> On Sat, Jul 18, 2009 at 6:26 PM, Chris Doss wrote:
> >
> > They do not travel widely. Most Americans don't travel widely.
>
> What does "travel widely" mean? Serious question, because: from many
> places in western Europe it is possible to travel 50 miles from home,
> see two or more countries, and be considered as a person who has
> traveled; the number of Americans who've never traveled more than 50
> miles from home is diminishingly small.
>
> Percy
>
>
In my travels, mainly in Latin America, I have always been surprised
and fascinated by the various changes that are immediately noticeable simply
by crossing national borders by land. This is even when the dominant and/or
indigenous languages and cultures are the same or similar. My first
experience, Nicaragua-Costa Rica was radically different for many well known
reasons of history and national development. Between Peru-Bolivia or
Mexico-Guatemala the differences were less a matter of economic development
(I think), and the indigenous cultures on either side are very closely
related, but still various differences in architecture
and constructions methods seemed to grab my attention.
So despite relatively short distances, modern national boundaries can make a big difference in considering what "traveling widely" means.
Sheldon