Imagine walking through the stone pillars in Greece and understanding the cultural significance that each grove in the stone meant to the ancient Greeks. Or, standing in the Louvre in France and understanding what it took for the French to get each of those pieces and why they need them. Understanding culture adds value to your journey. You can understand a whole new layer beneath everything that you see while you’re traveling in other countries. Traveling isn’t only about stunning scenery, adventurous experiences, or relaxation. It’s also about being able to learn about culture that is enriching for the mind and soul. Culture can enhance your experience and offer a new way of thinking and seeing. For the next time your travel, pay attention to these four things that you will learn about the culture you’re visiting.
1. Culture Will Broaden your Perspective of the World
One thing that you will learn is that the world is a big place. There are no two cultures that are the same, and they are just as vast as the people themselves. People have different values and customs as well as religions and holidays. If you visit Norway, you’ll notice that people eat everything with a utensil--even sandwiches. Or, visit Spain and you might find yourself in the middle of the Spanish El Colacho, which dates all the way back to 1620 where Men dressed as devils group together to run and jump over babies lying on a mattress in the middle of the road. You could take one of the best cruises to Greece and see people throwing teeth on their roofs rather than under their pillows. No matter where you end up traveling to, you’ll be surprised at the different customs and traditions that the people have. The amazing thing about this is that it broadens your perspective on the world. The more you travel, the more you realize that people are vastly different from one another, yet we’re all the same. People can be kind in every part of the world, and we share bonds of humanity no matter where you end up going to. It makes you gain a deeper appreciation for people.
2. You Will Fall in Love With a New Language
When talking about culture, there’s one thing that you can’t ignore--language. Language is a beautiful thing, and there’s always something new to learn and something new to fall in love with. Even within different regions of the same country, there will be different dialects to learn and to study. When you’re traveling, prepare yourself to fall in love with all of this. From the romantic languages to the crude ones, it’s all beautiful and unique. As you study a specific culture, you’ll also find yourself picking up the language. It just happens are you spend more and more time in a culture, immersed in their traditions and customs. It helps you to learn quickly and efficiently as well. And, as you learn a new language, doors will open up to you and you will have many more opportunities in your life.
3. You Will Learn New Skills
Since every culture is different, they have different ways of doing things. If you immerse yourself in a culture while traveling abroad, you will learn skills that you never knew before. You learn to become more social, flexible, open-minded, and independent. Exposure to multiple cultures and extreme diversity will lead to having better overall judgment. You’ll meet people from different religions, color, race, educational background and many other things. You will also learn fun skills such as cooking, pottery skills, and many other different things that you might not have imagined yourself doing. It will greatly enhance your development as a person.
4. You Can Have Friends Around the World
When you’re traveling, you might think that your friends are the people back home. Learning new cultures, however, will change that drastically. You’ll find that you can start making friends in every country all around the world. If you’re conscious enough to pick up someone’s language and culture, they will bring you in and treat you as family for the rest of your life. You should never be nervous about making friends overseas because, most of the time, people just want others who they can talk to and relate to. And you can be that person for as many people as you talk to. Learn to be personable and you will never regret it.
Conclusion
When you travel around the world, you need to keep an open mind. You need to remember that no one is right and that no one is wrong. We are all the same, yet different in a beautiful way. If you can open your eyes to a whole new world of possibilities, then you will find yourself growing in ways that you have never imagined.
