••• The International Writers Magazine:Travel & Jobs

9 Reasons Why Traveling Has To Become Part of Education • Kelly J. Harris

What is the best way to learn? Today there are so many techniques and approaches that colleges and universities use in order to deliver well-qualified and demanded professionals to the market. More and more people are into quick-reading techniques, students go broke trying to get their hand on the best leadership trainings and almost any company can get free labor force today with everybody doing as many internships as they can possibly squeeze in.

Yet there’s another way to learn new things that often gets underestimated by educators, and that is travelling. Maybe today almost any business school will require you to spend some time abroad, but how often do you hear high school or undergrad students going abroad as a part of their academic schedule? Not that often, so here is why I personally think that any kind of learning is better when you are in another place.

You are open to new things when you travel
While I don’t want to burden you with a lot of data, there is something that happens to your brain when you go to an unknown place, that makes you much more perceptive and tolerant to change. All of the sudden you are willing to try the food you’ve never tasted and you are no longer annoyed by long walks.

When you travel, you will discover another way to make a bed and take daily showers and it will teach you that there’s no one single solution to the same problem. This mindset of being open to new things and suggestions is very valuable for getting precious experiences and gaining knowledge.

You will meet new people
When travelling you will be exposed to new friendships and acquaintances and there’s nothing more exciting in life than getting to know more and more beautiful human beings to learn from their own experiences.

It is amazing how our country was built on immigration, yet we so rarely get to talk to multinational representatives in person, especially if you don’t live in a big city. There’s a saying that the progress we make is due to the books we read and people we meet. Well, there’s not a better way to meet new people than to be a foreigner in a new environment.

You will compare your progress with other people
You might be in the top or in a steady middle of your class at the moment, but what if your class changed overnight? You would have to show your best to gain their trust and recognition all over again. Now imagine that this is not just a new set of people whom you are trying to impress, they are completely different personalities than what you’ve ever dealt with before.

They have a different set of values, completely weird opinions and a whole new approach to doing things. You will have to learn to adapt to their group and show your best sides in the light that they will understand and appreciate. This will allow you to take your already acquired knowledge and skills to a whole new level of mastery.

You discover your personality
When you travel, you naturally tend to do things you like and avoid the things you don’t like. This allows you to unearth your passion and gain a better understanding of what it is that gets you excited.

Also, people are curious beings, so expect to be asked a lot of questions regarding what you do in life. And as you explain what your college degree is all about, you will be amazed at a new perspective this will open for you.

You will know what globalization means for real, not on paper
Everybody knows that different countries influence each other and it is becoming more and more so in the recent years. While travelling you will realize that the issues you are studying aren’t just relevant to you – they are relevant to the whole world!

And by seeing how other cultures handle these issues you will gain a more complex understanding of the world and your academic subject in particular.

You learn another language
It is so much fun to order food at the restaurant not having a slightest clue what half of the ingredients in it are! But then later coming back home you will surprise your friends ordering Italian pasta with a clear Italian pronunciation of the dish itself.

Apart from fun, being able to communicate with other people in their language opens so many doors for your business and personal opportunities. It doesn’t only boost your career prospects and salary, it gives you freedom to work on other markets and read authentic materials without the translation flaws.

You discover another approach to work
We are inevitably wired to think in one special way: the majority of people in your class use the thinking paradigms that are laid into their brain by our culture and traditional schooling system. And you will enjoy discovering how other cultures think and do things differently.

Starting from the way to conduct meetings to defining stress and answering calls: you can learn a lot by just observing other people in unknown to you places. That’s one of the main reasons people go on educational cruises – to become aware of their views and discover new ones that can be useful to them.

You grow your network and get more connections
It is hard to start over in a place where you don’t know anybody, but it also gives you a whole new circle of connections and friends that can be useful in the future. You will never know what kind of people your future work or business venture will require, so get to know as many as you can!

You retrospect and get to think about your culture more
Having said all of the above, every time you are exposed to new culture, places and people, you will go back and analyze the way things work in your country or home university. You will think about why you behave the way you do and what makes you think the thoughts that are in your mind.

Growth, be it personal or professional, begins with realizing what is your strong point and what holds you back. So this kind of retrospection will be your first step on the way to great achievements and exciting possibilities.

Traveling is a great hobby and an exciting pastime. But would it be just as fun if you had to do it for school? Definitely! Even the most boring subject is perceived interesting if you have to cram for it on the beach in Australia! And who knows – maybe France has a better clue how to understand that relevance theory than your culture does. Whatever it is – getting yourself out of your comfort zone can do miracles to your personality and academic performance. And what was your best educational experience so far?

Kelly J. Harris is a leading writer at the dissertation writing service. She is also an avid reader and a devoted traveller that has been to over 50 countries and is probably writing this article from one of your dream destination.

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