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Travel Teaches-- 6 Ways we Learn About Ourselves

Travel Teaches– 6 Ways we Learn About Ourselves

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I have always been a student of history and other people. I find travel inspiration in books, films, and my very own vivid imagination. But I’ve learned the most from interactions with real people— walking in their footsteps–experiencing their foods, wines, and music. Travel teaches us that we are more alike than different. And as a result, my journeys have taught me a lot about myself too. I can’t help but conclude that travel has contributed to the person I am today.

Travel Teaches Us


1. Travel is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The more you travel, the more you want to go. And the more you realize your bucket list gets longer, not shorter. Travel teaches us that knowledge about the world increases our awareness of just how small the part of the world we inhabit is. It’s an insatiable quest that can never be fully achieved. But damn, if I’m not going to try.


2. When to take photos and when to just live in the moment.

Sometimes you need to put your camera down and take it all in without the perspective of an artificial lens. The benefits of traveling in “real-time” are more valuable than any photo you’ll take or IG post you create.


3. A guidebook is just a good place to start.

Travel Inspiration

I love a useful travel guide, but it shouldn’t be the end of your research. There isn’t a guidebook in existence that can tell you everything you need or want to know. They are an excellent resource for the beaten path, but sometimes you need to leave the road well-trodden and forge a new one of your own. The most valuable lessons learned from traveling may require you to expand your comfort zone.

 


4. You learn a lot about a place from the food and the people.

Don’t tell me how educated you are. Tell me how much you’ve traveled.

~Prophet Mohammed

 

What herbs and spices do they use? Where is the origin of their art & music? Why are the steps to the cathedrals so narrow? Why do they cover their mouths when they smile? The answers may surprise you and tell you more about the place than an afternoon of visiting fallen temples or the number of degrees you hold.

 

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I often photobomb people, and 100% of the time, I end up taking more pictures with them using everyone’s cameras.

 


5. Free WIFI.

Wanderful Membership Connects Female Travel Bloggers

Puts Knowledge at Our Fingertips

Finding a good, fast Wifi connection can make your day so much better. Need I say more. Travel teaches us you don’t have to leave home to figure this one out. When you are far from home, lost or stuck in airport hell, having access to the Internet can bring home closer a sigh of relief or a prescription from boredom.

 

 

6. Travel is Unpredictable.

Lessons Learned from Traveling

 

Travel teaches us that even the best-laid plans can be disrupted by a missed turn, a missed plane, or a missed opportunity. Some of my favorite journeys were accidents or sheer dumb luck. Do plan, but don’t fall apart if you have to make new ones. Sometimes the devil is in the details, and you need to be flexible to avoid him.

How to Visit Kuang Si Waterfalls in Luang Prabang in Laos

 

7. There’s no place like home.

Benefits of Traveling

 
 

 
 
I love exploring the world, but the feeling I get when I walk through my front door is euphoric. Travel teaches us that growth has to occur where we live too. And sometimes you have to travel far to appreciate what you have at home.
 
6 things travel teaches us

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Stacey A. Peters

Comments (80)

  1. These are true thoughts about traveling. Especially when you have your cameras (or phones) on your hands. You just really need to live in the moment, coz you’ll miss the experience when you’re in it. And like what you said at the end, travel is unpredictable…you’ll never know what’s gonna happen in that moment, in that place, and you’ll never know when you can come back to grab that experience again. Great post! 😀

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  3. Your blog is so inspiring for me. My dream is to travel freely from near and afar one day. To experience life in other places. The scenery, the culture, the EVERYTHING! I love it

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  6. I love the quote “Traveling; it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller”. I have definitely found the more we travel, the more we need to travel. I need about 4 days rest, and then I am ready for another adventure.

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    1. You sound like me. I try to relax when I travel, but its impossible I get so excited and want to see, touch, smell and taste everything new.

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  8. It is very true that learning a lot from the country you visited was a fulfilling journey. But apart from the places you capture with your camera you should enjoy the environment and embrace the feeling of being there. The culture, the people, and the foods.

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    1. Exactly. It is a one in a lifetime experience no matter how many times you visit because you never know what you’ll encounter if you open your eyes and stay in the moment.

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  9. Great list! 4& 5 definitely stood out for me lol. Wi-Fi is always a must when traveling abroad for me so I always keep a hotspot on hand. Love indulging with locals over food and drinks.

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    1. I cannot tell you how many fun experiences we’ve had with locals in restaurants and bars, especially when you leave the tourist track and go where they eat and drink.

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  10. As a student I don’t have much time to travel, considering that I work trough whole summer and juggle classes and work during the school year. But I’m planning to change my no-travel-life once I finish college because no matter the job I feel like I’ll be able to take time for myself here and there. Also not to mention I have no budget to travel now.

