Studies suggest that children who traveled to experience cultures other than their own have increased tolerance, respectfulness, and willingness to learn and try new things. They also were more likely to have higher independence, self-esteem, confidence, adaptability, and sensitivity. I write this next to my sleeping son and husband, in the middle of our ten hour flight to London. Upon arrival this will be the fifth country that Nico steps foot on. He has been in France, Spain, Mexico, the United States, and in a few hours England. The study also suggests however, that even traveling domestically, to a city or town where things may be slightly different will spark a child’s global learning and understanding.
Growing up, my first trip was life changing, and for many reasons, extremely different than my son’s. Nico’s first big trip was to Paris and Barcelona at two and a half years old. My first trip was at around three or four years old to the United States. My travel companion was my mom, our destination was not a Disneyland or some tourist attraction but to reunite with my father who had immigrated years back. My first trip consisted of over a day and a half of traveling in a wonky bus that took us from Mexico City to the border town of Tijuana, Baja California. I don’t remember much of the trip other than it was very long and tiring.
After arriving to the United States, traveling was not something I thought about. Looking back, its not that I did not want to travel but deep down inside I knew I couldn’t allow myself to dream about traveling because plain and simple, it wasn’t an option for my family and “people like us,” undocumented immigrants. It was like if for nineteen years I lived in a golden cage. And you know what they say, “A golden cage is still just a cage.” I say golden because I could not and cannot complain about all of the opportunities I was given in the country even before obtaining my documents and subsequently becoming a citizen. And I call it a cage because you can say that the inability to travel just hits what being an undocumented immigrant in the United States is like, on the surface. But I will leave that for another post.
The reality that I lived for all of those years is still the reality that millions of people live, many of my clients and friends. I understand that even with the ability to travel and return outside of your country there are people who are unable to due to medical issues or lack of funds. But at least in the latter, if that’s the case, you can aspire to raise the funds. While I could aspire to fix my immigration status in the country, due to the unfortunate immigration system that we have in the United States, I knew that it was going to be a long shot. At the time I knew that even if I could work very hard and obtain my degrees and save my money, I would not be able to travel without putting the rest of my life in peril. You see, as an undocumented immigrant if I traveled to another country, it would have been almost impossible to return to the life I knew. And even if I traveled domestically, that life was still in danger.
One of the fondest memories I have are of one Friday when I was in elementary school and my mom picked me up from school early. As we walked back to our apartment my mom announced we were taking a weekend trip to San Francisco. I was ecstatic but even then I knew that in that six or seven hour road trip, we were putting everything we had in danger. But for that weekend, life was great. I even remember thinking that maybe I could eventually study in the Bay Area, only to be reminded that doing so was also a long shot.
So, as soon as I received my documents as a legal permanent resident in the United States, I jumped at the opportunity of taking my first trip abroad. I was finally free. I was able to study abroad with my law school and visit Spain, France, Italy, and the Netherlands. Breaking out of the golden cage was liberating and eye opening. I learned so much about myself during that trip. I gained confidence and a sense of self that is indescribable. And maybe that’s why I now give so much importance on traveling for my son. As a child I knew there was so much out there to see but always wondered if I would ever be so lucky to experience it. And maybe even if I had the ability to travel my parents wouldn’t have been able to fund trips, that I don’t know. But at least I would have had that little bit of hope that I would be able to travel as soon as I was old enough to work and raise money.
Traveling is not something that I take for granted. Knowing that upon my arrival all I have to do is show my American passport to be allowed to return to my life is a great feeling. This is even something that my mother told me when she took her first trip to Mexico this past fall, after almost twenty years of not being out of the United States. It’s an indescribable feeling. I know that its not always easy, financially, being able to take the time off from work, or even just the thought of traveling with a little one. But if you are able to, I would definitely encourage you to do so. Travel with your child, expose them to new cultures, new ways of life, whether its a ten hour flight across the pond or a four drive down the state. I am not sure whether my son will remember all of this. But I do know that every little experience is shaping him (and hopefully to a remarkable young man). And hey, maybe if one day he wants to try the “30 countries under 30” he will thank us for giving him a good head start.
Do you travel? Do you travel with your children or are you waiting until they’re a little older?
