Hi from Rick: Travel Connects Us with Our World
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| It's a big world out there, packed with endless opportunities to learn, engage, and be thrilled. |
Dear Traveler,
For some reason, this month the value of travel has hit me in a personal way. Like butterflies, vivid examples of how travel connects us with our world have been fluttering into my corner of it.
When we travel, we humanize mysterious countries — as when Lyuba from Bulgaria came to Seattle...her first trip to "the big bad land" that her government had demonized throughout her childhood.
When we travel, we see what communities can accomplish — as in Berlin, where a mucky old river bank is now one of Europe's more people-friendly urban playgrounds.
When we travel, we are inspired by people who push their personal limits — as am I, encountering pilgrims hiking the Camino de Santiago across Northern Spain, just to plant their well-worn boot on the scallop shell at the doorstep of St. James' cathedral.
And, when we learn from our travels, we can take in news with a peripheral vision broader than the untraveled public — as how charitable aid can become a feel-good failure for earthquake-ravaged Haiti, the topic of my guest editorial in USA Today.
For more on each of these topics, take in this month's Travel News.
Let's stay connected this year, to each other and the wonders of travel.
Rick