issue 14 / volume 40 The Report Card: Vacations » Passion versus reputation Elliot Chan Opinions Editor © opinions @theotherpress.ca Wier back from your little holiday break. I hope you got a chance to rest and spend some valuable time with your friends and family—or I hope you got an opportunity to get out of the city, away from the hustle and bustle of the holidaze, and do a bit of travelling. When it comes to travelling, there isn’t an incorrect way of seeing the world, but with limited chances, it’s important to do it right. Pass: Backpacking Contrary to popular belief, backpacking across a city, country, or continent is no more dangerous than any other form of travelling. Just because you aren't staying at a five-star hotel doesn’t mean you won't have a good time. There is a freedom to backpacking that other forms of travelling can’t replicate. You move at your own pace and decide where and what you want to eat, sleep, and do. You push yourself to get to rural destinations and see the breathtaking National Geographic sights. Moreover, backpacking allows you to constantly meet new and interesting people, the kind you won't meet at a resort. It also enables you to be fully engulfed in the cultural experience—especially if you don’t have a translator. Suddenly body language and patience become so important. All the skills and ethics your parents tried to instil in you from a young age are applied while backpacking. It’s a very human feeling of completeness, not in the way buying a new car or a computer makes you feel complete. Not many North Americans are born nomads, but there is a beauty in trying new things. Limited toa backpack full of essentials, backpackers can just pick up and go. In a way, backpackers are really the only type of legitimate travellers—others are just passengers. Fail: Tours Is there anything worse than being told what to do? In normal life, you are always obeying your teachers, bosses, or parents—why should you be so obedient on your vacation as well? Tours are traps for travellers; it’s a way for big companies to make money. Often, tours will usher you to a popular destination and allow locals to leech off of you, selling you knick-knacks and other novelty foreign garbage that you can bring home and show to all your domesticated friends. Of course, tours are sometimes the only method of seeing certain attractions. But more often than not, the most attractive places are ruined by the sensation that comes with being ona tour. In 2012, I was fortunate enough to visit the Galapagos Islands. Asa fan of science and Charles Darwin, the archipelago off of Ecuador was a place I longed to see; sadly the only safe and legal way of exploring the island was to go ona tour with a naturalist. Let’s just say that it’s hard to have an adventure when a law-abiding environmentalist is practically holding your hand the whole way. Sure, the trip was worth it and I got to see all I wanted to see, but the experience was tarnished by the fact that it was a tour. Perhaps at a certain age, tours will be an acceptable means of seeing the world, but not in your 20's. Take this opportunity to see the world without a leash holding you back. opinions // 17 By highwaymemorials.blogspot.ca Respectful shrines or highway distractions? » More roadside memorials may equal fewer accidents Elliot Chan Opinions Editor © opinions @theotherpress.ca W: often see them at intersections and long stretches of highway: roadside memorials set up in remembrance of those lost as a result of traffic accidents and collisions. These shrines commonly take the form of a cross, some flowers, some candles, perhaps a picture of the departed. They give no details of the crash, no signs of the carnage, and there’s rarely even any damage to the roadside. Regardless of the cause, roadside memorials offer people a chance to mourn the loss of a loved one, in addition to cautioning other drivers and reminding them about the dangers of the road. According to Canadian Motor Vehicle Traffic Collision Statistics, an estimated 2,227 fatalities occurred on the roads in 2010. These numbers seem meaningless to us as we rush through traffic, disregarding the : : is alive as well. Don't let the : deaths of others be in vain—we : should always learn something speed limit signs. Associating numbers with people is not an : easy thing to do. People just : don’t personify numbers that : way, so it’s hard to sympathize : with a number. Like Joseph : Stalin once said, “The death of : one is a tragedy, the death of a : million is a statistic.” Some consider roadside : memorials to bea distraction; : drivers shouldn't have to feel : wary when they navigate : through a hazardous stretch of : road, they should be focussed : on what they need to do, : instead of worrying about : those who have died. But what : better way to remind drivers : to stay focussed, than to show : the consequences of negligent : driving? We often get so : concentrated on the things we : need to do and the places we : need to be that we forget about : our morality. After all, the most : important thing about being : alive is living. Roadside memorials : shouldn't only be sites for : : mourning the dead; they should : : be visual reminders alerting us : that we are still alive, and that : the safety of us, our passengers, and other people on the road : from the mistakes of others. : That way, the story of our lives : won't result in tragedy and our ? memories won't wind up ina : statistic. On the highways around : Quito, Ecuador, drivers and : passengers can often see : blue hearts painted onto : the road. In Spanish, those : blue hearts are referred to as : “Corazones Azules,” and each : one symbolizes a death upon : the road. This campaign was : initiated after a school bus : crashed in 2007, with very few : survivors, to remind drivers to : drive safely in all conditions. : More than 40 blue hearts : now mark the roads of the : accident-prone country built : upon the lip of the Andes : Mountains. Canadians should : take inspiration from that idea; : small, unobtrusive markings : may do more than mere speed : limit signs and police radar. Fines, warnings, and criminal recorders may take : those who violate the rules : off the streets—but it’s more : important to put the humanity : back into the drivers. We all : have places to go, but for now, : let’s avoid the hospital, the : morgue, and the cemetery.