It sounds great: see your potential college choice, learn the fun things about a faraway place, spend some time away from work… But American culture strikes again! While traveling is often romanticized, the reality is that “getting away” requires much more than just taking a train. The relentless pace of everyday life keeps tasks mounting, and a results-oriented American attitude means that all of it – all of it – has to be “made up” as soon as possible. If the purpose of an activity were only growth, experience, and personal edification, then it would be enough to demonstrate mastery of the material, and it would not matter that the traveler never wrote a full research report, or answered the preliminary worksheet questions. Americans need tangible proof of accomplishment. If that means doubling or tripling effort to “compensate for lost time,” then that is the expectation. There is no value given to the trip itself, or the experience and growth that came from that. All that matters is that tasks were not completed.
The American expectation is particularly destructive when assignments are due online at a certain time. Regardless of location or obligation, there is a general feeling that these tasks should be inescapable. Instead of allowing the traveler to absorb the opportunities of exploration and discovery, or even just the benefits of relaxation, American society interjects its demands into the trip. And as much as many criticize American society, those that live within it are subject to its rules.
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