More than 150 years ago, Mark Twain said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness….Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” If we spend all our life in the same place doing the same things with the same people, we tend to see nothing but differences between us and people from other parts of the country and other parts of the world. On the other hand, the more we travel, instead of noticing differences, we begin to see and appreciate all the wonderful things we have in common with people everywhere.
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Ross,
Of course, in the very same book (The Innocents Abroad) Twain also wrote things like:
They spell it “Vinci” and pronounce it “Vinchy”. Foreigners always spell better than they pronounce.
Guides cannot master the subtleties of the American joke.
I wish Europe would let Russia annihilate Turkey a little–not much, but enough to make it difficult to find the place again without a divining-rod or a diving-bell.
And my personal favorite:
In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language.
Cheers and regards,
Steve
Dear Steve,
It’s always good to hear from you. Thank you so much for your informative comment. I hope all is well and that we can share some wine sometime soon. All the best, Ross
Good one, Ross. It hit home to me.
Amelia
Dear Amelia,
Thanks for your comment. I hope all is well. Ross
Mark Twain was right on. Thanks
Dear Tom,
Thanks for the email. Yes he was. Ross
I think I need to get out more. Thanks for the inspiration!
Dear Dana,
Good for you. Thanks for the email. Ross
That’s exactly what my experience has been; seeing similarities rather than differences.
Thanks for sharing, Rhonda. Have a great day.