Student to Student

Know Before You Go

By Loretta V. Ramirez, Loyola Marymount Univ.

It wasn't until I enrolled in an art appreciation class that my memories of Europe were tinged with regret.

Day after day in my art class I realized how much I had overlooked while strolling down narrow streets on my way to major tourist attractions. I knew only enough to glance at the art so famous that the street vendors had replicas of it for sale on T-shirts. By the end of the semester I desperately craved to return to all the places I had already visited, this time to give them my full attention.

This is not to say that one must be steeped in the appreciation of the art, culture, and history of a country before arrival. A full-blown eduction in art appreciation isn't essential, but a willingness to look at those things not pictured in travel brochures is necessary to have a complete appreciation of the country. There is great fun in going to the top of the Eiffel Tower, taking a picture in front of Big Ben, and riding a gondola through the canals of Venice. But if that is the whole experience, a sort of mass production tourist experience of Europe, then you're not getting your money's worth.

Before I returned to Europe again I took courses, read books, studied maps. I soaked up all I could about the places where I would be traveling. And when I returned I felt that I saw more in one day than I had the entire time of my first trip.

Knowing as much as possible about the places you visit will open your eyes, build up the predeparture excitement, raise the thrill of finally seeing the sight, and make the money you spend on the trip a better investment.

LORETTA V. RAMIREZ is a graduate student in English at Loyola Marymount Univ. She has traveled independently throughout Western Europe on five separate trips.