International Travel
Contributes to Peace

Winning essay selected by the Snohomish County Peace Action educational scholarship sponsored by Wildland Adventures and Europe Through The Back Door. The $1,000 scholarship was awarded by the Edmonds Community College Foundation based on financial need and the top essays.

International travel is key to maintaining a good relationship with people in other countries. What people have come to realize is the dramatic affect travel does to people to see another person's perspective on life and the style in which they live. I believe international travel increases peace between people all around the word because it is a direct and personal interaction that teaches human beings how the other side of the world works.

Direct Personal Interaction Brings Meaningful Cultural Exchange

One way international travel can contribute to world peace is tourism. When the United States' citizens travel to different countries they are bound to be surprised of the different lifestyle that people live. They leave Americans thinking that it's just another trip, but by the time they come back they feel like a completely different person. I have personally spoken with many people who have traveled to Israel, Africa, Vietnam and the Philippines. Each person that I spoke with was dramatically affected after seeing how much poverty there was in each of these countries. This influenced the people I know to change and become more involved in charities and donating clothes to these people who are less fortunate.

One lady, whom I shall not name, traveled to South Africa right after her husband had died. She was extremely wealthy. After seeing how poor the children were in the schools of South Africa she made a life changing decision that most people wouldn't dream of doing. She sold her house, packed her bags and moved to Africa. For the rest of her life she was determined to make the children in the schools happier. She used most of her money to rebuild part of the school and replace damaged books. The rest of her money she donated to other African families in the community. This lady remains special to me because she thought about other people and their needs instead of thinking of herself; that's what a true hero does.

Understanding Others Breaks Down the Barriers to Peace

There are still many different ways to contribute to others besides just visiting other countries for a short period of time. My father lived in Thailand most of his life then traveled around the world three times. From his experience he finds people from Thailand and the Philippines very respectable because they currently live a rougher lifestyle than most people in the United States. My father met a family of starving people in India and from the time he first met them until now he has been donating money to help improve their lives. He explained to me that because of the way he grew up with people in poverty-stricken countries he could relate to how unfortunate these people were.

I have recently spoken with Ammuu, the girl from India and was surprised to see how happy she was with so little of what she owns. Recently she told me that she lost her home in a flood during Christmas, and now just lost her job. However, she still appears bright and happy in her letters and phone calls. She tells me that it's all because we take time out of our busy lives to notice that she is an important human being. She is an extremely inspirational person whom I look up to and look forward to meeting in person next fall when she comes to visit my family. She inspires me to be a stronger and more giving person, and inside it makes you feel better to be that way.

Now that I feel I have a stronger connection with someone from another country it inspires me to be a more giving person. I feel very strong about the Peace Corps and hope to join them one day. The accomplishments that they have made are huge. I believe the interaction with different cultures is part of growing up and learning how the world works.

Pathways to Peace

We were not put on this earth to stay at home and wait for the days to go by. We are here to learn more about each other. In the past two years I have traveled to France and visited Spain. I became more interested in the culture and believe there is more to these people than what you read in the papers. As far as I am concerned there are two sides to each story, and its unfortunate to hear bout the bad events instead of the good ones. The people in Europe are more straightforward with ideas which some Americans deem as being rude but its just the way they interpret things in their language. I believe that international travel would change many people's views on the French and Spanish if they just got the chance to actually communicate with them up close, which comes from the old saying to “never judge a book by its cover.”

During my sophomore year of high school I was flown to Washington D.C. to get a close-up look at struggles and different issues throughout the United States. I met many people from New York, Maine, Michigan, Florida, California, and Puerto Rico. Together we discussed the different issues that our homes were facing. We came up with solutions to help prevent school drop-outs, drug issues, pregnancy control, and most importantly gun control. We got to hear different ideas on the issues and how they affected people from each region. The biggest issue that I remember talking about was gun control throughout the United States. One male student's view was to let people carry guns around freely. He lived in Maine and said that he often hunted and that guns did not promote a problem in his society. A young lady from the Bronx, New York completely disagreed. Her argument was guns only brought trouble. She explained to us that her reason for believing this was from a traumatizing drive-by shooting. This makes people think twice about different problems and how different people see each others lives. After the student from Maine heard the story of the six year old brother being shot he broke down into tears for not realizing the dangers that guns could really cause.

We were not put on this earth to stay at home and wait for the days to go by. We are here to learn more about each other.

I believe international travel is something that should be more common amongst people. We need to take time to learn about other cultures in countries to understand their needs. This way we will be able to learn more about how to make the world a safer and stronger place. This problem can not be fixed alone. We need the contribution of others around the world. Everyone deserves to be happy, and I believe that if you experience up close and learn to see other people's situations you will be touched and changed for the better. I strongly encourage people to promote international travel; it brings people closer, so let's promote peace!