I don't really like to travel, though I do a fair amount.
I have been thinking about why, exactly, I do not.
I do like to learn about other people and places; that is one of the reasons I am a sociologist.
I do not much need to feel the aura of special places, to have an authentic experience of "being there." On the other hand, I always notice things about the juxtaposition of places and cultures that I would not have seen from just reading about other places.
Still, I would rather be in my house or campus or coffee house, talking to people and working.
I think this is the main reason I do not like to travel:
When I am home, I feel that I am building social capital.
When I travel, I am spending it.
Each trip, therefore, had better be worth the social expense.
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3 comments:
Don't you vacation each summer in the same place that you have gone since childhood? You have decades of social capital built up there.
You are quite right.
We have a reunion, not only with family but with long-time friends, at Capon Springs and Farms in West Virginia each summer.
And, of course, Christmas with the extended family in a family member's house.
These do, indeed, build social capital.
Hmmm... That is a very interesting viewpoint.
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