Early Christian theologian and philosopher from Numidia, Saint Augustine of Hippo said, "The world is a book and those who do not travel, read only one page."
Outside school and home, travelling offers fun with real life education. Also, everyone agrees that life's actual education happens outside the classroom. Classrooms with teachers, friends and textbooks are of course one way to learn but they are not the only way. Real world experiences and being away from daily activities can teach us more than any lecture or a book. Some people like to walk through the foreign offbeat city roads and country streets to see and learn new things. Some of them try to know the taste of foreign local foods. Some want to know the culture and history. All of these add up some knowledge which can never be found in the books. Below are some of the areas travelling can help anyone with.
Learning about culture
At present, education is geared towards life and lessons relevant to the culture. Through it, people develop a broad tunnel vision like mindset and grow comfortable. It is very important to expand the knowledge and experience before getting old. Worldwide travel experiences can impact on people's character, ethics, values, and even their sense of identity. Travelling around the countries teach us norms and behaviour of the people of that region.
Easy to remember history
It is generally hard to remember about wars, political leaders, and historical events. But once you know about these stories from the actual place of origin, one's experience changes. If one goes to the National Martyrs' Memorial, touch it and take in the historical significance of the freedom fighter while standing before it, one is very likely to remember and feel for the liberation war. Visiting the Lalbagh Fort, Ahsan Manzil in Bangladesh, Stonehenge in the UK, Pyramids in Egypt, Statue of Liberty in New York, Great Wall of China are the unparallel real-life experiences that can make a mark on a person's character too.
Life lesson such as budgeting
Travelling requires money that one has been saving for the trip, and saving is very tedious at times. It needs strong willpower and discipline. Sometimes when the budget for the trip is limited, the person has to be clever enough to allocate the money rightly to maximise their experience. Making an optimised budget, availing group tours or even purchasing monthly installment based package deals can allow one to travel at ease. Travelling teaches one to find out and choose best alternatives in real-life.
Social skills
Lack of skills in presentation, conversation, and public speaking often lessen the opportunities. Many people find it difficult to master them. But travelling can make the learning procedure much easier. Talking to strangers or asking them for help is not an option, but a necessity during travelling.
Travelling opens up new horizons to people that they come across with societies having differences in language, culture, heritage and sometimes religions.
The writer is a final year student at Bangladesh University of Professionals. He can be reached at arabid418@gmail.com