I have gotten so much from travelling. While I don’t think it has made me an interesting person, it has definitely made my life more interesting. Having experienced the kindness of strangers all over the world has also shaped my view of human nature and enabled me to relate more easily to people.
We have taken D22 to a dozen or so countries and, before entering high school, she joined me on several work trips (along with my wife), including NYC, Shanghai and Istanbul. Where possible, we would stay in an apartment (rather than a hotel) so that we could live more like locals (including cooking at home). I’d love for her to take a gap year because there are so many more places to visit!
I found the article focused primarily on travel that was attached to either work or military service as opposed to travel for travel’s sake as well as the myriad of odd jobs to make the argument that somehow that made these men more “interesting” and “complex”. Maybe today we’d say they had difficulty staying focused or needed time to mature?
I think any kind of travel does broaden your exposure to different cultures, norms, language, food etc…. I also believe study abroad is a good thing. Especially for those kids who attend rural or small schools and may be looking for a change of scenery and meeting new people for a semester. Also, for many students, there may be limited opportunities to live in a foreign country after college. Living somewhere for 3-4 months isn’t the same as visiting for a week or 2.
My nephew loved his undergrad and swore he’d never study abroad because he didn’t want to give up a semester to do it. Fast forward, second semester junior year he’s in Australia. Had a fantastic experience. Who knows when he’ll have the opportunity to visit again.
It’s not a question whether most, if not all, students would like to study broad. But I question whether these programs are worth their cost in time and money.
I only have girls so I guess this doesn’t apply to females? We are interesting whether we travel or not? Or we don’t get the chance to drift around for a while and still succeed in life? Whatever.
Actually there’s a monetary cost to these programs. The cost may not be visible to most students, but they, or more precisely their families, pay for these programs collectively through higher tuitions.
Aren’t study abroad programs a money maker for the US college or university, if the student pays the US college or university cost, since the abroad university’s cost is usually much lower?
Yes. Colleges also make more money if some of these students have to take an extra semester to graduate. If the colleges make more money, guess where that money comes from?
From my limited sampling I’ve seen both. When my D studied abroad her university made money because we paid them and they paid the UK school which was much cheaper. A good friend’s son at Bowdoin studied abroad at the London School of Economics and she paid the tuition directly to LSE so they saved quite a bit of money. Same for my nephew when he went to Australia.
But that’s part of the decision. I don’t know anyone who studied abroad and didn’t graduate in 4 years (not saying it couldn’t happen). There are whole departments dedicated to study abroad to assess how courses and credits will transfer and the like.
But extra semesters can also happen to students who don’t study abroad.
Some programs can match better than others, but most have some, and sometimes significant, mismatches with the college’s own program. Also, my observation is that most students, unfortunately, don’t treat their semester/quarter abroad with the same academic focus. The students you mentioned seem to be closer to the exceptions to me.
Yes, too many students these days would take an extra semester or more to graduate even without studying abroad. It’s again unfortunate. For these students, another semester to study abroad would lengthen their years in college even further.
I read the article differently then most here. While travel was an element of “interesting” the focus for me was on experience and a lack of conformity no longer being the norm.
When I was a kid I worked summers initially cleaning fishing boats and two summers as a commercial clammer. My mother was an immigrant so we spent long periods in a foreign country where I used to cut leather hides for a belt maker. In college I opted to be a comparative religion major because I wanted to have an appreciation for what drove people to a variety of ways of life and death. We were fairly poor but we traveled on a dime.
Once done I went conventional business school to Wall Street etc. Still travel extensively and have made sure my kids have worked all sorts of manual labor jobs and lived with and learned from people who have far fewer resources then we are blessed to have. I think it has served them well in terms of their ambitions and appreciation for their opportunities.
I don’t think it makes any of us more interesting but it certainly makes us aware of how different others live and how lucky we are. We recognize that as we get further from our home and neighborhood we gain perspective and a sense of empathy. We realize that differences of opinion are surmountable given most folks are driven by the same emotions and ambitions.
I think it’s sad that things like experience, travel, and dialogue are being replaced by zoom calls, streaming services and 24 hour partisan, polarized and devicive news.
So sorry to be sanctimonious but I don’t think less of someone who hasn’t traveled and or walked in the shoes of someone else but I certainly think their is a value in doing so.
And with that I will end my Jerry Maguire diatribe.
I do agree that the article is really more focused on today’s generations (Millenials and Gen Z) not having the experiences of working the canneries, etc.
