One of the classes that I'm taking while here in Rome is called the Roman Journal--Travelers' Accounts. Not only do we keep our own travel journal (mine is this blog!), but we read the accounts of others who have traveled to Rome, including accounts by Charles Dickens, Henry James, and Mark Twain, among others. For our first class, we read Richard Hurd's Dialogues on the Uses of Foreign Travel Consider as a Part of an English Gentleman's Education: between Lord Shaftesbury and Mr. Locke (1764). Basically this was an 18th century debate between two Englishmen about whether or not travel is an important part of a young man's education. Lord Shaftesbury spoke in favor of travel, saying that it prepared a young person for the "business and conversations" of the world and helped to dispel prejudices. On the other hand, Mr. Locke argued that travel was in fact dangerous for young people and that only "mischief" would come from it. He suggested that young people would have their heads filled with harmful ideas, and only when a man had been properly educated in England, would he be safe to go out into the world.
As we were discussing this debate in class, I realized that I had heard these very same arguments made just a few years ago: As a junior in high school, I went on a Humanitarian trip to Cuba with my Spanish teacher. As part of our preparation for the trip, we learned about Cuban history, about the political situation, and about the controversy surrounding the Cuba in the U.S. We were given all of this information, but our teachers never made a judgment call for us. We were asked to think for ourselves. I went into the trip extremely excited to learn about a culture and a political situation different from my own. The local newspaper decided to run a story about our trip. It was a pretty big deal--I think we were the only school group to travel to Cuba (legally) that year. As soon as the story went up online, comments starting popping up about how irresponsible the school and our parents were being for letting us travel to Cuba. We would get dangerous ideas in our heads, and come back indoctrinated as baby Communists. In many ways it was surprising and confusing to us that people would believe these things. We never for one second thought that we would be forced to believe anything we didn't want to. We saw it as a cultural exchange, a way to meet other young people, to practice our Spanish, and to understand that other parts of the world were different from the place where we had grown up. Several of my classmates responded to the comments saying these very things. Looking back, I can see Lord Shaftesbury and Mr. Locke reflected quite clearly in the debate that ensued regarding our trip.
In class we also spent a lot of time talking about why it is that we travel. I think that for me, I travel to experience a new place, to learn a new language, and to challenge myself, to push myself to the edge of my comfort zone. I grew up in a small city and spent my four years of college in a small town. My first few days in Rome, I was nervous to walk around by myself or hop on the public transportation, but I pushed myself to do it, and it's all gotten easier. During our class discussion, my professor, Victoria Morse, said that she likes traveling because she can remake herself in every new place and every new language. Each time she can be a slightly different person. I really liked this idea. I too try to remake myself the slightest bit each time I travel--to be braver and more outgoing when I go to a new place, to try using the language even if it means that I have to struggle. As I continue on my travels throughout Italy, I want to continue to push myself, to try new things, to meet new people, and to struggle with the language so that each day gets a little bit easier and becomes a bit more familiar. I am already starting to feel at home in Piazza Bologna, and I am excited to travel to new and beautiful places that will teach me new things about the world and about myself.
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