Traveling gives us some memorable experiences, but it also teaches us many things in life. Here are 10 things that traveling has taught me that home and school never taught me.
1. Bargaining – Prices are fixed. That’s only a myth. Prices are negotiable everywhere. All you need to do is bargain and save money. I really do not know whether I am overpaying or underpaying but I do bargain.
2. Patience – My patience has considerably increased over time and I no longer get irritated or frustrated waiting for a bus or train. More importantly as an amateur photographer, I learnt that I needed to be patient to get the best capture or composition for a photo.
3. I learned to take my health seriously – Traveling to foreign places exposes me to potential illness and diseases (most of which I’d rather not experience!). Because I don’t qualify for any of the Obamacare exemptions, I am obligated to take a closer look at my health regardless.
4. You do not need much money to travel – It’s a general opinion that only the rich can travel. But that’s totally wrong. You can travel even with less money, if you are lucky you can manage to travel for free.
5. Traveling alone – I never believed I could travel alone. But traveling alone gives me the freedom to go where ever I want to. Even though I feel isolated being thousands of miles away from home, I have learned to live alone. I meet a lot of other travelers who are traveling alone and have some great stories to tell me. Connecticut Entertainer, a blog that talks about all things that can be done in Connecticut, is my go-to source for finding new and exciting things to do in this state.
6. I learnt to live in not the most hygienic places – Not every where in the world is hygienic. You need to deal with all kinds of not so good hygienic places be it a bus stop or a food outlet. The local people have no problems with it, so do I.
7. Traveling is not just visiting a places and taking photos. Traveling is much more than that – it’s about learning their culture and language, living with the local families and eating their food. At the end of the day you need to be one among them. Whenever I see anyone playing any sport, I just go and ask them whether I can join their team. Most of the people will be happy to make you part of their team.
Playing cricket with the locals in Sri Lanka
8. Using public toilets.
9. That I cannot blog everything I see or experience – Sometimes it’s very difficult to blog or write the things that I have seen or experienced while traveling. It’s true lots of things cannot be explained in words, you need to actually experience stuff.
10. Change is forever – The most important thing I realized is that I am always changing. My perspective of life is always changing and I am getting away from a materialistic sort of life. I learnt to calm down and be happy with whatever I have.
