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What Traveling Abroad Teaches You...About You

Writer: Tim Bolton
Tim Bolton
18 hours ago
5 min read

Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge at dusk, with a cloudy sky and calm water. City lights glow along the shoreline.
The world-famous Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge

I had the good fortune of living overseas for a couple stints during my undergrad and graduate studies.


Each opportunity came with its own set of challenges and rewards, but there were certain traits I started noticing during my time abroad.


My hope with this article is that it will spur you onto your own international travel excursions in the future.

 

At the end of the article, I’ll list out several programs I’ve found that could help you get started.


Point #1: You get a feel for what works and what doesn’t – regardless of where you are

 

International travel has the unique ability to make you rethink your own systems and processes.

 

It forces you to consider who you were back at home and who you could be during your time abroad.

 

Man in a red cap and gray T-shirt smiles standing in front of a mountainous landscape under a partly cloudy sky, exuding a relaxed mood.
Cutting class in the Blue Mountains

I had the opportunity to study abroad in Australia for eight months during my college years. At the time, I’ll admit I had no idea just how privileged I was in getting to embark on that kind of long-term international trip.

 

And let’s be honest, it’s pretty incredible that we live in an age where you can hop on a plane and be on the opposite side of the globe in less than a day.

 

But, for all of those larger considerations, let’s face it: Australia and the United States aren’t all that different. You don’t even need to learn a new language to travel there.

 

What was different were all the subtle queues I was missing about myself. Queues about how I approached my own biases given my background and pre-conceived notions.

 

I can’t think of many times when I skipped class back at my home university in the States. I was a good little boy who dedicated himself to his studies – to what end I couldn’t tell you.

 

But you better believe I skipped class in Australia. I did it once to go surfing at Bondi Beach. And a couple more times to go exploring in the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney.

 

I don’t have the faintest idea what classes I skipped on those days. I don’t recall what was being taught or what purpose they were meant to serve in my young adult life at the time.

 

I definitely do remember my day of surfing at Bondi and my trips out to the mountains, though. Because those are the rare kinds of opportunities that stick with you for the rest of your life.

 

Crescent moon in a twilight sky, dark clouds over a calm ocean, silhouette of distant land, and a warm yellow-orange horizon. Peaceful mood.
Looking out from Sydney Harbour
When you have certain rhythms that you know work for you, iterating off of them becomes far easier than having a helter-skelter life and trying to manifest some new habit or routine out of them.

 

I knew I ought to work hard in school. I also knew I only had a short window of time in a country I might not ever make it back to later in life.

 

So give yourself permission to at least start considering where you might travel internationally. Even if it’s for no other reason but to break up the monotony in your own life.

 

Point #2: You learn how to quickly sort out your priorities

 

We’ve all gone on a vacation only to return home feeling like we need a vacation.

 

That’s because we waffle about without clearly defining our objectives during our trip in the first place.

 

To some people, sitting on a beach for a week and doing nothing at all sounds like their idea of a dream vacation.


Deserted beach with footprints in the sand, a book in the foreground, and a boat on calm water under a cloudy sky. Peaceful scene.
Reading on the beach. College was hard.

 

Why?

 

Because it’s in such stark contrast to our hectic, fast-paced lives back home.

 

If that’s the kind of trip you want, then go for it.

 

Just know that no matter where you live in the States, you can get to a beach pretty easily (and on a fairly tight budget) if you know where to look.

 

The kind of travel we’re talking about here is the kind that grows you in some way.

Growth is challenging. Sometimes it’s downright scary.

 

So what does it actually look like on a practical level?

 

Well, maybe you’re of German ancestry and you want to better understand what life was like for your ancestors during the world wars.

 

What more visceral way would there be to do so than by booking a flight to Germany and visiting important sites or museums commemorating those conflicts?

 

Or maybe you’ve developed a love of Korean food and culture. What's stopping you from going to Korea and sampling the local fare.


Don’t have the budget? That’s fine. Start researching dishes on your own and making them for people close to you.

 

The point here is that if you aren’t curious and willing to make something happen to feed that curiosity, then that’s on you.

 

This world is filled with travel possibilities. All you need to do is pick a destination and start planning a way to get there.

A person bungee jumping from a platform over a town and lake, with mountains in the background. Sign reads "The Bungy Originals... Operating Since 1988."
Bungee jumping in Queenstown, New Zealand while on spring break

 

Point #3: You start to feel the pressure of the clock

 

I was only in Australia for eight months.

 

There are opportunities to live and work overseas long-term (see the list below).

 

But the truth is that not many people who aren’t young and childless could realistically pick up their whole lives and move halfway around the world. (Unless their company, organization, or government sponsored them to do so.)


Which means that if you set out to travel abroad on your own, you have to be picky about how you do it.

 

There are a million and one logistical hurdles you will need to jump over just to get to where you’re trying to go. So the best thing to do is stay on top of your priorities, know your timeframe, and stick to your budget.

 

If it means you have to cancel part of your trip plans because someone in your party got sick, then that’s what you’re going to have to do.


It might be disappointing in the short-term. But that’s just how it goes sometimes.

 

The Bottom Line

 

Life is short. And a lot of it isn’t very exciting.

Kayakers paddle on calm sea at sunrise, silhouetted against a colorful sky with soft clouds. Peaceful and serene atmosphere.
Sea kayaking off Australia's northeastern coast

 

Know that there will always be more to explore. And that’s encouraging, not defeating.

 

You’re always growing somehow. You’re also always aging.

 

So if you don’t start seeking out growth opportunities on your own, then at some point you’ll find yourself staring in the mirror looking at an aging face. And you’ll ask yourself how many chances you missed to build a life of ageless wonder.

 

Don’t let another day go by without taking some kind of action towards the bigger life you know you could be living right now.

 

Travel Opportunities

 

Below, I’ve researched and listed out several global travel programs for you to peruse.

 

I don’t earn anything by telling you about these programs. I’m just listing them because they sound like amazing opportunities.

 

Happy hunting!


 
 
 

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