Today more people than ever are travelling around the world. Some people believe that such travelling helps to broaden people’s minds, while others think it just confirms their prejudices. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.
As modern technology evolves, we are more than ever able to travel the world and discover new countries. While some people believe that such travelling helps us become more open-minded, others might think it reinforces our misconceptions. I personally believe that travelling is the best way to broaden our horizons, but I understand why some might think the opposite.
Firstly, travelling means discovering new countries and new cultures. It means forgetting about your day-to-day life and considering new ways of living that you didn’t know existed. It means speaking to locals and discovering how they live. This allows you to learn about people’s habits and customs, and thus learn more about life in general. For example, travelling in Asia is an excellent way to discover religions like Buddhism and Hinduism, which hold different beliefs from Catholicism.
Moreover, travelling confronts the idea that you might have in your mind of a country with its reality. By doing so, we are able to change our opinion on prejudices we might previously have had, and this is what makes us grow as individuals. For instance, I went to Bulgaria this summer and discovered that it has a rich history and wonderful beaches. I discovered that it is a much more interesting country than I thought it was.
On the other hand, I understand that travelling can sometimes confirm our misconceptions, simply because oftentimes, they are based on truth rather than built up from scratch. For example, I traveled to Ho Chi Minh this spring, and had the confirmation that it is a very dirty and noisy city, where it is dangerous to cross the roads. However, I tend to think that this scenario is false in most cases. Furthermore, I find that if people think this way, it could be because they willingly refuse to open up to new cultures and to interact with the locals, thereby staying where they stand.
To sum up, it seems to me that travelling is one of the most efficient ways to broaden your mind, discover new cultures and erase prejudices. Nevertheless, I have to admit that sometimes, those ideas can be true, and travelling justifies them.
