5 Reasons Why You Should Travel Abroad at Least Once in Your Lifetime
Traveling abroad has become somewhat of a popular endeavor in the last couple of years. With more and more people purchasing passports, there has been an increase in the flow of tourism. As of 2018, there are over one hundred thirty-seven million valid passports in circulation in the United States.
Visiting a new city or country has more benefits than just picture-worthy content for your Instagram feed. On the surface traveling is an opportunity to visit new places, but underneath it’s about opening your horizons to new experiences, different cultures, and customs.
If you need a bit more help convincing yourself on why traveling is a necessary pursuit, here are five reasons why you should travel abroad at least once during your lifetime.
Traveling Helps You Develop Cultural Sensitivity
According to Southeastern University, cultural sensitivity is the process of being aware that cultural differences and similarities between people exist without assigning them a value. Why is cultural sensitivity important, you ask? By developing cultural sensitivity, you can gain a sense of respect and understanding that allows and encourages interaction between yourself and others from different cultures.
Becoming Aware of other Cultural Values
What foods are most popular, and how are they prepared? What unique holidays does this culture celebrate, and why? What sports are popular? All of these questions and more will be answered when you explore a new country. Sure, you could probably just Google the questions, but where’s the fun in that?
Understanding International Issues and Conflicts
We are living in a world that is becoming more and more globalized, meaning that different cultures and customs are influencing aspects of our life. You might have a job that requires you to travel for business or take international conference calls with global clients. With new technology and through the expansion of the Internet, our lives are inevitably becoming more globalized.
That being said, it’s essential to be aware of issues and conflicts that are affecting other countries. For example, if you were on a conference call with a business in France and didn’t mention anything about the recent tragedy with the Cathedral of Notre Dame, not only does it make you seem out-of-touch, but also a little insensitive as well.
Adventuring Abroad Gets You out of Your Comfort Zone
Most people have an established comfort zone in a community that they have become accustomed to. You most likely have a daily routine that rarely has any disruptions, and while this stability can be great, the idea of venturing out of your comfort zone can cause a bit of anxiety.
The truth of the matter is that we tend to learn more when we are put into unfamiliar and uncomfortable situations. When we are thrown into a new place with different people that have different values and customs, it challenges us to step out of our comfort zone.
Traveling to somewhere new can be a bit nerve-racking, but you will soon learn that you have to ability to connect with people despite the cultural barriers.
Discover How Resourceful You are when You Travel Abroad
With a new environment comes new challenges to face, and traveling abroad will certainly present some new obstacles. Don’t let these challenges scare you away because traveling is the ideal way to push your limits and discover how resourceful you can be in a new situation.
Embrace Feeling a Sense of Pride when You Finished Your Trip
Eventually, your journey will come to an end, and you’ll be headed back home. While your sitting in the airport, take some time to embrace the fact that you completed your first trip abroad. You’ll feel a new sense of pride because you’ll leave with the knowledge of a new place and the lessons you learned while navigating through a different environment. Overcoming the challenges you faced on your trip will bring you the confidence to face more tests in the future.
Traveling Helps Expand Your Perspective
Another great reason to travel is that it helps you widen your horizon. We can only perceive and understand the world as it’s presented to us, and when you think about it, we really don’t know much outside our own walls. You’ll realize that there is so much more to life than what you’ve been experiencing.
See How Different Groups View the World when You Travel
You can’t really get a solid understanding of what life is like in a new place until you experience it for yourself. Aspects like work, social life, family, and beliefs and values could be completely different than what you expected. A different perspective will show you all of the different values that others hold and can even strengthen your own values and customers.
Develop Your Own Wider World View
The more you are exposed to new places, people, and cultures, the more comprehensive your world view will develop. Having a broader world view will not only make you a more cultured person, but it will also make you a better, well rounded global citizen.
Traveling will Help You Gain New Experiences and Learn New Things
The best way to learn is through doing, and learning is a strong reason why people enjoy traveling. The opportunity to travel lets you experience something new, all the while learning different skills and knowledge.
Just like how an internship will teach you more than the classroom setting can, traveling will expand your knowledge more than any class you take or book you read. How much information have you really retained from a high school or college history class? Probably not a lot. Not only are you learning, but being out there and traveling is a fun way to discover how the rest of the world lives. I’m positive you would take a trip to Europe over a European history class any day.
Discover How the Rest of the World Works
Experiencing the world will teach you more than a class ever could. From history, geography, sociology, and the more you travel, the more you gain knowledge. Every destination will have something unique to teach you, and the best way to absorb this information is by immersing yourself in the experience.
Learn New Aspects of a Different Culture
There is so much you can learn when you travel abroad. From a new language, cuisine, or spiritual beliefs, the limits are endless. All of these aspects make up that country’s unique culture, and the best way to understand a new culture is through being exposed to the different customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of the nation and its people. The more we learn about others, the more we tend to learn about ourselves.
Traveling Helps You Get in Touch With Yourself
Traveling away from home gives you a great opportunity to reflect on your life and has many health benefits. Sometimes space away from the everyday motions of life allow us the time to look at our lives from a different angle, and traveling is one of the best ways to learn more about yourself.
Opportunity to Reflect on Your Life
It’s important to take time to look back and reflect on your life. Most of the time, we are so busy planning that we forget to stop and appreciate how far we have come. How often do you sit down and dig through yourself? Self-reflection is not only healthy but beneficial for growth and development.
Gives You a New set of Opportunities
If you still aren’t convinced of adventure abroad, then consider this; all of the opportunities that you could have are within your reach. New friends, new knowledge gained, new stories to tell all of these opportunities are feasible.
Traveling isn’t about having aesthetically pleasing pictures to post on your Instagram, or being able to brag about all the places you’ve been to, its about knowledge, self-discovery, and experiences. Traveling is about the challenges you’ll encounter and how you’ll overcome them. Traveling is about learning a new language or culture. Traveling is about connecting with new people around you and with yourself. Most importantly, traveling is about the opportunities to make the experience whatever you want it to be, so get up, pack your bag, and book your flight. The adventure is out there.
*All pictures used were provided by Pexels.com*
