Has traveling and living in different countries changed your personality? Do you feel more "worldly" thanks to your experiences of other cultures beyond your own? Obviously a week trip to a resort hotel won't do much but for the people who have spent months to years in different countries, how significant has that experience been to changing how you view yourself?
>>1138134
I don't think travel has changed my personality--- more like it has changed my perspective on some things, confirming/reinforcing some things, altering others. And I think there is a qualitative difference between understanding the commonalities and differences between humans and cultures based on first-hand experience and holding opinions on these topics based on what you've read or been told.
I also put a lot of value on friendships made around the world, plus I've seen wonders and prodigies, and such-like.
Traveling has changed me a lot.
I know it's a cliche but it's the truth for me. I was an absolutely Robot-tier guy prior to taking my first trip. I was clueless about talking to women, couldn't make small talk with strangers, and was intimidated by any sort of social situation which didn't involve at least a fifth of vodka and Bacardi 151. The only time I'd kissed girls was when I was so plastered I couldn't remember the day after.
I made friends with a few awesome refugees the same summer I graduated high school and had to get a job at McDonald's. They were going to the same university as me and have since moved on to the Peace Corps and medical school. They're very smart but socially cognizant people who helped me learn how to make friends and be normal. One of them, who's an Ahiska Turk, suggested that I take a flight to Istanbul since I'd meet friendly folks and the airfare wouldn't be too costly.
I went and ended up losing my virginity on the fifth day. It was a crazy trip - I hitchhiked for the first time, got caught up in the Gezi Park protests, which erupted five minutes from my hostel, started my first relationship, went to Iraqi Kurdistan, and did much, much more than I'd been expecting to do. I gained a ton of confidence and learned how to talk to fellow travelers. The experiences I had shaped what I've done in life in the years since, and have provided me with countless stories.
I've since lived by myself in India for a year and traveled to several dozen other countries. I've learned how to read and write Arabic, Hindi Devanagari, and Cyrillic scripts. I have friends all over the world, do well with women, and am leagues more confident than I was before I started traveling. I discovered some new passions, like lifting and martial arts, and got into Hindi and classical music. Traveling also helped me get my act together and start shooting for medical school, since I realized what I wanted to do with my life.
>>1138146
On top of all that, I also learned to budget money, save for goals, and make do in new and strange cities. I learned how to ride a motorcycle last winter in India and loved it so much that I bought one of my own here in the States in April.
Traveling has been a huge part of my life since I started and I don't have many regrets about what I've done or where I've gone. Sometimes I wish I weren't graduating university so late, but I don't feel too old, either - one of my refugee friends who just home today for medical school is three and a half years older than me.
I think the biggest thing I got out of traveling is definitely confidence and the ability to feel sure of myself in new situations.
Of course, it's not the act of traveling that helped me improve myself - it was getting out of my comfort zone and continuously trying new things, like talking to strangers, even when I failed miserably the first and second and third and fourth times.
Pic is from my most recent trip in May and June to Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Near Cerro Negro, close to Leon. Had a fucking blast, it was my first time going off-road with a bike.
Most of my traveling has been through the navy for the most part. While I do feel a bit more "worldly" I suppose that also comes with jaded and slightly more cynical only because I've come to realize how little the world actually is and how quickly the allure of exotic locations tends to wear off pretty quickly.
Granted, I do feel grateful for going considering there are people who's spent their entire lives never going further than their home towns but ultimately the only difference between the people I meet in the united states and anywhere else is the language otherwise bullshit is the same no matter where you go.
Been a month and a half in Portugal now. 2 more months to go, and definetly not going back to my home country. Not sure if it was the LSD or the traveling that changed my personality, in a way I think both. Though I do notice being far more relaxed here. Working doesn't seem as such a drag when everyone is just nice and relaxed. Been through a lot of countries, but Portugal is by far my favourite.
not more worldly, but probably give less fucks
could be a function more of aging, i.e. it took me a long time to save money to do the actual trips?
>>1138134
It's good to go somewhere with a completely different culture because you realize the world doesn't revolve around you and over there you're the weird foreigner who believes weird shit and eats weird shit.
It's a humbling experience but for some reason it also makes people snobby and act better than others.
Travelling is a very good way to find answers to any questions you have, not because of the location, but because of different "you" in each place.
If you read the last-day regrets of dying people, travelling too little is always hitting the top.
All in all, you don't live for things, you live for emotions associated with those things
