In Christopher Elliot's article, Savor the Trip, Don't tweet It he does a wonderful job on explaining how we spend so much of our life wasted on technology. We often ignore what's really going on for one more text message, one more e-mail, one more picture, just to immediately upload it to facebook or other media sharing devices. When we do this it detaches us of what is really there. We stop living life for the moment. Instead of seeing unique things with our eyes we look through our camera lenses to see a miniature copy in our video cameras. Which hides the vastness and indescribable beauty that we could see if we just spent the time to look with our eyes. If we spent the time to look with our eyes we would actually notice things, and the memory is more likely to stay with us. Last summer I went to China for ten days, and literally we would be standing on the Great Wall and every 5 seconds someone would snap a picture, it was like he was documenting our travel up one of the Wonders of The World, why? He had no reason, instead of seeing this huge amazing wall built by hand in wonderful shape after such a long time, he watched through his camera lens. His excuse was a bad memory, but pictures are just pictures. I know a picture is worth a thousand words, but after a while some of those words can be forgotten suddenly a grey area begins to form. Although right after the trip we may spend time to share our story, after a while the pictures go in a scrapbook to be forgotten or in the picture box, to not be seen or looked at for a while. But, our memories those are the things that stay with us. A picture is just a picture, but a memory can be passed down from one person to the next, like "carrier pigeons" as Pico Ayer explained in his essay about travel. What Elliott and Pico also explain is how we must immerse and feel another culture. "Say no to obsessive facebooking" (2). You aren't immersed in a culture when part of you is still home. Facebook is home, it is our life back home, and does it even matter? Not really. Also while I was in China watching some Chinese version of MTV or VH1 I heard La Rioux's "bulletproof". It was so exciting not only seeing something from home, but we found it. It was much more enjoyable than listening to the same song on my i-pod. Also, we watched some kids show called "sheepo" I think if you translated it to English. I was more fun than watching a movie or anything. Although we had no idea what they were saying we could guess, by body language a facial expression. Also, talking with the locals about where or when something was is just as fun. I mean i could have easily looked it up on an I-phone, but that would have gotten rid of the "spontaneous part of vacation" the part that just happens because you happened to be there. Also, that is the parts that I, after almost a year, remember the most. Yes, I remember climbing the Great Wall, but my favorite memory is running through a fountain in front of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, and still is the best thing I have ever done in my life. Now, with our phones we can plan our entire trip from the beginning to the end. "We can almost experience the trip before we step off the plane" (1). What's the fun with that? Everything we planned in China, never measure up to that night. I think that was Elliot's main point. We are always on the go, sometimes we have to take the time to stop and smell the roses, and I agree with him one hundred percent. I am going to Australia and New Zealand to have the second trip of a life-time. Although, right now I am most excited for the Great Barrier Reef. I'm sure that will not be my favorite memory I bring home. Actually I am excited to lose myself to find myself again. I did it once. I had no facebook, no phone, almost no English. I only talked to my parents twice, and the second time it was short because I knew I could always tell my mom anything when I got back home. I learned about four new card games, just because, like elementary school that is the only way we could entertain ourselves, unless we watched Chinese TV that we didn't understand, and yet it was wonderful. Even after I came back it took me a month to charge my phone, because I didn't want to talk to anyone. I didn't go on my computer because none of that stuff mattered. All I could do was think and remember about all of the wonderful times I had, and deal with jet lag. I can being new ideas home, like putting soup inside a dumpling wonderful, but my main reason for going is to experience another culture. A lot of times we don't realize things until they are gone. Which goes back to the whole immerse myself into the culture thing. I believe that is the only way to do it.
Finally, i think that we shouldn't be allowed to use our cellphones if we are doing anything. They should only be out when we are in the hotel. I say this because I believe that it is the only way to show us the culture. This is a class and we are supposed to learn. we can't learn by our phones, and it's not like it will help us accomplish anything anyways. Also, if we did have our phones it would be more like a distraction than anything, and it be a lot easier to not enjoy the culture because we wouldn't get the time to forget about our own. I think i-pods are ok because we have a really long plane ride, but other than that they should be put away. We can find some other way to entertain ourselves. Even if that means looking out the bus window. It's not like we will pass the same sights everyday. Once we go home the only way to see it is with our memories. Especially if we think it wasn't important enough to take a picture of it. After all, " no one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow" (Lin Yutang)
