Why Travel Broadens the Mind

Do you find that learning another language reveals something more about your own? Do you suddenly become aware of some implicit aspect of your own language, thanks to the explicit exposure of a similar aspect in another language that you are trying to master? It wasn’t until I attempted to learn French (and a few other languages), that I became aware of many aspects of the English language that I had until then, just accepted without any conscious thought or consideration. And in so doing, does this not make our linguistic abilities that much better, even in our own language? How many of you heard something similar at school when confronted with learning Latin?

And so too it is with a foreign culture: it is not until we really experience the way that other countries and peoples live that we are forced to face the assumptions that we have carried around with us all our lives, (usually without even being aware of them). This probably won’t happen when we take a two week holiday somewhere, when we can isolate ourselves in smart hotels and tourist hotspots. But it will happen if we ever have to live or work somewhere where we are confronted with local ideas and customs. Without such psychological confrontation, we simply won’t be able to operate in that local environment. And it will happen all the time, often in almost imperceptible ways. We may assume that someone will behave in a particular manner, based on a thought process with which we are familiar and comfortable, only to discover that they don’t! Usually, this can just be inconvenient, embarrassing or funny, but sometimes not as anyone who has driven in another country will tell you! But do not such experiences make one a better, more defensive driver? I believe so.

I remember after one of my trips to Libya, sitting in a pub in London, with a good friend of mine, who had yet to experience life in a culture so unfamiliar to us. He asked me what one piece of advice I would give to anyone travelling to such places. After some thought, I replied: “Assume nothing!” I still think, 20 years later, that this applies. For it is our inherent assumptions that get us into trouble with others!

But this overt questioning of own assumptions and values is most worthwhile to us. Is it not important that we always do this? Although we are only able to manage life’s infinite complexities through making assumptions, this also restricts our thinking and hence our options. It risks limiting our views of life, making us less tolerant and accepting of something that doesn’t fit our own perceptions and views.

And so, just as it is when we learn another language, or drive in another country, so too it is with our exposure to other cultures. Such experiences force us to question our own values and cultures. And through an appreciation of how others think, behave and live, we are able to look at ourselves in a more balanced, fuller light, perhaps helping us to formulate new approaches to help us solve our own problems and issues. Either way, such immersion should help us to become more tolerant and accepting of the many differences that enrich our world. Vive la difference!