On Tue, 08 Nov 2005 19:33:20 +1100, Alan S wrote:
>It's a different mind-set. I know very few Aussies who don't
>want to travel, it's just that it's expensive so they do it
>less often but for longer. The people I met in the USA - or
>the UK - who had never left their home county except to go
>to college astounded me.
I live in rural Italy, and the percentage of people here who have
travelled beyond their own province is much, much lower than in the
US. The number who have never been on a plane would astound you. The
number who have never been to Rome (2 and a half hours by train) and
have no desire to see it would make your head spin.
Among the over-60 set, a sizeable minority left Italy to work in
Switzerland, Belgium, or Germany after the war, but came back and
haven't moved since. Another sizeable minority worked for a while in
Milan. You might call this travel for necessity, and they didn't try
to do any sightseeing while they were "abroad".
It's the younger people I don't understand. There's a young guy in my
husband's studio who would like to see the world, but can't get over
that obstacle of having to take a plane. I know many people, even
university-educated people, who have never been on a plane.
--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my last name at libero dot it. |