Shawn Kelley | Bursting the comfort bubble

Summer is in full swing — hot days, fireworks and friends traveling — which is why a recent thought began nagging at me.

Nearly everyone I know is doing one of three things this summer: internships, staying with family or working. I only know a handful who are doing any real traveling, and even then only one or two who have left the country. It seems more people are content to hide within their security blankets and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist. Listening to people respond to my inquiries made me realize it boiled down to a couple of issues: time, money and fear.

Time and money I understand. Time is a huge issue, since for most of us in the workforce, time off is time we’re not getting paid for. However, that’s also a failure of our country. The United States is the only industrialized nation that has no statutory right to paid vacations. Canada and Japan both guarantee at least 10 days, while France gives a whopping 30. Studies have even shown a correlation between paid time off and improved mental health and productivity, and still the States hasn’t changed.

Let’s say we are lucky enough to have a job that gives us a week paid vacation. How are we going to afford it? Here is where many people — my father included — tend to rationalize staying in the country by saying, “Why should I go somewhere else when the U.S. has everything I need?” There is some validity to this point, as the nation has everything from forests to deserts, mountains to beaches. That said, I feel the decision is based more on fear than money. Because honestly, the extra money you’ll spend is insignificant to the experiences you’ll have. For instance, you could spend $1,400 on a trip to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park in California for some hiking and amazing scenery. Or you could shell out another $600 and go to Peru and take a tour to Machu Picchu, a 15th-century Inca site located 7,970 feet above sea level. And if you are lucky enough to make it up Huayna Picchu, neither the view nor the feeling of awe are something you’ll ever forget in your lifetime.

This brings me to fear. I believe this is the single most important reason people refuse to leave the United States. What’s even worse is that this fear is due to Hollywood and the U.S. government. Between the two you would believe that every country out there is either harboring terrorists who would like nothing better than to kill or kidnap you, or criminal organizations that will abduct you for money, put you to work in the sex trade or sell your organs on the black market. This is, of course, provided your plane makes it safely to your destination. From Jan. 9 to June 30, the U.S. Department of State issued 34 travel advisories, covering countries on every continent except Antarctica. This fear mongering is ridiculous.

By traveling outside our comfort zone we open ourselves to new experiences and cultures that may surprise us. This leads to learning new things about the world, as well as ourselves. When I was staying in Japan I went with some friends to a Shinto shrine. I hadn’t even heard of Shintoism before, but the experience stirred something within me and over time I actually adopted Shintoism. It is these comfort bubble-bursting experiences that I find to be lacking in many Americans.

So I urge all of you to take advantage of your time here at Penn. There are a multitude of programs enabling students to go abroad. Make friends with other students from around the world and see about possibly setting up house tours — where everybody stays a couple days or more at one friend’s house, seeing sites and learning cultures, before moving onto the next location. You would have something to talk about in essays and interviews for your entire life. Call or write your local senator or house rep and ask them why we’re behind the rest of the world in statutory vacation days. Fair winds and safe travels, my friends.

Shawn Kelley is an LPS sophomore from San Diego studying English and Japanese. His email address is skelley@sas.upenn.edu.

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