When I traveled to Bali, Indonesia, I saw that many people (speaking of non-locals) were tourists, not travelers. These people were consistent observers, not fully immersing themselves in the Balinese culture and instead, looking around and examining the notable must sees. They were what I call “Stick Outs”, clearly separating themselves from the Balinese people. Instead of being curious and open-minded, these non-travelers complained, often making consistent comparisons from Bali to home, as if they should be the same place. But most of all, these tourists were oblivious, not being aware nor respectful to the cultural norms of the Balinese. I witnessed these comparisons my first time traveling, and at times, fell underneath the category of being a tourist. However, when I reflected upon being in Bali and realized such contrast, I now know how to travel — to not be a tourist. 

In Guo Ma Ying Zhen Dong Jie (过马营镇东街), I learned how to become comfortable with valuing transient relationships --- where I only had a week to develop a meaningful connection to my “Pala” (Dad) and “Acha” (Mom). However, although we did not quite exchange facts and stories about each other (particularly due to the language barrier), it was the moments we shared together that made me value transient relationships. It was the act of my “Pala” tucking me in on the cold Tibetan nights that I witnessed the unconditional love he had for me. It was the overwhelming acts of my “Acha” such as milking the cow at the hour of sunrise, to make sure I was fed, where I learned she really cared for me. It is these simple things that made me value transient relationships, as we laughed and loved together --- despite the time that forced us apart and the language barrier that made us play the game of charades most of the time. And in the end, we did not exchange numbers, but letters of promise that one day we will see each other again. 

Also, by traveling I have learned that life is very confusing. It has been my travels to developing areas that I have learned the values of unconditional love and caring for one another. However, something I found much perplexing with the Tibetan community in particular, was the happiness they all shared; happiness of just living. Despite their simple, authentic, and much hard-working living conditions, they still laughed and loved as a community, and happiness was a direct outcome from this. This then made me question happiness, because in the Western-World, happiness is often associated with how successful a person is, not on the simple idea that we are still living. And thus, I came up with this idea: everyone in the Western-World is in some way unhappy, and we as Westerners must learn what true happiness really is --- simply by being a traveler. 

There are of course many more learning outcomes that I gained from my travels, but these are just a few. Through all these valuable learning experiences, experiences that cannot happen in the classroom, this I believe: one must travel, an essential component of a complete education. Thus, as the Dalai Lama has commented, “Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before”.