My experiences living abroad have caused me to become slightly uncomfortable with the idea of "tourism." Don't get me wrong, I encourage everyone to travel and experience new things. My problem stems from the way "tourism" seems to be these days.
Nowadays, it’s entirely feasible to visit a new city, stay in a hotel, visit all of the main attractions and eat every meal without actually interacting with the local culture and people who live there. I think that this is a pity because it’s impossible to really experience a new place if you don’t actually meet the locals. To be honest, I think that we live in a world where sometimes we “fake” integration. We take pictures of ourselves in different places (maybe even with a local in the background) to post on Facebook or Instagram and share with our “friends” back home. Sometimes we focus so hard on impressing others, we can go through an entire trip without truly “experiencing” it.
It’s not our fault that this happens. It’s our culture. It’s what everyone is doing, and it’s what everyone expects. My family and friends back home are constantly telling me that I “don’t post enough photos,” and they are sometimes shocked when I tell them about an event I attended and I have to admit that I didn’t take any photos of it.
