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It may come as a surprise to learn that Americans are only half as likely to visit another country as Europeans, with almost 3 in 10 having never been to a foreign country.
Compare this to the average Brit who has visited 10 countries in their life or German who has been to 8.
Why bother going abroad?
Besides the obvious rewards of traveling—taking in gorgeous natural and cultural sites—taking some time to go abroad can have other, less obvious payoffs, making it all the more important for you to consider taking some time off to go somewhere new in the coming year.
Take a look at some of the more pertinent reasons for you to not stay home all 2020.
Traveling is good for your health: if you’re like most adults, you sit at a desk most of the day, which if you haven’t noticed is not the ideal way to live. Going somewhere new on vacation often means wandering around somewhere you haven’t been before, which studies suggest can alleviate anxiety and depression. A 2013 study actually found that women who escape to another country at least twice a year had a much-reduced risk of suffering a heart attack when compared to those who only get away roughly every 6 years. Traveling will also help the woman in dealing with life stressful situations and to help reduce depression.
You need to escape now and then: related to the previous point, the daily grind of dealing with traffic, co-workers, supervisors, young children, and other stressors can gradually wear you down. We don’t recommend running away from your problems, but getting perspective by exploring foreign vistas is a great way to minimize the problems attached to being an adult.
Your brain will thank you: according to Dan Roitman, the better able you are to converse in a second language, the stronger your brain becomes. While visiting a foreign country on its own won’t make you bilingual, it will certainly open you up to new idioms and foreign expressions you may not have the chance to appropriate for yourself back home. On your journey, you may also be confronted with how you choose to express yourself and how you adapt to difficult situations. You may find yourself abroad in a situation that calls for quick thinking—you missed your cab, you caught a cold on the plane, you got yourself a little lost—and have to reason your way out of it. Sharpening your critical thinking skills will only make you smarter for it.
Be more interesting: a slightly more selfish reason to go abroad is that you will no doubt return home with plenty of interesting stories to share with friends. Simply stated, more people likely want to hear from the person who strolled along the Great Wall of China or the famous Bund in Shanghai than the one who stayed home and cleaned their bathroom over the weekend.
Expand your palette: when it comes to making more than the boring food you typically whip up, there’s no better inspiration than trying local dishes in a foreign land. The truth is, you don’t really know what good sushi tastes like until you’ve had it in Japan.
Grow your social network, old-school: you never know just who you will run into on your adventure abroad, either with a local business-person or a fellow traveler. You could end up making new friends, business connections, or even the love of your life; who knows?
Creativity: According to Adam Galinsky a professor at Colombia Business School when you travel overseas you enhance your cognitive flexibility and depth. He also found there is a link between the creativity a person has and the amount of travel he does this may be due to the exposure to different cultures and their history. Sometimes we forget that others have a struggled as well and have so much to offer to our life because we are so stuck on our daily routine.
Coming home: traveling is always a fun adventure, but in truth, it’s easy to develop a new appreciation for everything you left behind—your friends, neighborhood, even your job. You will no doubt return from your trip with a new perspective on some of the things you took for granted before you left.
The well-known author Mark Twain said it best: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”
Or take Helen Keller who opined, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
We couldn’t say it any better or agree more. Take the time while you are able to see something new—get out and see all that the world has to offer!
Take the first step and take a look at what China Tour has to offer. We provide a wide variety of guided tours to China and East Asia; or come up with your own itinerary! Call us for more details—(626) 709-3110.
