Painting on a Foreign Canvas

Last summer, I pitched an idea for a new show to the Travel Channel. The premise is there’s a college student who loves to travel, and each week, he would go to all these different places across the globe and discover things about the cultures he visits and make recommendations on hidden beauties to see in different lands. Oh, and every week, he’d bring one of his college friends with him on his travels, and that way there would be lots of conversation about the destination that’s all insightful and college-like. It would be best if he were an English major, that way, he’d be articulate. Did I mention I’m an English major in college with lots of smart friends who are really insightful about culture?\nAbout a week ago, I received an e-mail from the Travel Channel telling me they appreciated my comments and looked forward to me enjoying their programming in the future. And because it sounded like a great idea to me, I must admit I was a little bummed when my show wasn’t picked up for next season. Now, I am stuck with all the other show-less civilians, and I’ll most certainly have to pay for the next European vacation I take. Unfortunately, like most other college students, international travel looks bleak for me. Incidentally, I still want to go everywhere.\nLike most other students, if you start a conversation with me about potential travel, it will last as long as it takes to rattle off most of the world. I’m sure you wouldn’t be able to stop talking either. As people, we have an intense desire to escape to a new part of the world, admire unique town squares, eat exotic foods, and revel in a new way of living.\nThe very idea of travel evokes almost entirely a sense of art. How we interpret a foreign land is how we can make it personally meaningful to ourselves. This is the basic premise of travel that makes it so desirable. We can walk down cobblestone streets that inspire us, watch the Aurora Borealis over our heads, and take in all that is unfamiliar to us has to offer. This is why our favorite movies are about places we’ve never been to, and why culture has prevailed as a whole. Our need to fulfill this desire to travel is not a petty one – it is what artists have always done.