Educational Value of Traveling
IntroductionIt is possible to learn new things if you travel to different parts of your own country and different parts of the world. It does take a certain openness to learning and an openness to new things in order to fully take advantage of this.
Still, you are able to learn new things if you travel.PointYou may broaden your taste and your pallet if you travel around more. You get a better idea of what different flavors and textures are out there for you. It makes it easier to try new foods when you get home, and you may be able to make your diet more diverse as a result, which will probably lead to better health.Example or anecdoteThe different foods in America are currently unappreciated.
Like most western countries, there is a fair amount of choice. Texas BBQ in one town may be as delicious as Texas Chinese food in another. The original countries where the food started may serve a completely different dish to how it is interpreted by the western country. The British have had the recipe for Indian curry for a very long time, as they used to own India. That is why there are numerous British curries that neither a native Indian nor American knows about.
Similarly, it is possible for a native British person or Indian person to visit America and eat a curry recipe that they have never even heard of.PointIt is possible to learn a little bit of humility and gratitude at your own life. Traveling around the world and seeing people in different states of wealth and poverty is enough to make a person appreciate their life a little more.Example or anecdoteIn Britain, they only have their bins (known as wheelie bins) collected once per fortnight. To a lot of Americans this is harrowing, as they have their bins emptied once per week.
Push this idea a little further by traveling to places in Africa, and you start to appreciate how little it matters.An African person may be found crying on the ground because his home has been destroyed, his wife or children butchered, his money stolen, his religion forcibly suppressed, or because he has to work for pennies per day. He will not be found crying on the ground because the British now have to have their bins emptied once per fortnight.ConclusionIt is possible to learn quite a bit if you go to different countries and experience things that are outside of your comfort zone or outside of your normal experiences. What you learn may be something as simple as a new taste which then broadens your diet.
Or, it may be a little bit of humility that helps you realize what you have and why you are so lucky. The great thing about traveling is also that you cannot be sure what you will learn until you get there. You may find out that the mannerisms of a certain people are simply cultural and are not the result of rudeness.
