Formal education has its own irreplaceable role in an individual’s life. It doesn’t matter what career path you choose, studies carried out in a formal, organized setting remain critical. However, in addition to traditional schooling, it’s up to you to take up on any opportunity you get to continue your learning process and develop your skills and abilities further.
Travel has repeatedly been pointed out by experts to function as one of the most resourceful forms of education. You might be wondering what exactly exploring the world can do for you in terms of knowledge development and growth. Here are some of the main reasons why traveling is in fact a great form of education:
Developing your decision-making and organizational skills
You already know that planning a trip can often be a bit complex. There are multiple details you need to take care of, especially if you are traveling to a different continent. With each holiday planned out, your organization and decision-making skills will be slightly improved. Let’s say you are traveling to Dubai, for example. You’ll need to book flights, apply for a Dubai tourist visa, find accommodation, book an airport transfer and the list of tasks can continue. Each one of these trip-related responsibilities will help you improve your abilities in staying organized and making suitable decisions.
A rich dose of history
From Italy to France of Germany, each country you visit will provide you with a heavy dose of history. You will get to know various interesting insights on each location’s history, details that you may not actually find in history textbooks. It’s a completely different experience to learn about a country when you’re actually there rather than reading about it. Each museum or historical monument you’ll see will enrich your knowledge.
Enhancing social skills
Talking to people you don’t know is often necessary when you are in a foreign country. Whether you need to ask for directions, you want some pointers from locals in regards to places worth seeing, or you simply want to interact with someone when you’re traveling solo, you will benefit from quite a few social interactions. There’s no better or more effective way of enhancing your social skills than traveling, and the improvements obtained in this department can be useful in all other areas of your life.
Exploring cultural differences
Getting to know how people from different parts of the world live is another common thing here. The more you travel, the more open-minded you will become. You will get to learn and actually experiment yourself with different cultures, some perhaps, quite different from yours.
There are a few strong reasons why traveling can be considered one of the best forms of self-learning contributing to your lifelong educational journey. Regardless of what destination you choose to explore, or how long or short your visits actually are, one thing remains certain, you’ll broaden your horizons. Personal development and growth will be fostered every time you encounter new cultures, experience with unfamiliar surroundings and talk to foreign people. As an avid traveler, your learning opportunities are virtually endless.