Excerpts from Victoria Mueller’s winning essay for the Independent Travel portion of the 2015 Building A Better World Scholarship. 2015 BBW Winners.
I Don’t Want to be Scared – “When you travel, you become more and more culturally aware of places outside of your hometown. Instead of hearing about events from other states or countries on the news or in the paper, you can go there yourself and experience it. It becomes more real; more tangible. When you stay in the same place for years, you get used to how things are done and settle into a routine, but when you travel you want to do anything but sit still. Many people are naturally curious, but some are too scared to get out of their comfort zone and explore the world around them. I don’t want to be the person that doesn’t go to beautiful, new places because I’m scared to go away.
Toon and Bam – “Last year I met two of my best friends, Toon and Bam. At first I didn’t think that I would talk to any of the exchange students, but I’m so glad I did. Toon and Bam are both from Thailand and became very close friends with me while staying here. I have learned so much from them, like that they don’t actually eat cat, they’ve never seen snow before coming here, and now I even know a few words in Thai. At first when Toon and Bam were here, they were nervous and stuck together a lot of the time because they had something in common, something familiar with each other. Once they started breaking out of their shells and talking to other people, they learned a lot about our culture and grew from it.”
Travel Plans – “I want to go travel somewhere where I can see cultural differences everywhere thatI look. I would love to travel to Thailand. I will stay for about a week and a half. I plan on staying with either Toon or Bam or both of them through the week and a half that I will be staying. I have researched places to visit around the capital of Thailand, Bangkok, and Toon and Bam can show me other places that they may be fond of. Because they live there, I will be able to see all of the city and get to experience the entire culture, instead of places that normal tourists would visit. I want to see everything; the local markets, the places of worship, the parks, the museums. I know that I will come back with so many memories and will have my own view points broadened because of this journey.”
