| During the past two decades, hundreds of thousands of young Israelis, after completing their military service, journeyed to South America or Asia. These journeys become a common pattern in Israel, and the travelers are known as backpackers. This study examines the phenomenon in three contexts: (a) tourism, (b) postmodern Israel, and (c) the journey as a rite of passage.; Using a phenomenological approach, seventeen backpackers were interviewed with a structured questionnaire containing open- and close-ended questions. The findings suggest that the way in which people perceive places is based on their experience in that place and elsewhere. Experience of a piece is affected by the presence of other people, the road used to arrive there, weather, cultural events, and all features that co-exist in the traveler's "perception system."; Two Weberian ideal types of backpackers were identified: the "seeker" and the "adventurer." The seekers' journey can be perceived as a tool that is used to search for the self. The seeker experiences the journey as walking along the road; as a process. Adventurers concentrate on reaching new summits, and emphasize the number of experiences had per time unit. The respondents were more like seekers than adventurers.; Respondents tend to utilize postmodern life strategies, e.g., short-term commitments, fragmentation of time. At the same time they still hold the modernist's dreams of tenured jobs, family, children, suburban home. The backpackers' narrative was examined, and analyzed as a tool to help in acquiring identity.; Rite of passage is understood here as a learning process. The backpackers' journey can be seen as the group's self-made ritual, wherein people acquire new roles in Israeli society. The rite of passage is seen as acting to conform initiates to society's needs and norms. Consequently although the respondents experimented with defying the rules during their journey, once back in Israel they conformed to society. |
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