There are many reasons to go away for a few months, if not a year. You want to make new friends. You love sightseeing and taking pictures of landmarks. You want to attend a party, hoping to meet someone you can spend more time afterwards. If only your parents can agree to your plan to study abroad, if not spend the year away from home.
You believe traveling can widen your horizon after reading Jack Kerouac's essays. You have limitations, though. (You can't live without WiFi. You must post some pictures on Facebook, so your coursemates will be green with envy. You plan to buy a souvenir item or two along the way.) Traveling can alter the brain. Mr. Kerouac was aware of it, which was why he became a stranger in the Big Apple. He was a perpetual wanderer too. This is what you look forward after you receive your degree. You're hoping to find a travel buddy, though. (Your other mates prefer to backpack on their own and find new friends, while you want a familiar face to share your adventures. It will lessen your expenses, which will be a sensible thing to do.) Here are the reasons to head to the airport:
Foreign territory will present challenges. This will give you trepidation, especially if you travel on a shoestring budget. You might get lost while you travel from the airport to the hostel. You can't follow directions in the map, as you make your way to the place of interest. (And it happens to be a few blocks away.) You're clueless about the local dialect, even unable to learn the basic expressions. Don't be afraid, as you won't get a failing mark. Whatever happens, charge it to experience. And don't take such mistakes seriously. (Some locals will laugh at you, which is fine. You're not insulting them.)
Traveling will boost your confidence. You will learn to interact with different people (from different cultures), and it takes confidence to be able to befriend them. Trust is another thing, and you have nothing to lose. (As long as you follow your instincts, then you'll be fine.) It will make you open to new experience, even become compassionate to other people. A different insight can be rewarding. (You'll be assured as well.) The ability to handle different people can be a plus on the job, if not the English Department. (And you still look awkward in the presence of your tutor.)
Interaction with locals will make you more creative. The Khmer carvings are sights to behold, which will put you in an imaginative mood. The breathtaking countryside in Vietnam will remind you of Kipling and the other authors of Adventure fiction. You'll get tired of the temples in Thailand, but this tourist trap will stick on you. It's not about the exotic places, but the people you encounter there. You might be inspired to write about it in the near future.
It's time to share your traveling experience with us!
