
By Mel Copen August 12, 2000
© Mel Copen, August, 2000

It would be wonderful if every young person had the opportunity to travel abroad: to be exposed to new ideas, new people, new environments; and to see the world through the eyes of others. Traveling to other countries is truly a mind-opening experience, forcing one to question some of the things that have been accepted without question.

Today the educational benefits of travel might seem to be lessened by the information deluge provided by television and the internet. But just as we seem to learn best by “doing,” even a short real-life experience can carry many times the impact of the more passive, electronic exposure. Today’s youngsters seem to be more sophisticated than previous generations. However, all one has to do to dispel that image is to ask a few elementary questions about the world. Beneath the “veneer” of sophistication there is often little real understanding of the world outside immediate surroundings. It is sad to note how little of the data with which they are being inundated really registers.

Not everyone has the opportunity to travel. And even with travel, tourists and business people often experience only readily visible surface elements – some exotic foods, monuments, etc. Language provides a formidable barrier, particularly for American children. And often, for US citizens, the surroundings are replete with US hotels and restaurants chains that look the same the world over. Following tourist paths does little to enhance knowledge of the way local people think. Few children traveling abroad have a chance, for example, to visit homes, acquire local playmates, eat food outside of restaurants and be challenged by things that are really different.

Our world is “globalizing” at an incredible pace. At one time, knowledge of other countries and the way their people think was largely the preserve of a handful of government officials, top business executives and academics. That’s no longer the case. Everyone, at almost every level, is either involved with or affected by what is taking place on other parts of the earth and an understanding of other cultures is becoming essential for an effective and satisfying life. The place to start building this understanding is with the young.

Study-abroad programs, home stays and the like, provide one avenue for youngsters to get beyond just being tourists. Community and religious service organizations that use volunteers to help others abroad provide even greater opportunities. Taking advantage of these to give your children the opportunity to participate may be one of the best ways to prepare them for the future, by helping them understand the forces that shape the world and giving them new insights into their own living environments. Not everyone can afford the time or expense of international travel. In these cases, becoming a host family for foreign students can accomplish some of the desired objectives.

My wife and I have spent a great deal of time in other countries, living in some, and visiting many others for work and pleasure. As a result, we have become familiar with certain parts of the world, have built a network of cherished friendships and have also acquired some language skills. We decided to use these assets to do something with (“to” might be a better word) our grandchildren – to begin the process of exposing them to new environments.

We had many objectives. One was just sharing with them something that is important to us. Another was attempting to expand their horizons. We hoped to alter their list of priorities so that it would include a desire to learn another language and to enjoy other cultures. And finally, we just wanted some quality time with them. With this in mind, we packed up a rambunctious 14 and a 10-year old and took off for 10 days in Costa Rica – a country where we had lived and which is near and dear to our hearts.

The results exceeded every expectation and convinced us that this should be just the first in a continual series of such activities, including all our grandchildren over time. It was a fantastic learning experience, parts of which are worth sharing.

We started talking about the trip almost a year in advance. Although the boys reacted positively, we were unable to build any enthusiasm about studying Spanish. We provided basic language materials. No luck! Studying Spanish was a major distraction from Pokemon, computer games, television, tennis, soccer, etc. We tried to get them to read about Costa Rica. Nada! As a last ditch effort, we gave them a “short take-home quiz” just before we left. The questions covered a bit of geography (where was Costa Rica, what surrounded it and how did it compare in size to the State of Georgia) and how to say three essential phrases in Spanish (“Thank you”, “How are you?” and “Where is the bathroom?”). That worked! Thus, armed with “the essentials,” they boarded the plane. We established only one rule. Anything they wanted they would have to ask for in Spanish. We would supply the words. Now, what did we learn?

1. It is better to travel with two than with one (three would have been exhausting). Their interaction filled the “down times” and we separated them (front and back seats of the rental car, for example) when they got overly rambunctious or on longer trips.
2. Mix it up. The older one was fascinated by the naturalist’s explanations of plants and animals in the rain forest whereas the younger just wanted to run ahead and see what was next. But both were exhilarated by the incredible experience of soaring hundreds of feet in the air attached to a pulley that rode along cables strung through the rainforest canopy. The constantly changing pace kept both satisfied.
3. Get away from the familiar. In San Jose, their eating desires focused on familiar US fast food chains, which we generally avoided. However, in restaurants they ordered only foods with which they were familiar. An occasional surprise – what bore the same name did not always bear the same taste. The older one started to experiment but the younger refused even to try new things until we got into the countryside. If one gets hungry, many things start to taste better than they may sound. With new discoveries that all unfamiliar foods were not poisonous, and the reassurance that the older’s experimentation had not resulted in a violent death from strange food-related maladies, a new spirit of experimentation emerged, even on the part of the youngest.
4. “Dónde está el baño?” provided the major breakthrough. It worked! They could actually use it to find the bathrooms. This stimulated both boys to use the language. The net result – on the way home a request for a Spanish tutor so that they can start studying the language before they are able to take the subject in school. HOORAY!
5. Don’t outline the full trip plan in advance. It is best to have surprises. The younger has a short attention span, and constantly wanted to know what we were doing next even before we started the current activity.
6. Finally, don’t underestimate their intellectual curiosity and their ability to interact with others – i.e. provide opportunities. We were impressed with the level of interaction that they had with our adult friends, the questions they asked and their ability to make new young friends as we moved around, even with the language barrier.

