1. How to adapt
Traveling
brings you to many unfamiliar places with unfamiliar customs and traditions.
Sometimes, the language is very different from what you’re used to and this
forces you to adapt to situations and places more easily. You learn to run on a
different time zone. You learn to enjoy food you otherwise wouldn’t. You learn
to enjoy every cup of coffee and tea that you come across, no matter how picky
you are about your coffee. You learn that you may actually be capable of
walking more than three miles a day because you have to. You learn subway and bus
schedules and how to barter your way through an unfamiliar city. You learn how
to adapt to live instead of just survive.
2. How to fall asleep anywhere
After
countless time zone and bus or plane changes, you learn how to crash almost
anywhere. Eventually, you master the art of sleeping in uncomfortable chairs and
cars. You learn how to find peace, even in the midst of noise.
3. How not to fall asleep
There are only so many hours in a day, and there is no way you can see everything in your allotted time frame if you get your regular five to 10 hours of sleep a night. You learn how to nap and how to overcome your own exhaustion for the thrill of the adventure. You can sleep whenever you get home, but when are you ever again going to be on top of the Sierra Nevada looking down at one of the most memorable places on Earth?
4. You learn about the people around you
Whether
it’s a new culture, a new language or just a new city, you are immersed in a
world that isn’t yours normally. You're not home anymore, and you learn so much
about cities through its people. You learn why they walk on the left side of
the sidewalk or how they tell it’s going to rain. You learn about the small little snippets of
people’s lives you otherwise wouldn’t be able to experience without living with
them for the period of time you get to.
5. History
On a recent trip I took to New York, our Uber driver gave us a small tour on our way to the hotel. We learned so much more about New Jersey and New York in a way that you couldn’t just use Google to find out. You get to learn history from people that were there and saw it all happen instead of just what you read in the history books. You get to visit historic sites and museums that are full of culture and history that you’ve only read about. Traveling gives you the best view of history.
6. New skills
Learn how to hail a cab in New York or learn how to weave a basket in West Africa. Master languages that you couldn’t pick up in high school from people who are fluent in them. Skills that you might have never learned in the comfort of your home, you get to pick up on your travels.
7. Who you really are
We all think we know ourselves and know what we’re capable of until we’re faced with situations we’ve never encountered. Traveling allows you to spend time with yourself discovering what you’re capable of. It allows you to become the person you couldn’t be in the safety net of your own home. It pushes you to go past your comfort zone and to experience things that you otherwise wouldn’t.
(adventureinyou.com)