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    1. Unsaid was that travel is no good if you are prepared for it financially then it becomes a burden. And nothing is worth adding more burden to your life. Study hard Annie.

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  13. One of the things that I learned about traveling is that no matter how much you plan for it, there are simply things that you cannot control or predict. I’ve learned all of these as well from experience.

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    1. Travel is unpredictable for sure. Its why we love it so much. Its also why we should incorporate it into our home lives too.

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  14. I absolute agreed with you. I learned everything myself. Travel is beautiful and life changing 🙂 Thank you for your post my friend.

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  15. I love this because they are some of the most simple things that people forget about travel. People have become so obsessed with the idea of getting photo that they forget that it could be the opportunity for a perfect memory.

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    1. I cannot agree with you more. But I also think that’s what scares some people off of travel because they are not used to being outside their comfort zone.

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  18. I wish to visit Seoul, South Korea someday. My hubs and I love travelling but now with my health we travel less. Agree that there’s so much to learn when travelling especially the culture and tradition of those places.

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  21. I am not much of a traveller and don’t seem like the adventurous type, but your tips are encouraging me to explore. I really need to create my own path. Thanks for the tips.

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    1. I’ve read your blog and we’ve used a lot of the tips you talk about so we can afford to travel. You can’t take ut with you. Lol

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  22. Travelling has element of surprise. That is the beauty of it,. These unexpected moments are the most memorable ones. They make the whole journey worthful.

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    1. Yes, and most of it can be done at home too. You don’t have to always travel to experience the sensations associated with travel.

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  25. I really enjoyed reading this as traveling is something that I have such a desire to do. I don’t know if I will ever be able to do it but I will remember these things if I ever do!

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    1. Julie, take what you can and see how you can get the same experiences right there in your hometown. I’m sure they have ethnic restaurants, some tourist attractions you’ve never seen or festivals that come and go.

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    1. I feel ya. I generally take a couple and then put it down. Sometimes I get a great shot, sometimes its just ok. But I witnessed a fight during the sunrise at Angkor Wat… a fight, are you kidding? It was over position, it was 5 something the morning, we all traveled to Cambodia to witness the spectacle and they fought over who was in front of who. I took a couple pictures and moved to the gras and took a seat.

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    1. I don’t use it much for social media, but we do love to know where we are or where we are going. We have something in the military called OPSEC where we have to minimize our risk while we travel, so I don’t write about my locations until after I’ve left.

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  28. “The more you travel, the more you want to travel” SOOOOOO true! I love travelling. I still travel with my kids, but not like ai did before i had them. I have big plans to travel when they grow up 🙂

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    1. What happens is you are somewhere cool and you talk to a fellow traveler who tells you about somewhere really cool that you never heard of. Its an endless journey. You can travel to every country, but they’ll always be new ones and you can’t go to every city, town or village so theres always something new out there.

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  29. i have already share my views on this but one thing i would like to mention is scenery. different places have beautiful scenes of environment.

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  30. Yes, we love tech. But for real. Put down your phone/tablet/what have you. Sure a picture will capture the scene, but the experience is something you feel on a deeper, emotive level. You traveled all the way here. Why miss out on the moment?

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  31. This is very well said. There’s really nothing like traveling and I agree, you learn so much from the food and the people around you. I love traveling and I don’t think I’ll stop any time soon.

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    1. Thank Brandi, likewise. I find you can present the good and bad of things in a way that’s constructive. That was… is my goal for this blog. I wish everything turned out perfectly, I was happy all day, every day, etc… theres something to learn in it all.

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    1. It will literally make you smile!! Especially when you are trampling around Asia not knowing where the heck you are.

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    1. I think thats why you can’t take life’s adventures for granted and make sure you build in a little unpredictability into your life at home too.

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  36. Those are really nice pictures, seems like you had a great time on this trip, thank you for sharing your experience with us!

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  37. I hope to spend a little more time traveling in the next few years. I have visited most of the states but have only been to one other country: Canada. When I do go place, I love to find the non-tourist places and sample local foods.

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    1. Thats the best way to go. I love Canada it has some beautiful natural wonders and awesome festivals in the major cities. I almost moved to Toronto when I was younger, I love that place.

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  39. i like traveling to different places. we can see different cultures on the internet but to be there in person is simply amazing. the most i like traveling is because of the food. i love different types of food.

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    1. I agree. The food from other cultures is a huge reason I love to travel as well. I tell everyone to seek out different foods in the city they live to get a similar feeling of traveling.

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    1. I’ve done that before too. I think thats a good thing because you have something only you experienced. There is plenty of time to take pictures.

      Reply

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