Before Steve McQueen’s 18th birthday, he had worked on a farm, joined a circus, sold pens at a traveling carnival, hitchhiked and rode the rails across the country, worked as a lumberjack in Canada, labored on a chain gang in the Deep South (punishment for the crime of vagrancy), served a short (and illegal — he was underage) stint in the Merchant Marine, and joined the Marine Corps for a three-year enlistment. After getting out of the service, the newly-minted veteran moved to New York City, where, as reported in Steve McQueen: In His Own Words, “He handcrafted sandals, lugged radiators out of condemned buildings, loaded bags in a post office, ran errands for a local bookie, recapped tires in a garage, sold encyclopedias door-to-door, made artificial flowers in a musty basement, sold pottery in a large department store, and repaired television sets.” Before he finally found success as an actor, McQueen would also drive and repair taxi cabs, sling drinks as a bartender, and try his hand at laying tile.
And the author laments that today’s generation of men (it is in “The Art Of Manliness” after all):
Grew up in the suburbs; worked making sandwiches, waiting tables, and answering the phones at a call center; went to college; took an office job with some corporation; moved back to the suburbs. It’s a background that can be summarized in a few, not very compelling, words.
To me what I get out of the article is the author is enamored of the “Greatest Generation” and dismisses the experiences of the current generations. I think a lot of today’s kids do have varied experiences and some of them do involve travel or manual labor, but some might be coding an app instead of selling encyclopedias, y’know?
The study abroad posts remind me of the phone call I received from the West Point Association of Graduates during their annual fundraiser during our son’s plebe year. I asked what West Point needed money for that my taxes weren’t covering. The caller started in about the study abroad programs. I said, “Wait. You mean that all-expense paid trip to Afghanistan doesn’t count?” They never called me again.
I am sure there are all sorts of labor laws and other regulatory impediments to young people having the types of jobs that were had by young folks in the past. Heck, when my ds was trying to find summer or part-time employment as a high schooler, many places would not hire anyone under the age of 18. So, I find it patently unfair to put the label of being, “uninteresting” on folks for not having these types of jobs when they aren’t even an option anymore.
My uncle lied to join the military before he was of age. That would be impossible now.
As far as travel, my ds spent 8 weeks all over SE Asia after college commencement and before starting his job. In 2020, he had an 8-week unpaid leave of absence scheduled with plans to go to Africa. Covid put an end to those plans, so instead, he rented a Class C RV and by himself drove from CA to FL over 7 weeks seeing 13 national parks along the way. While in college, he did a short-term study abroad in England over one summer and a quarter abroad in Berlin. He traveled with us both domestically and internationally while growing up. Until Covid, he traveled quite a bit as well - some fairly extravagant trips, some hostel-esqe. So, he has had a mix of types of travel both in structure and amenities.
Having been expats with dh’s employer for two years, I can attest that there is a big difference in living abroad as an adult and doing a study abroad as a student. I did both and in the same country. But, both experiences were valuable to me.
I knew one of our DILs would be a great fit for our family because S met her studying abroad in Jordan, and after that she went to Chile. Both were by herself - no one else from her college going with her and both times she stayed with host families, not dorms.
She had not been raised as a world traveler, but was eager to explore. We love her adventurous spirit and she fits in well with us.
Many people around us, both friends and family, thought we were nuts because we let our son study abroad in Jordan - then went to visit him while he was there enjoying every second of it and wishing we had allowed more than 2 weeks for the trip. In their minds the Middle East means certain death to Americans. In reality, those we met wandering Jordan were pleased/honored that Americans would come visit and proud to show off their country.
Many Americans watch the news and get their stereotypes, totally missing the real world out there.
One couple we met in Jordan at a “lesser” tourist site were two senior citizen ladies traveling by themselves having hired a driver/translator. Their spouses had passed away and they were seeing the world. I’d love to be doing the same with H all the way into and through our last age in life.
I agree with @Catcherinthetoast as my understanding of the article has little to do with travel; the article is about lack of conformity versus conformity (college attendance) during one’s most adventurous years.
I went back and re-read the article. It says less to me about travel and much more about a nostalgia for “the good old days” (which weren’t necessarily that). The author seems to long for a past time when men were more “manly” etc. I caught a strong whiff of misogyny here. In addition, I completely disagree with the authors take on modern literature.
I’m not a big fan of the generational “p-ing” contest where one generation is dubbed “the greatest” and others are trashed for various reasons. Times change and people adapt. The previous days were not always so wonderful (especially for those who were not white, male, straight, cis. etc) and people now are not less interesting, etc.
That’s so funny, my son met his wife on a study abroad in Jordan too. She’s from Hong Kong and until Covid was doing research that involved travel to India, the Middle East and Singapore.
My kid spent two semesters in Jordan. The first he was in an immersion program and was paired with a Jordanian student. He kept the language pledge and came out of it speaking Arabic confidently. He was in a small city in the north where no one spoke English. The second semester he did a different program in Amman that included an internship with a Jordanian NGO.
Both programs cost us much less than Tufts tuition!