Learning to think geographically

I haven’t traveled much, but more than some, perhaps more than most. Up until this point, I have traveled as far East as Paris, France (48.85,2.35); as far South as Clarendon, Jamaica (17.767,-77.225); as far West as Northern California, USA (37.867,-122.573) and as far North as Watford, England (51.4293497,-1.1409082). Within that rectangle I have visited many dozens of cities, landmarks and points of interest. Geographically, this does not represent a very large area compared with the total surface area of the planet, but its enough of an area to span multiple countries, more importantly to span multiple cultures. It is enough of an area to change the way that I think about the world and how I think in general. I have always thought globally, but the more I travel the more my daily thinking is infused with geographic details:

• I can no longer listen to world news without finding that area on a map and researching the history of that region
• I can no longer talk to a person without considering where they have lived and how that might have shaped their experiences in life
• I can no longer accept the view of the world that my ancestors have passed on to me without examining it under the lens of how such views traveled through time and space
• I can no longer sit comfortably in my tiny slice of the world and ignore what is going on in the rest of the world
• I no longer plan only to travel to places that take me along the familiar path, but get excited to travel further, to widen the surface area of the globe that I have trotted.

And I am not alone. As in, I am not the only one traveling. I couldn’t find a trusted report or hard data to substantiate my own sense that this is true, but I have plenty of evidence it is so for at least the people in my social circles.

Just recently I had a coworker who visited Turkey on his way home in Bangladesh. He was in fact there when the attempted military coup happened. Gratefully, he made it back with his family in one piece and had stories to tell of the amazing experience of visiting Hagia Sophia, Hadrian’s Gate and making a quick stop in Athens, Greece

I had another friend who just came back from Reykjavik, Iceland and another friend who spent a month in East Australia (Melbourne and Sydney). I have a coworker who is planning a trip to Thailand next month. I have more than a handful of examples of people, generally young people feeling wanderlust and acting on it.

Me thinks, traveling the globe has never been more accessible to more people and I suspect the trend will continue.

But will this change the way that people think about the world? How they think in general? Will more people start to think geographically? Not in a shallow way, but in a deep way. Will they start to think outside of the culture that they were born into?

Is there a new global super tribe of geographically conscious people emerging?