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Travel is an essential part of growth into a mature, well-rounded adult

coinop

When I was a teenager, the idea of "experience" was aggressively pushed onto me. The only way I could grow up and enjoy life, I was taught, was to get a lot of experience. It would make me a mature, responsible adult. I went on to rack up a lifetimes’ worth of experience all around the world, and now that I look back at it all, I see that it was a waste.

In 2007, I backpacked for six months through South America. I started in Ecuador and snaked my way through half of the continent, eventually ending up in Rio de Janeiro to celebrate Carnival. During that trip, I met hundreds of people and saw countless exotic sights. I drank in dank bars and had deep conversations with dozens of Australians about nothing. I went through six years of experience in only six months. Where is that experience now? How does it help me today outside of the specific task of taking a road trip?

Spare me the meaningless platitudes like "travel helps broaden your horizons". It's fun while you're in the moment, like playing a videogame, but where are the life-changing revelations I was supposed to receive?

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[Deleted User]

https://touch.boards.ie/thread/2058112059/1/#post114569956

Ah well

dwayneshintzy

Deleted User wrote: »

https://touch.boards.ie/thread/2058112059/1/#post114569956

Ah well

I don't think it's developed, Western nations that the OP has an issue with.

AngryHippie

coinop wrote: »

When I was a teenager, the idea of "experience" was aggressively pushed onto me.

Spare me the meaningless platitudes like "travel helps broaden your horizons". It's fun while you're in the moment, like playing a videogame, but where are the life-changing revelations I was supposed to receive?

You've missed the one major lesson it gave you.

If someone is aggressively pushed a message on you and you blindly accepted it and went off travelling around South America, you didn't do it because YOU wanted to do it. It was a task or a chore. You didn't question it or want to do it.
Next time someone pushes something aggressively onto you, will you just up and trek around South America on their say-so ? will you fcuk.
You have learned, (from experience) that you like to live in the moment, you don't learn from human interactions and you struggle to find the value in what is straight in front of your face.

For the most part travelling and working abroad does make most people into stronger more independent characters. It also forces them to develop people skills and start new relationships. There are also cultural benefits of seeing how other people live and finding value in aspects of the human experience that you have previously not recognized.

At the very least you will have some excellent memories and have made some new friends and acquaintances along the way.

In short, it is what you make it.

Tell me how

coinop wrote: »

When I was a teenager, the idea of "experience" was aggressively pushed onto me. The only way I could grow up and enjoy life, I was taught, was to get a lot of experience. It would make me a mature, responsible adult. I went on to rack up a lifetimes’ worth of experience all around the world, and now that I look back at it all, I see that it was a waste.

In 2007, I backpacked for six months through South America. I started in Ecuador and snaked my way through half of the continent, eventually ending up in Rio de Janeiro to celebrate Carnival. During that trip, I met hundreds of people and saw countless exotic sights. I drank in dank bars and had deep conversations with dozens of Australians about nothing. I went through six years of experience in only six months. Where is that experience now? How does it help me today outside of the specific task of taking a road trip?

Spare me the meaningless platitudes like "travel helps broaden your horizons". It's fun while you're in the moment, like playing a videogame, but where are the life-changing revelations I was supposed to receive?

coinop wrote: »

This is some hippy, dope-smoking, let's all hold in a circle and sing kumbaya, clichéd nonsense. I, as a Western male, hold vastly different beliefs to a bearded jihadi living in cave in Afghanistan or a Congolese pygmy shoving a bone through his nose in the jungle. We value different things and of course you can't ignore IQ differences between populations.

In your case the life-changing revelations were probably experienced by the people who met you more so than yourself.

[Deleted User]

Tell me how wrote: »

In your case the life-changing revelations were probably experienced by the people who met you more so than yourself.

That’s pretty harsh. Although crudely expressed, the OP does have a point. There is a narrative out there that you are somehow less rounded, more insular if you haven’t travelled.

I’ve done the backpacking thing around SE Asia and South America. The fact is that most of the people you encounter and spend time with are fellow westerners, with whom you party your way around the well beaten track. Certainly, I had a fun time and met loads of people. It’s something I can look back on with affection, now that I’m mortgaged and with a young family. But did I learn anything particularly useful from the experience? No, not especially.

On the other hand, I’ve worked a corporate job in a non-English speaking EU country. It was a baptism of fire. I learned far more from that experience culturally, professionally, and linguistically.

Backpacking is a fine, fun experience but let’s not over-egg the pudding.

[Deleted User]

.anon. wrote: »

People are generally the same wherever you go, and this is equally true of extremists, bigots, racists, etc.

You’re like a broken record.

