To say I enjoyed reading Rick Steve’s article is a big understatement. My printed-out copy is covered with underlined quotes and boxed words that stood out to me. Specifically, any advice about fear when traveling stood out to me. My high school is known throughout Cleveland for offering a large amount of study abroad trips. Every year there is an educational trip, a language immersion trip to Spain, and a mission trip. In the past two years, the educational trips have been nontraditional. Instead of jet setting off to Europe, the trips have been to South Africa and Australia. While on the South Africa trip, I was talking to Mrs. Kalinowski, the teacher in charge of the study abroad program, and asked her if she had any ideas for future trips. Her response was a trip to the Middle East, specifically visiting Jerusalem, but she could never lead a trip there because there would not be support from the parents. When reading this article my mind kept going back to that conversation. While the educational value behind a trip to Jerusalem is extraordinary, the fear surrounding the Middle East stops even the most religious schools from going there. I have also listed below three quotes that stood out to me.

“Traveling with no understanding of the local history is like going to a 3-D movie and deciding not to bother with the glasses."

“The more you know, and the more you strive to learn, the richer your travels and your life become.”

“The very people who would benefit most from international travel—those who needlessly fear people and places they don’t understand—decide to stay home.”