Why Travel is the Best Teacher

There are two kinds of smarts in this world: book smart and street smart. Some people read the book, others read the room. But how often does someone excel in both? There is no university class or late night stroll that can teach what a two week international trip extracts from you. Traveling to a new country is a crash course, nurturing both spheres of intelligence and experience in favor of those who can distinguish between the two.  

Consider the gap between reading about a place and physically being there. Take Hiroshima for example. Think of all the textbooks, articles, and documentaries that share a wealth of information about this city. You could study it at home or pore through it in the classroom. Now imagine actually standing there. Observing real people go about their day with quiet efficiency, watching cars drive by that pay no attention to you, noticing the breeze slightly shaking the trees. To stand there is to know it with your body, not just your mind.

But what good is determined from visiting a place without any prior knowledge of how it came to be? Exploring a new country without knowing anything about it severs the present from the past. It’s not about choosing intellect over instinct, it’s about feathering between the two. Traveling requires research. Reading about the history, religion, and geography of a country provides the essential context to appreciate the present instead of fumbling through it. To travel without understanding is sight seeing, but to travel with it, that is to see. 

Without much challenge, traveling strips you from the comfort of your home. Friends and family are far away, time zones and jet lag play with your rhythms. The shops, hotels, and even toilets feel different. These subtle differences in the surroundings will force the brain to focus and try to piece together the world around you. It’s the discomfort that builds your mental fortress. 

Your senses don’t sharpen under uniformity, they sharpen under pressure. A foreign country applies that pressure. Novelty is the anvil in which every unreadable sign and shout of an unrecognizable language strikes a sharper mental edge against your routine. This strangeness makes or breaks you, placing you in a world where you are forced to adapt or fall behind. And with this adaptation comes innovative ideas and pointed decisions. You learn to read people, not signs. You eat the food you can’t pronounce. Yet still you march onwards. You’re in civilization, living amongst others. People thrive here - they’ve learned the rhythms, and so can you.  

Traveling to a new country puts you in a position where every decision has a tangible effect on the outcome of the journey. This rings true in our daily lives, but it’s a concrete observation abroad. For example, how will you get out of the airport? Taxi? Train? Walk? Each option has its pros and cons, one may be quick and expensive while the other long and cheap. When you take a trip to a different country all of these decisions seem like an annoyance to take care of, but play a pivotal role in how the journey unfolds. You are in a position of power to determine the style and rhythm of your trip.

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Any style of traveling can succeed when paired with the right intent. More specifically, your intent. These are moments where your intelligence could flourish, if you’re paying attention to it. Be kind. Be courteous. A long list of countries visited may not be the most appealing thing to put on a resume, but it gives you an advantage over anyone who hasn’t had these experiences. You are equipped with stories and memories that linger in the back of your mind, questioning the world and its rhythms. How can I take what I’ve learned and shape it into who I will become?