Third Culture Kids of the World: Exploring Sustainable Travel Mindsets by Priyanka Surio
Book cover, Third Culture Kids of the World by Priyanka Surio
At the intersection of the 2020 Black Lives Matters protests in Washington, DC and the COVID-19 pandemic, Priyanka Surio has reassessed what it means to be a mindful and responsible citizen of the world.
THE PREMISE: By the age of 30, Surio had traveled to 40 countries and 44 (now 47) of the United States. Her job at a public health association has allowed her to tack leisure trips onto work travel, but her identity as a third culture kid sparked a desire to see the world. As Surio explains in her book, third culture kids have parents from two different countries and live in a third. In Surio’s case, her mom is from Hungary and her dad is from India. Surio herself was brought up in Florida and explains that third culture kids are more likely to build connections to people and cultures than to specific places. Last June, Surio marched with BLM, and began to consider how the pandemic and the racial injustices affect her desire to travel. In this book, she provides guidance on how to be a better global citizen and responsible traveler from her unique perspective.
THE SETTING: Since Surio has traveled to six continents, she cites examples from around the world to show why it’s a good idea to slow down and enjoy the journey. Her lessons come from experiences like getting lost in Hong Kong at night and not being able to find the bright lights and bustling streets of Tsim Sha Tsui. Instead of panicking and worrying about finding her hotel, in retrospect she knows she could have gained more from that experience by enjoying the neighborhoods she passed through. She also laments the time she didn’t stop and enjoy a meal at Yellowstone with a family that asked her to join them after they noticed she was a solo traveler. There were also positive experiences, like her story of how her brother hitchhiked from one remote town in Iceland to another, all while meeting locals and learning about Icelandic life. She provides safety tips, especially for women travelers who want to hitchhike: go in pairs and don’t hitchhike at night. Surio also wrote about touring vibrant outdoor murals in Medellin and listening to a local guide talk about the struggles Colombians went through until just several years ago. She starts and ends with her participation in the peaceful protests at Lafayette Square in Washington, DC that made international news when riot police went in with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Surio argues that it’s best to set individual priorities for how to balance issues like social justice and climate change with seeing the world and/or more of one’s own country. She notes ways to cut down on one’s own carbon footprint: use car travel instead of air travel if there’s more than one person traveling, and look at train travel and RV rentals. Supporting local economies also helps local communities, so Airbnb, Couchsurfing, and checking out small, independent restaurants and cafes over chain hotels and restaurants is also a good move. She uses examples of her own pre-pandemic travel as well as interviews with other travelers to show what works and what doesn’t.
IN THE END: Surio’s personal vows in travel are solid suggestions: “volunteering in the community, visiting wildlife conservation centers instead of zoos, buying at local markets instead of malls, and traveling by train instead of a plane” when she can. She also has great advice for social media influencers while we’re still in the pandemic: be mindful of what you post and set a good example for others to follow. If travel is all about the next Insta shot or disregarding public health protocols, it might be time to reassess one’s purpose.
Helpful checklists and worksheets to figure out what’s important to us (climate change, social justice, supporting local communities, or appreciating one’s own country more) are a nice bonus. I found this particularly helpful as I’m about to venture out on my first trip since the pandemic: a 6-hour road trip that will take us to the most picturesque hiking trails in my state. With a cabin in the woods rented from a local family and the need to cook all our meals because there are no restaurants anywhere in that vicinity, I feel reassured after reading Surio’s book that we’ve made good decisions.
Finally, the title of Surio’s book is important as she advises us to think like third-culture kids: When you feel you don’t quite fit in anywhere, you learn to tread lightly on the places you visit, and take your cues from locals.
Buy Third Culture Kids of the World: Exploring Sustainable Travel Mindsets.
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