5 reasons to travel abroad while you are young

Traveling can be one of the greatest experiences of your life, teaching you independence and knowledge of other cultures. When you are young you are still finding yourself and preparing for your school and career. The skills and experience you gain from traveling abroad can give you life-long personal benefits as well as a leg up in the professional world.

So if you need a little help convincing yourself or others why traveling is a worthy pursuit, here are five reasons why it’s important.

1. You’ll Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

As young people, most of us have a pretty established comfort zone. At home with mom and dad, in a community that has known you for probably a good part of your life. You have your established, friends, activities, hangouts, and possibly jobs. We become comfortable in these daily roles and the idea of breaking out them can be scary and uncomfortable.

The problem is, you learn the most in uncomfortable, unfamiliar situations. In our daily routines, you know how to act and respond to people and your surroundings. Being in a new place, with different people, who hold different values and go about life differently (or not so differently you may find) strips all that familiarity away.

It can be scary, but once you figure out that you can connect with people despite differences, and you can navigate foreign environments, you become a smarter, more competent individual. Embrace the discomfort. Search for it, because it is helping you grow.

2. Traveling Builds Confidence

As you conquer the obstacles of figuring out how to use public transit in a foreign country or asking for simple things in a grocery store, you are building confidence and the ability to adapt in foreign situations. I remember moving to a country where I spoke little to none of the languages.

When I returned home, I moved across the country to a state where I had no family, friends, or connections. The prospect of that move may have intimidated me before living abroad, but then I thought to myself, ‘Well if I can do it abroad in a completely foreign system, I will be just fine in a place where I at least share the language.’

You realize that you CAN do things, despite the obstacles and suddenly the obstacles seem less obstructive and more like welcomed challenges.

3. You Will Develop Cultural Sensitivity

Being culturally sensitive is key in our globalizing world. It is not enough to say “people from X country are like this.” It is important to look for underlying values that may explain a certain behavior in order to practice cultural sensitivity. 

Many people view this cultural norm as the people just being lazy when it really has a lot more to do with the fact that historically Spaniards value family face time. Eating together as a family is more important to them than maximizing work time by scarfing a sandwich down at their desks.

Being aware of cultural values and norms is not only fascinating, but can help us understand international issues and conflicts, or even relate to the cultural norms of a foreign business partner. It is an important skill to be able to shift perspectives and see where someone else is coming from.

Cultural sensitivity will help you with your communication on both business and personal levels.

4. You Can Adapt to Globalization

Whether you like it or not, with the internet and social media, we are globalizing quickly. It is not unlikely that you would end up with a job that has you travel for business or take part in conference calls with international business partners. In our globalizing world it is important to be culturally sensitive and it can’t hurt to know a foreign language.

In the business world, having lived abroad can give you a competitive edge. Use the confidence and cultural sensitivity that traveling helps you develop and help it make you successful.

5. You might learn a new language (or three)

Whether it’s just a few words or you decide to go fluent, travel is the best excuse to learn a new language. Once you’re immersed in a new destination, you’ll be surprised at just how fast your language skills develop with everyday interactions. Even if you can only manage “Hello, how are you?”, chances are the locals will warm to you and your efforts to learn a little of their tongue.

To plan a trip log on to our website www.unseenindiatour.com