Traveling is often seen as a fun activity that is linked closely to entertainment and communication between people of different cultures. Perhaps, even when being a part of one’s workplace responsibilities and tasks, traveling involves active communication with members of other cultures. However, in addition to the specified characteristics, traveling should also be regarded as an essential investment. I strongly believe that traveling is an investment since it leads to gaining crucial knowledge and skills for communication with other cultures’ members.
Despite often being told that traveling is leisure, I am convinced that it is a worthwhile investment. Specifically, my traveling experiences have shown that the specified activity expands one’s communication skills vastly. In addition to gaining basic skills of conversing in the language of the target culture, one also learns essential communication skills that are used globally and, therefore, understood everywhere. For instance, traveling offers experience in nonverbal communication and teaches one to read other people’s facial expressions. While most people are likely to gain some basic knowledge of the language of the target culture when traveling to a new place, knowledge gaps will finally emerge (Chwialkowska, 2020). As a result, one will have to rely on the ability to read facial expressions, which increases one’s ability to engage in the nonverbal dialogue.
In addition, traveling is very useful for building confidence and character needed to face challenges and adjust to rapid changes in the environment. Over the years I have been struggling to develop the ability to make decisions quickly and analyze my environment promptly. However, several instances of traveling have helped me build confidence needed to face challenging situations (Chwialkowska, 2020). For instance, during traveling, one can develop resilience needed to address conflicts and misunderstandings (Schenker, 2019). Most of the outlined situations were related to language issues and the associated misunderstandings. However, with each experience of visiting a new place< I gained additional skill or piece of information that contributed to my development o confidence and the relevant abilities.
Traveling is especially important in acquiring decision-making skills. For instance, when facing issues such as flight delays and cancellations, as well as sudden weather changes and other factors altering my plans, I have had to make decisions instantly and introduce immediate alterations to my traveling plans. The specified situations have taught me to make decisions quickly and under a substantial amount of stress. In turn, decision-making skills are critical in all facets of interpersonal interactions, including those in the educational setting, in the workplace, and in the casual context (Chwialkowska, 2020). Overall, such decision-making abilities are a critical asset, which is why traveling can be considered a vital investment in the development of skills associated with decision-making and planning.
Finally, one must recognize traveling as a crucial investment due to cultural and aesthetic experiences that it provides. For instance, tasting local food, enjoying the ambience of the journey, and forming unique memories represent important reasons for investment into the process (“Taste in travel: Understanding cultures through food,” n.d.). The skills mentioned above, as well as other abilities developed during traveling, are vital in building connections with people in a variety of settings. For instance, one can use the acquired skills in the workplace and educational setting, and in everyday situations (Schenker, 2019). Therefore, the outlined opportunities that traveling provides prove that it is, in fact, an extremely valuable investment. Thus, traveling should be encouraged as a means of expanding one’s skill range.
Since traveling required developing numerous skills for active communication between cultures, which will be helpful in the future, I am certain that it is, in fact, a major investment. Traveling might be quite expensive, especially in the present-day setting. However, it still pays off since it provides an opportunity to learn about other cultures. Thus, one can acquire communication skills that are needed in every domain, including education and workplace. Thus, traveling is a critical investment in one’s future success.
References
Chwialkowska, A. (2020). Maximizing cross-cultural learning from exchange study abroad programs: Transformative learning theory. Journal of Studies in International Education, 24(5), 535-554. Web.
Schenker, T. (2019). Fostering Global Competence through Short-Term Study Abroad. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 31(2), 139-157. Web.
Taste in travel: Understanding cultures through food. (n.d.). Leahtravels.com. Web.