If you’re ever fortunate enough to travel, live, and work abroad, you’ll quickly realize how few of your extremist bogeymen there are in Ireland.

Another potential revelation for you is that folks in developing countries are frequently far more bigoted, racist etc than those in the developed West. Reactions can range from perceiving you as a walking ATM to outright hostility. A minority of course, but still far more prevalent than Europe and particularly Ireland.

Riddle101

As humans, I think we generally learn the most by experience rather than book learning or years of education. That's not to say that education isn't beneficial to people, but our experiences can serve as life lessons to us and because of that it might give us a better understanding of things and thus we grow and develop and become well-rounded from it.

It's not just traveling. Generally, you can grow from different experiences. You can grow from your mistakes and failures, you can grow from working in a specific job for a number of years, and you can grow from life-changing events. Travel can definitely help broaden your mind though.

fryup

Travel is an essential part of growth into a mature, well-rounded adult??

amongst other things...sex & relationships being very important as well, and also a good education and steady employment

completedit

It's a myth but some characteristics and personality traits will lend themselves to having richer experiences. I'm not saying it's good or bad but I will never end up friends with 'Ozzies' when abroad, whereas my friend will always congregate with other Anglo speakers. His rationale is they're 'great craic like the Irish'. I can sort of get it, there is a familiarity that you get with other Anglo countries when abroad, particularly Australia and New Zealand given they're much more British than Canada or the USA or India! But I'd probably be more likely to need this sort of connection if I was living abroad, not on a 6 month piss up across Asia.

BrianD3

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Travel is great, but is mostly used as a boast to others about the parts of the World visited.

No one cares.

I've seen travel described as social capital, something to be done in your twenties because "everybody" else is doing it and because you must be some sort of weirdo or boring dry sh1te if you don't. Travel in your twenties is similar to drinking and going to niteclubs in your teens. A lot of people hate niteclubs and don't score at them yet go anyway to fit in.

Also, I've found that some of the biggest travel zealots are those who weren't brought on foreign holidays as a child.

Also, know people who have travelled extensively in their twenties yet are ignorant about many aspects of life in their home country. E.g. a bimbo that has been in probably 30 countries who went into the library in Kells looking to view the Book of Kells.

RWCNT

BrianD3 wrote: »

I've seen travel described as social capital, something to be done in your twenties because "everybody" else is doing it and because you must be some sort of weirdo or boring dry sh1te if you don't. Travel in your twenties is similar to drinking and going to niteclubs in your teens. A lot of people hate niteclubs and don't score at them yet go anyway to fit in.

Also, I've found that some of the biggest travel zealots are those who weren't brought on foreign holidays as a child.

Also, know people who have travelled extensively in their twenties yet are ignorant about many aspects of life in their home country. E.g. a bimbo that has been in probably 30 countries who went into the library in Kells looking to view the Book of Kells.

:D:D

Rezident

coinop wrote: »

When I was a teenager, the idea of "experience" was aggressively pushed onto me. The only way I could grow up and enjoy life, I was taught, was to get a lot of experience. It would make me a mature, responsible adult. I went on to rack up a lifetimes’ worth of experience all around the world, and now that I look back at it all, I see that it was a waste.

In 2007, I backpacked for six months through South America. I started in Ecuador and snaked my way through half of the continent, eventually ending up in Rio de Janeiro to celebrate Carnival. During that trip, I met hundreds of people and saw countless exotic sights. I drank in dank bars and had deep conversations with dozens of Australians about nothing. I went through six years of experience in only six months. Where is that experience now? How does it help me today outside of the specific task of taking a road trip?

Spare me the meaningless platitudes like "travel helps broaden your horizons". It's fun while you're in the moment, like playing a videogame, but where are the life-changing revelations I was supposed to receive?

It gives you a different perspective, or many different perspectives, which will help you to view issues from more than just your own narrow, initial viewpoint.

Travel does not guarantee that you will use these different perspectives, or learn from them, that's up to you. What was your aim while you were over there in those 'dank bars'? Was it to understand other cultures or just to have sex with them? What was your outcome?

FHFM50

coinop wrote: »

When I was a teenager, the idea of "experience" was aggressively pushed onto me. The only way I could grow up and enjoy life, I was taught, was to get a lot of experience. It would make me a mature, responsible adult. I went on to rack up a lifetimes’ worth of experience all around the world, and now that I look back at it all, I see that it was a waste.

In 2007, I backpacked for six months through South America. I started in Ecuador and snaked my way through half of the continent, eventually ending up in Rio de Janeiro to celebrate Carnival. During that trip, I met hundreds of people and saw countless exotic sights. I drank in dank bars and had deep conversations with dozens of Australians about nothing. I went through six years of experience in only six months. Where is that experience now? How does it help me today outside of the specific task of taking a road trip?

