As a traveler, I've often found that the more a culture differs from my own, the more I am struck by its essential humanity.
Rick StevesTravel is rich with learning opportunities, and the ultimate sourvenir is a broader perspective.
Rick StevesIt's going to have to come to a point where politicians in their own political self-interest think it's safe and advantageous to come out on the side of drug law reform. Right now, they don't care about drug safety. They just care about their standing with the electorate.
Rick StevesI would like travelers, especially American travelers, to travel in a way that broadens their perspective, because I think Americans tend to be some of the most ethnocentric people on the planet. It's not just Americans, it's the big countries. It's the biggest countries that tend to be ethnocentric or ugly. There are ugly Russians, ugly Germans, ugly Japanese and ugly Americans. You don't find ugly Belgians or ugly Bulgarians, they're just too small to think the world is their norm.
Rick Steves