旅行通常有兩種方式：或是“上車睡覺、下車拍照”式的走馬觀花，或是全情投入、心靈洗禮式的文化探索。那么，你會選擇當一名觀光客，抑或是一名旅行者呢?

When you vacation, do you go as a tourist or as a traveler? I dare say that most people have never asked themselves the question. But for me, the two are different.

Webster’s Third New International Dictionarydefines a tourist as “one that makes a tour”, where “tour” is defined as “a journey where one returns to the starting point”. It defines a traveler as “one that goes on a trip or journey... specifically, one that travels to distant or unfamiliar places”. The emphasis in the definition of “tourist” is on the return to the origin, the return home. The emphasis in the definition of “traveler” is on the going, the venturing to a new or foreign place.

In my opinion (based on years of observing visitors to my adopted home, Paris), tourists are more likely to maintain a distance between themselves and the places that they visit. Their purpose in traveling is to “see the sights”, take photos, and eat a local dish or two. They often travel in tour groups, which offer information about the sights, but also discourage individual discovery. Thus, at travel destinations tourists behave as one would before department store window displays, viewing them but not venturing into the store to buy.

In contrast, travelers interact much more with the people and places found at their travel destinations. They enjoy not only the main sights, but also the back streets and hidden neighborhoods in and around their destinations. They observe the local culture and inhabitants, and seek to understand them. And in the process, they share information about their own culture.

When I first visited Paris at the age of 28, I was strictly in tourist mode. I traveled with several friends. We spent three days in Paris. While there, we partook of all the standard tourist activities—we rode the Bateaux Mouches, visited the Latin Quarter, climbed up to the gallery of Notre-Dame—I’ve got plenty of pictures to show for the trip.

As we dragged our bags through the 9th arrondissement looking for our hotel, I noticed that the people on the streets did not look like what I considered a French person to be. They were Arabs, or more precisely, North Africans. And they were everywhere! I vaguely wondered why they were there, but immediately became caught up in keeping up with my friends and trying to find the hotel.

I always had an interest in the French language. At that time, France represented a language for me, not a people. Certainly not a mix of peoples! My fantasy of moving to a French-speaking country was fueled by my visit, but my sense of Paris’ cultural diversity was not yet awakened. It was only after I sought a job in France that I began to learn more about the history and culture of the country. I remembered our trek through the 9tharrondissement, and began to realize that France’s population is as diverse as that of the United States.

So when I moved to France, I did so as a traveler. Not only was I determined to learn about the various peoples who reside there, why they came and how they live, but I also made up my mind to visit other countries with the same perspective. As a result, my voyages have been much fuller and richer, and my understanding of my own American culture has deepened.

當你度假時，你是想當一名旅游者還是一名旅行者呢?我敢說大多數人都沒問過自己這個問題。但對我來說，這兩者還是有所不同的。

《新韋氏國際英語大辭典》第三版將旅游者定義為“旅游的人”，而“旅游”則是“一段返回起點的旅程”;而將旅行者定義為“踏上旅途或旅程的人，特別是到遙遠陌生的地方旅行的人”。“旅游者”的定義強調返回原點，返回家園;而“旅行者”則強調去上路，去一個嶄新的異域探險。

在我看來(基于對來我的第二故鄉——巴黎造訪者多年的觀察)，旅游者更愿意保持自己和參觀地之間的距離，他們出行的目的是“觀光”，照照相啦，吃吃當地的小吃啦。他們往往跟團旅游，這樣可以獲得關于景點的介紹，但卻缺少了個人發現的樂趣。因此，在景點觀光的旅游者就像是駐足于商場櫥窗前的顧客，只在外面欣賞，卻不敢進去買點什么。

相比之下，旅行者與旅行目的地的風土和人情之間有著更多的互動。他們不僅流連于主要的景點，還鐘情于景點周邊寧靜的小巷，以及小巷深鎖的民居。他們觀察當地的文化和住民，試著理解他們，并在這一過程中，與當地人分享自己的文化。

28歲時我第一次游覽巴黎，當時完全是以一名旅游者的方式。我跟幾個朋友一起，在巴黎呆了三天，參加了所有的標準的旅游者才會參加的項目：如在塞納河上坐游船，游覽了拉丁區，還登上了巴黎圣母院的樓廂等等。我拍了很多關于這次旅游的照片。

當我們拖著行李，走在第九大區的街頭，尋找我們的酒店時，我注意到街上的行人與我想象中的法國人看起來不太一樣。他們是阿拉伯人，或者更確切地說是北非人。而且他們到處都是!我隱約間對他們為何在這里出現感到疑惑，但我忙于追趕朋友們繼續找我們的酒店，這個念頭一閃就過去了。

我一直對法語懷有興趣，那時的法國對我而言代表了一種語言，而不是一個民族。當然，更不是若干民族的融合!那次旅行激起了我搬到一個講法語的國度的幻想，而我尚未意識到巴黎文化的多樣性。直到我在法國找到了一份工作，我才開始了解關于這個國家的歷史和文化。我記起了我們那次穿過第九大區的長途跋涉，并且開始意識到法國的人口有著與美國一樣的多樣性。

因此，當我搬到法國居住時，就選擇了旅行者一樣的生活方式。我決心不但要了解那里形形色色的居民以及他們來法國的初衷，還要以同樣的態度造訪其他國家。結果，我的行程越來越緊湊，越來越豐富，并且對自身的美國文化也理解得越來越深入了。

旅行通常有兩種方式：或是“上車睡覺、下車拍照”式的走馬觀花，或是全情投入、心靈洗禮式的文化探索。那么，你會選擇當一名觀光客，抑或是一名旅行者呢?

