Travel is an enriching experience. A life of travel gives us opportunities to discover and appreciate this enchanting Universe and its bounties of nature. Above all travel widens our perspective, giving us a greater understanding of people, their way of living, dressing, food, and customs, thus bringing us together. Indicating that even though we might be different in color, language, race, or economic background, as humans we are essentially the same. It is through travel do we realize that the world is closer than we think.
In this blog `What travel teaches Us’, I am sharing my experiences and learnings gathered through my journey to different countries :
Interaction with People/ Other Travelers
Curiosity about the country we belong to, and a fascination to know about the culture is generally what prompts people whom we meet outside our country to strike up a conversation. Though having an amiable disposition and eagerness to chat too is a factor. Be it at train stations, airports, or other public places, I’ve had several opportunities to interact with locals while traveling abroad. Most of those I’ve come across were quite open, friendly, and helpful. Impressed with India, the country being top on their wish list.
A lady whom I met in Amsterdam, was a frequent visitor to the Sai Baba Ashram in Bangalore and an ardent devotee. She was so full of faith, love, and appreciation and immediately bonded. Or the person on a flight in Australia, who knew about our festivals and traditions. He had a desire to visit Mumbai during the famous Ganpati festival. The joy and pride that you feel for your country through such experiences is incomparable. On our own part, visiting a church abroad reaffirms how we embrace each other’s faiths, are awestruck by the architecture of cities, castles, and churches, while they find solace in our ancient traditions of yoga, meditation and wellness, points of commonality that unifies the world.
Then there was an octogenarian couple in Paris, who were so happy and welcoming, on coming to know that we were from India! A conversation peppered with episodes of their trip to Rajasthan and Kerala was absolutely enamoring, filling our hearts with warmth and love. Such experiences prove that strangers are friendlier than we anticipate. On the positive side, conversing with them can lead the way to lifelong acquaintances!
What is truly inspiring is the kindness of strangers and empathy — offering to help fellow passengers struggling with luggage or to click a picture to have the entire family in one frame or just a friendly smile. You don’t even need to ask, such empathetic behavior flows naturally.
Language may be a constraint occasionally. Especially in some European and South East Asian countries, everyone doesn’t know English. But this doesn’t prevent people from helping each other, it is the attitude that eventually matters. I recall A particular incident while waiting in the wrong queue to enter a museum in Venice. An Italian lady who didn’t know English tried to communicate with us and when that didn’t work, she made sure to search for someone who knew both languages to inform us! It was heart-touching.
Of course, this friendliness may not be true every time, as there are two sides of a coin. People differ in their attitudes and behavior. You cannot avoid meeting people who are condescending and unwelcoming as well. It’s better to ignore them especially if you are in an unfamiliar place.
Traveling in big groups and chatting noisily in their own language is quite common. People sometimes forget manners, having no consideration for others around them. It is sometimes annoying, but that is all part of our travel experiences and we must keep that in mind.
Some of the key attributes that we learn from a world of travel are patience, independence, trust, and confidence:
- Patience — whether it is waiting for your flight, train, or for a meal at a restaurant. When queuing up for getting into a park, one learns to be patient.
- Confidence and trust — going to a new city implies that you could need information about routes or checking out a restaurant or anything else. You cannot move ahead without confidence and trust to approach unknown people to ask. You have to get over apprehensions.
- Independence — most Western countries have automated ticket machines at railway stations or airports and there’s no concept of porters. So, from knowing how to buy tickets from automated machines to carrying your luggage, you learn to manage by yourself.
While there could be striking contrasts between Eastern and Western customs, you’ll discover close similarities also. To mention a few — at the Trevi fountain in Rome, there’s the belief that if you toss coins into the water your wishes are fulfilled. This is also true for some other countries including India where hopefuls toss coins in the river or pond. In Thailand, there’s a water festival where people throw water on each other and play. That’s similar to the Holi festival of India where we play with colors and water. Doesn’t this reflect the interconnectedness of different cultures of the world?
Not only do we gain knowledge about the world; travel opens new horizons and makes us better equipped to face our everyday lives!
