The wonderful personal benefits of international travel rarely enter the minds of people taking vacations. They go through the ordeals of booking flights, reserving hotels, and securing visas. The aspects of personal enrichment and learning hardly enter into the picture. After an international trip, however, travelers become very aware of certain things that can only be learned by exposure to another culture. If you travel to a country that is radically different than your own, be prepared to gain valuable insights into how other people live, work, relax, and enjoy life.
Let Go of Your Notions Regarding Human Interaction
In some places, people regard others as new members of a community. This might seem strange to vacationers hailing from urban environments. Vacationing in a place where social caution is thrown to the wind could seem strange, but it is common in many places. When you travel to a preferred destination, the welcoming community might be very open about how they greet you. Go with it! Let this be the time and place where you embrace a welcome without prejudice and worry.
Consider Local Food to be an Opportunity for Personal Development
For some reason, you chose an exotic location as your vacation spot. There is no reason to believe that the restaurants and local digs have insights into your personal dietary routine. Whenever a new dish is served, approach it with child-like abandon. Literally, discover new foods with the same fervor that you used to book your vacation. Food is the ultimate representative icon of a country and culture. Try to understand why each dish is so important to the people who are welcoming you as a guest.
Traveling Changes Perceptions
International travel has the power to transform perceptions. This is especially true for people traveling from large countries to smaller countries. Inevitably, these travelers will be exposed to unfamiliar behaviors. Take note of these behaviors. They represent successful living, but are free from many stresses that are common in modern society. That is the point of exotic travel, is it not? Isn’t it wonderful to vacation in an area where being human is celebrated, and not just tolerated?
Consider Your Comforts to be Foreign
The notion of international travel for relaxation is interesting. If you are traveling to get away from certain stresses, why would you assume that the destination would present these things as a holiday perk? Never assume that a new place will understand your attachment to certain conveniences. This includes technology, living arrangements, and the intricacies of speech. When you travel to other places for a diversion, this is an opportunity to learn. Make every effort to acclimatize yourself to a new pace and mode of living.
When you travel abroad, don’t simply think about it as an opportunity to “get away.” Think about it as an opportunity to rediscover how wonderful life can be. When you are astounded by the simplicity of the accommodations at your destination, remember how easy the place is to enjoy. When a welcoming party insists on being very close from the start, remember that this is how human interaction is supposed to be. Never let a learning opportunity pass by whenever you travel abroad.
