‘My Parents Didn’t Know How To Behave at Some of the Grandest Sights in China’

Travel Blog  •  Jim Benning  •  06.26.02 | 11:49 PM ET

When Rolf Potts headed out with his parents onto the vast expanse of the Mongolian steppe, he worried about them. First, they seemed to lollygag on the hike. Then they became obsessed with finding botanical specimens and what looked to be garbage. Rolf was sure their parent-child relationship had suddenly reversed. Before he could scold his mom and dad, however, he came to a realization: Travel hadn’t turned his parents into children.

As he explains in an eloquent piece on public radio’s The Savvy Traveler, it “simply allowed them to enter a curious playground version of their own lives.” He continues: “In seeing our surroundings through naïve eyes of wonder, my mother and father are simply setting a good example. They’re showing me that a fascination in the tiniest wrinkles of the world can help you find your way as you travel.”



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