We are back. We don’t know what will stick. But if you have the time we whole-heartedly recommend taking your children or grandchildren into new environments. You’ll have fun, they’ll have fun, (if it’s grandchildren, their parents will appreciate it), but most of all, you will be preparing them to enjoy and be more successful in the future.
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Filed Under: Uncommon Sense Tagged With: , ,

Putting things in perspective1

May 5, 2000 By Leave a Comment

Putting Things in Perspective
By Mel Copen May 5, 2000
© Mel Copen, May, 2000

Many years ago I had the opportunity to do something that I would heartily recommend to everyone – rafting down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Few journeys can rival a trip through the canyon to create an appreciation for the forces of nature and the natural state of the world in which we live – an incredible sense of grandeur, beauty, adventure, solitude and awe. However, one of the most important and lasting benefits for me was a new sense of perspective.

I was part of a small group, traveling on small, oar-propelled rubber rafts. For almost two weeks, with few exceptions, we were out of sight of all signs of “civilization” except those we carried with us. Much of the time was spent floating along, slowly, accompanied only by the sounds of the river and the birds wheeling overhead and being totally enthralled by the enormity of the canyon walls and the colors and shapes of the rock formations. Lunch stops were usually combined with opportunities to hike and explore fascinating side canyons or soak down in beautiful waterfalls. Then back to the river. But every so often the peace and tranquility of the journey would be interrupted by short periods of wild action and sheer terror, as we would fight our way through some of the most challenging rapids that any river has to offer. Afterwards, sitting around and congratulating ourselves on a task well done and the fact that we were still alive, the sense of what nature had built around us would once again take over and tranquility and the sense of awe would return. And at night, a capstone would be added to the day as we slept on the sandbars, looking up at a starlit sky, made even more incredible by the canyon and the well-like effects of the towering walls.

Every now and then we would encounter another rafting group. I can remember a sense of camaraderie with those who rowed on by, and the enormous negative reaction that our entire group shared to the noise and fumes of those who cruised by on motorized craft. It didn’t take very long to develop a sense of intrusion, and surprisingly, to rekindle a much sharper sense of hearing or smell than any of us thought we had brought with us.

But then the trip finished. And we were thrust – perhaps slammed is a better word – into the heart of Las Vegas. The contrast was so strong that it seemed as if we had been ripped out of a wonderful world of peace and balance and transported to another of frantic chaos and confusion. It took some adjusting to return to “the real world.”

As a result of this journey, I started to think differently about things that I had always taken for granted. Others who have had similar experiences also developed new perspectives on the things around them. To be enjoyable, life does not have to be a complex and frenetic as it usually is. Many of the material things that we regard as essential are really not so. And many of the things that value on in our daily lives have no intrinsic value by themselves, and can be almost meaningless in other settings. Most of all, it dawned upon me that there are many different aspects of this world which, if not experienced, for all practical purposes, to us, do not exist. There is a tendency to assume that our personal experiences reflect the nature of the world. Other options are not considered because we have not way to relate to them. Thus the theme – it is vital to expand the nature and scope of those experiences.

I have often thought how different the world that I experienced going down the Colorado is from the world of a child, for example who is brought up and spends his/her entire life in an urban ghetto. How much might be accomplished by opening new perspectives? Movies and TV shows may provide some glimpse of the alternatives, but they are part of a passive fantasy world and lack the impact of direct experience.

Thoughts about perspective were generated again, recently, as the result of the planning effort for a future trip. It involves a trek to one of the most remote parts of the world, deep in the Himalayas. It will take us into an area where there are no roads, telephones, or electricity; where people live and die without the benefits of modern medicine, and where diseases, long vanished from the vocabulary of those of us who live in the United States, are prevalent. It is an area which is poor by almost every standard that we would apply, yet people have lived happily there for centuries, building their lives, dealing with nature on an intimate basis, developing a sense of spirituality based upon the realities of the world in which they live, and, in isolation, holding on to old traditions.

Going there raises a bit of a personal dilemma. One of the main reasons for going is to be able to go back into the 10th century and experience this “pristine” environment. But just the “going” and the “interacting” will introduce change that will help erase what makes the journey so interesting. Will that change bring progress, or will it help destroy a set of values that have served the people so well for so long? On the one hand, particularly as we prepare for all the potential medical problems that we may encounter, I cannot help but think that the introduction of modern medical technology will be very beneficial. On the other hand, I wonder if some of the values that it will also bring will affect local society in ways that may not be so beneficial.

But more significantly, as I have been preparing for this trip, I have also been a part of the world that we see around us: the $220 million + Big Game lottery, the disappointment in the snapping of the Brave’s winning streak, the ongoing saga of Elian, the presidential campaign mudslinging, news of car wrecks and shootings, and flipping through the TV channels, a quiz show called “Greed.” This is also part of “modern civilization.” The contrasts between where we are and where we are going, between the things that are important here and those that are important there, are striking.

Years ago the CEO of a major U.S. corporation was talking about his company’s efforts to build factories in a number of less developed countries. He said: “Sometimes I wonder. We go into these areas and we find uneducated people who have few material goods and spend most of their time hunting, fishing, working around the house, enjoying their families and making love. Then we bring civilization. We educate them so they can work in a factory and buy a refrigerator or radio – so now they have to work 6 days a week in order to be able to afford one day a week to hunt, fish, enjoy their families, work around the house and make love. Sometimes I wonder about this thing we call ‘civilization’.”

The point is not to turn our backs on what we have and to reverse the wheels of progress. But I wonder, as I reflect back on the experience in the Grand Canyon and as I look at plans for the forthcoming trip – how the creation of broader perspectives might affect many of the people who are involved in making and communicating today’s news events. I have often thought it would be wonderful if everyone could share more simple experiences with nature and experiences abroad with other cultures, particularly in environments that are “different.” Not everyone can do this, but more of us can than do it now – and more of us can provide such opportunities for others, especially our children.
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Filed Under: Uncommon Sense Tagged With: ,