Travelling teaches us

Novelties and changes at various fields became a part of everyday life, which demands from us to continually adjust and strengthen our knowledge. Due to accessible information we have consequently more interests, while versatility and resourcefulness are becoming important skills in both our career and personal lives. Travelling covers several different guidelines of individual's development and is therefore one of the key processes of informal education.

Probably the most obvious knowledge we gain through travelling is practical use of foreign language. We all know that communicating in a foreign language is nowadays almost a necessity for any job seeker and due to globalization most workplaces require knowledge of at least one foreign language. Besides it expands our chances to make new friendships, which is a source of various potentially interesting abilities as well - a fiend from a different culture can teach us a new skill or simply helps us to understand a specific topic. Consequently we are also strengthening our communication skills - with effective listening and constructive discussions we liberate ourselves of prejudices and stereotypes, and let compassion, empathy and understanding to settle within ourselves instead.

I have been learning these skills through travelling ever since I remember. However I started to truly understand and be aware of them at my age of 17, when me and my sister got a chance to participate in a two week summer school of English in Great Britain. As a shy and introvert girl I always relied on my communicative and lively sister. Despite the fact that I was constantly sticking around her, I was soon forced to overcome my fear of communicating in English. I remember quietly listening to a discussion of other students, when suddenly conversation stopped and somebody asked me a question. I was afraid and I probably blushed too, however I had no other choice than to simply answer the question. In upcoming days of the course I was not only communicating in English but I also made friendships that lasted for many years. On one of the evenings, when friends of all the participating countries gathered in the common area, a younger boy came to me and offered sweets. Since I am not a big candy lover and I was raised that it is polite to be modest, I rejected the offer. Suddenly the young boy got angry, threw the candy at me and ran away. I was shocked and hurt. Then his older friend, who noticed all this, sat down beside me and kindly asked me not to resent the boy because he is not aware of our habits. He explained to me that in their culture you give a gift to someone close and it is not nice, but is even offensive if you refuse the gift. Although I did not agree with the boy's reaction, I understood him. I gathered the courage to kindly explain my point of view and we started a discussion. Despite the misunderstanding, we all kept our friendships and learned something new.

Later on, through diverse socializing, independent trips and life abroad, I have experienced many more interesting situations. This allowed me to soften the introvert side of me, become more open, improve knowledge in many areas, gain understanding of different cultures, strengthen confidence in my abilities, get rich career experiences and to make many beautiful friendships. Because, even though at home we are surrounded with wonderful people, we truly get to know ourselves when we move away from our comfort zone and we find ourselves in this great world all alone. I learned that desire for knowledge, compassionate heart, worldliness and healthy criticism are of utmost importance - it helps us to solve unnecessary conflicts, it opens doors for new opportunities, and it enriches our lives with many priceless educational moments.