Spare me the meaningless platitudes like "travel helps broaden your horizons". It's fun while you're in the moment, like playing a videogame, but where are the life-changing revelations I was supposed to receive?

Are you the lad that was on the Tommy Tiernan show the other night?

[Deleted User]

.anon. wrote: »

Your beliefs may differ from the guy in the cave, but your levels of tolerance towards people who differ from you are probably not a million miles away from his. People are generally the same wherever you go, and this is equally true of extremists, bigots, racists, etc.

What does that mean though? People are the same and extremists are the same everywhere? Or that an extremist and the average Joe are the same kind of person?

The op is getting a pretty hard time here, and he is merely stating what is probably a truism. In most cases travel isn't going to broaden the mind, in some cases it may narrow the mind. In most cases it won't change the mind.

Osama Bin Laden was fairly well travelled, after all.

fonecrusher1

Depends on your definition of travel.

A herd of lads who've known and lived around each other all their lives going to Australia, Canada or USA for a year to work and get pissed in bars wearing their county jerseys? That's not travelling. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that but that's getting drunk with the same mates in another country for a year. That's an extended piss up abroad.

.anon.

Deleted User wrote: »

What does that mean though? People are the same and extremists are the same everywhere?

That you get bigots and extremists everywhere, and that they share more in common with each other than with the rest of the population.

RWCNT

[Deleted User] wrote: »

The op is getting a pretty hard time here, and he is merely stating what is probably a truism. In most cases travel isn't going to broaden the mind, in some cases it may narrow the mind. In most cases it won't change the mind

I think it's more that OP's second post in the thread seems to allude to some questionable ideas around the relationship between race & IQ to be honest.

.anon.

RWCNT wrote: »

I think it's more that OP's second post in the thread seems to allude to some questionable ideas around the relationship between race & IQ to be honest.

Why, if only there was a word we could use to describe people who hold such views...

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

coinop wrote: »

This is some hippy, dope-smoking, let's all hold in a circle and sing kumbaya, clichnonsense. I, as a Western male, hold vastly different beliefs to a bearded jihadi living in cave in Afghanistan or a Congolese pygmy shoving a bone through his nose in the jungle. We value different things and of course you can't ignore IQ differences between populations.

So there are only two types of people in your world then: the Irish and those living in caves and jungles?

And you wonder what people have learnt from teavelling? Riiiight....

jackboy

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

So there are only two types of people in your world then: the Irish and those living in caves and jungles?

And you wonder what people have learnt from teavelling? Riiiight....

I wonder is there one person in Ireland who has explored caves in Afghanistan and trekked the Congo jungle.

Hamsterchops

coinop wrote: »

Travel is an essential part of growth into a mature, well-rounded adult.

100% correct in that travel certainly broadens the mind.

doublejobbing 2

Hamachi wrote: »

This 100%. Working abroad gives you a real insight into the local culture, along with forcing you to become proficient in the language.

Traveling around South East Asia or the gringo trail in South America, not so much. Some of the most tedious and sanctimonious people I’ve ever met are folks I encountered when backpacking in my 20s.

This. The amount of bores I met in Vietnam harping on about

a- travelling up to near the Chinese border to do a home stay with a native family

b- to avoid Nha Trang. Tacky and "full of Russians" (or "tourists"...like what are you)

I wouldn't want to stay in a family home in a million years. If anything it nearly seems a bit patronising, parting with 20 quid to live a week as a Vietnamese peasant. Much in the same way I would never dream of using an AIRBNB- I go away I want a hotel, not living in somebody's flat. You're on holidays. Act like it instead of trying to make spiritual connections.

And Nha Trang was easily the best place in Vietnam. It's a bit tacky, but it's a decent nightlife and the mix of Communist propaganda posters mixed with skyscraper lined beaches makes it look a bit like Miami if the Cubans had invaded.

Jim2007

coinop wrote: »

I mentioned low IQ populations. You mentioned low IQ countries. A region of the world can have several different populations living within it.
What are the low IQ countries?

Give it a rest. The idea that you even think of classifying large groups of people is unacceptable and goes to your entire value system.

Jim2007

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

Well it probably is life changing for a lot of people regardless of what they did, as it was totally different to how their life had been before.

Well if it's the first time they've been away from home, it will be life changing no matter where they go....

Even going from Dublin to Glendalough can be live changing for some.... I remember taking a group of young people hosteling for a weekend and on first evening one chap learned that mammy had been in the habit of putting sugar in his tea as well as milk :rolleyes:

simongurnick

Travel can be a great educator. The realization that your way, isn't the only way, is a big eye opener and beneficial to many parts of life.