I don’t enjoy international trips because I try to make the most of them, which ends up exhausting me with too many activities. I prefer not doing much and just relaxing during vacations.
Today, I met some new people and we chatted about various things. One girl talked about her trip, and I commented on the country. She dismissively asked me, “Have you visited the country?” I didn’t expect such a reaction—and in fact, I had visited it (actually twice)—so I said yes. She then asked which cities I had visited, as if she were trying to fact-check me. I listed a few cities off the top of my head, and she went silent. She didn’t even look at me, and later, I overheard her trying to bitch about me to others, but it didn’t seem to work.
Overall, she was a rather strange person (I got the impression she was very rich), so I probably shouldn’t care much about the interaction. Still, it wasn’t the first time I’ve encountered people being condescending about their international travel experiences. I’ve met people who put a lot of effort into visiting as many countries as possible—and just as much effort into boasting about it.
Should I also be putting more effort into visiting other countries, just to fit in with common social norms and expectations?