Travels

Last summer, I told my parents “I am going to Europe next year.” I had no idea what I would do or how I would do it, I just knew I had never been out of the country and wanted to see the rest of the world. I know a lot of people who visit the continent often and have a close friend in London, so I decided that a European tour would be my first international adventure. I also knew that I did not just want to visit Europe just to do so, rather I wanted to see how different places developed their infrastructure, and worked towards sustainability. What I found that solely understanding development patterns, infrastructure, or methods of environmental sustainability is not enough to understand how and why regions develop the way they do. From making friendly conversation with residents of the places I have visited, I have learned it is also necessary to understand the culture, lifestyles, beliefs and methods of inequality at play in a region. Therefore, as my time went on I put an even greater emphasis on conversing with as many people as I could (even if they spoke a different language). I am sure these experiences will be instrumental in my personal development. Most importantly, I hope the perspective I gained on my exciting tour of the continent gives me further insight into different ways of life which could be implemented within an American context. The writing I have posted is a blog of my trip with initial ideas that could be built on when the time comes.