When you vacation, do you go as a tourist or as a traveler? I dare say that most people have never asked themselves the question. But for me, the two are different.

Webster’s Third New International Dictionarydefines a tourist as “one that makes a tour”, where “tour” is defined as “a journey where one returns to the starting point”. It defines a traveler as “one that goes on a trip or journey... specifically, one that travels to distant or unfamiliar places”. The emphasis in the definition of “tourist” is on the return to the origin, the return home. The emphasis in the definition of “traveler” is on the going, the venturing to a new or foreign place.

In my opinion (based on years of observing visitors to my adopted home, Paris), tourists are more likely to maintain a distance between themselves and the places that they visit. Their purpose in traveling is to “see the sights”, take photos, and eat a local dish or two. They often travel in tour groups, which offer information about the sights, but also discourage individual discovery. Thus, at travel destinations tourists behave as one would before department store window displays, viewing them but not venturing into the store to buy.

In contrast, travelers interact much more with the people and places found at their travel destinations. They enjoy not only the main sights, but also the back streets and hidden neighborhoods in and around their destinations. They observe the local culture and inhabitants, and seek to understand them. And in the process, they share information about their own culture.

When I first visited Paris at the age of 28, I was strictly in tourist mode. I traveled with several friends. We spent three days in Paris. While there, we partook of all the standard tourist activities—we rode the Bateaux Mouches, visited the Latin Quarter, climbed up to the gallery of Notre-Dame—I’ve got plenty of pictures to show for the trip.

As we dragged our bags through the 9th arrondissement looking for our hotel, I noticed that the people on the streets did not look like what I considered a French person to be. They were Arabs, or more precisely, North Africans. And they were everywhere! I vaguely wondered why they were there, but immediately became caught up in keeping up with my friends and trying to find the hotel.

I always had an interest in the French language. At that time, France represented a language for me, not a people. Certainly not a mix of peoples! My fantasy of moving to a French-speaking country was fueled by my visit, but my sense of Paris’ cultural diversity was not yet awakened. It was only after I sought a job in France that I began to learn more about the history and culture of the country. I remembered our trek through the 9tharrondissement, and began to realize that France’s population is as diverse as that of the United States.

So when I moved to France, I did so as a traveler. Not only was I determined to learn about the various peoples who reside there, why they came and how they live, but I also made up my mind to visit other countries with the same perspective. As a result, my voyages have been much fuller and richer, and my understanding of my own American culture has deepened.

當你度假時，你是想當一名旅游者還是一名旅行者呢?我敢說大多數人都沒問過自己這個問題。但對我來說，這兩者還是有所不同的。

《新韋氏國際英語大辭典》第三版將旅游者定義為“旅游的人”，而“旅游”則是“一段返回起點的旅程”;而將旅行者定義為“踏上旅途或旅程的人，特別是到遙遠陌生的地方旅行的人”。“旅游者”的定義強調返回原點，返回家園;而“旅行者”則強調去上路，去一個嶄新的異域探險。

在我看來(基于對來我的第二故鄉——巴黎造訪者多年的觀察)，旅游者更愿意保持自己和參觀地之間的距離，他們出行的目的是“觀光”，照照相啦，吃吃當地的小吃啦。他們往往跟團旅游，這樣可以獲得關于景點的介紹，但卻缺少了個人發現的樂趣。因此，在景點觀光的旅游者就像是駐足于商場櫥窗前的顧客，只在外面欣賞，卻不敢進去買點什么。

相比之下，旅行者與旅行目的地的風土和人情之間有著更多的互動。他們不僅流連于主要的景點，還鐘情于景點周邊寧靜的小巷，以及小巷深鎖的民居。他們觀察當地的文化和住民，試著理解他們，并在這一過程中，與當地人分享自己的文化。

28歲時我第一次游覽巴黎，當時完全是以一名旅游者的方式。我跟幾個朋友一起，在巴黎呆了三天，參加了所有的標準的旅游者才會參加的項目：如在塞納河上坐游船，游覽了拉丁區，還登上了巴黎圣母院的樓廂等等。我拍了很多關于這次旅游的照片。

當我們拖著行李，走在第九大區的街頭，尋找我們的酒店時，我注意到街上的行人與我想象中的法國人看起來不太一樣。他們是阿拉伯人，或者更確切地說是北非人。而且他們到處都是!我隱約間對他們為何在這里出現感到疑惑，但我忙于追趕朋友們繼續找我們的酒店，這個念頭一閃就過去了。

我一直對法語懷有興趣，那時的法國對我而言代表了一種語言，而不是一個民族。當然，更不是若干民族的融合!那次旅行激起了我搬到一個講法語的國度的幻想，而我尚未意識到巴黎文化的多樣性。直到我在法國找到了一份工作，我才開始了解關于這個國家的歷史和文化。我記起了我們那次穿過第九大區的長途跋涉，并且開始意識到法國的人口有著與美國一樣的多樣性。

因此，當我搬到法國居住時，就選擇了旅行者一樣的生活方式。我決心不但要了解那里形形色色的居民以及他們來法國的初衷，還要以同樣的態度造訪其他國家。結果，我的行程越來越緊湊，越來越豐富，并且對自身的美國文化也理解得越來越深入了。