So you are the well-travelled guy in the pack, and your friends either love you or hate you for it. Well, you have to congratulate yourself because you do have an edge in many aspects, and here are some of them.

World View

Since most of us spend the rest of our lives in just one place, we are bound to see the world from the inside looking out. We apply whatever culture-specific perspective we have which might or might not jive with the other culture being observed. If you have ever travelled to another territory outside your own, chances are you’d be having a wider view of the world around you vis-à-vis your own, allowing you to see your own country and culture as part of a bigger picture.

Xenophobia

It is just logical to fear what you are not familiar with, and this includes foreigners. It is by virtue of observing them in their natural habitat that stereotypes are smashed and a new kind of understanding sets in, one that is guided by first-hand knowledge instead of unreliable hearsay, on which most of those who have not had the opportunity to do so would mostly rely.

Languages

Travelling in-country is the best way to immerse yourself in a language you are interested in. By interacting daily with native speakers, you get to practice what you would otherwise just mimic in books and never use in real life scenarios. We are not saying that your monolingual friends are good for nothing losers whose interactions are limited by the single language that they speak. Even so, the truth remains the same that adding one or more languages to your linguistic repertoire would allow you to communicate with more people around the world. After all, not everyone can speak the Queen’s language.

Travel Stereotypes

Your friends’ judgment of a country would be biased on what they hear or see on TV, and such information would always be tainted with sensationalism care of our very trustworthy media. You, on the other hand, could tell fact from fiction because you have experienced that place first-hand. Been there, done that. Think of it as some sort of personal investigative journalism project. Your curiosity got the better of you, and you then visit a place and see the truth with your own eyes. Not everyone would be privileged to do that.

Real Experience

With everything being reported real-time through social media nowadays, do you still have to experience everything yourself? There’s a big difference between being told what is and what truly is. We’re living in a world that’s more and more globalised each day. Reading about faraway lands is a thing of the past. Nowadays, it is all about experiencing them on your own. Besides, with barriers being brought down every day, why limit yourself to just where you live when you can embrace the rest of the world?