Technology and Travel

I was fifteen when I first traveled abroad.  A friend invited me to go to Spain with her Spanish club from school.

Since this was 1994, there was no internet to book tickets.  There was no Google maps to figure out where to go.  There was a phone attached to wall in my parent's house that I called to organize my flights.  There was a travel guide book from the library I used to learn about certain cities in Spain.  But that was it.

Yesterday, I landed in Albania's capital city of Tirana.  Upon exiting customs, there was a Vodophone store, one of the major cell phone carriers in Albania.  There I could purchase a SIM card and a cell phone plan: 400 minutes, 5G of data for 30 days for the price of $10.  

I used Google maps to find my way from the airport to the apartment I rented (from AirBnB, an online site that allows you to find private rooms/apartments to rent).  I could also call the people who were renting the apartment to us to let them know that we landed and were on the way.  I post pictures to Facebook; I text and email friends back home to exchange snippets about our days.  I use Google Translate to ask questions and learn how to say "thank you" in Albanian (faleminderit).  Through Google Classroom I can stay connected to my students back home and share this wonderful country with them.

Yet for all technology allows for the ease of travel, I wonder why the world feels so isolated. We have the entire world at our fingertips with our smart phones and yet do we use this to explore the amazing world around us?  

As I learn more about the rich history of Albania, I see the connections with Greek and Roman culture of antiquity.  Through travel and most importantly trade, they shared their technology of the Bronze Age.  They shared goods and ideas and even religion.  

Is technology obstructing our ability to connect as it makes us more independent?  Instead typing in an address on Google Maps, what could be done by asking those around us?  By pointing at a map and looking confused?   In that moment of vulnerability, we connect with another beyond the world of memes and Snapchats. And that dependence helps bridge gaps and reminds us that we are human.  

What are your thoughts?  Think of how you use technology and consider if it connects you meaningfully to those around you.  

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