Travel is an effective way to learn about other nations and their cultures. Traveling with an open mind allows people to immerse themselves in the culture of foreign nations. But there are some forms of travel that revolve around a different mindset, a mindset where the goal is to impose your culture on that of another. Examples of this type of negative imperialist travel are the voyages of exploration made by Christopher Columbus to the Americas and the American soldiers in Vietnam, depicted in Francis Coopla's film “The Apocalypse Now: Redux”. Negative effects of other forms of travel include migratory travel to London by the Caribbean in Sam Selvon's The Lonely Londoners. Through travel you are provided with the means to learn about a nation and engage firsthand in foreign cultures, however, some forms of travel are less than constructive to the learning process. In the letters written by Christopher Columbus, his accounts of the exploration of the Americas showed how bad travel can be. Columbus wrote to the rulers Argon, Santangel and Sanchez, regarding his stay in the Americas. Their only source of information about the nation and its culture came from Columbus narratives and stereotypes. His letters flirted with the truth; it seemed that Columbus' intentions were to make the people of the Americas appear inferior and to make their conquest seem like an easy task. Throughout his letters Columbus shows a lack of respect for the people of the Americas and their culture. In the quote: "I have found innumerable peoples and very many islands, of which I have taken possession in the name of Your Highnesses", Columbus overlooks the fact that the islands were already inhabited by the peoples of the Americas. (Zamora, 3). Columbus is a good example... middle of paper ......but misconceptions of being part of their voyages, nations and their cultures will continue to be misrepresented. The negative aspects of the journey are found in Columbus' exploration of the Americas, in the conquest of Vietnam in the film The Apocalypse Now: Redux, in the migration of the Caribbean to London in The Lonely Londoners. But if travelers became more self-aware, perhaps more trips would be as self-defining as Stella's in How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Travel is an essential part of our lives and it will only be a positive part if we allow ourselves and our minds to be open to other nations and their cultures. Work cited: The Apocalayse Now: Redux.Dir.Fracncis Ford Coppola. Paramont Pictures, 2001 McMilan, Terry. How Stella found her rhythm again. New York: Penguin Group, 1997.Selvon, Sam. Lonely Londoners.Edinburgh Gate: Pearson Education Limited,1956.