Travel Teaches Us So Much: Episode 256 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

I could spend every episode of the podcast focusing on what my guests and I have learnt from travelling and never run out of ideas – it’s the one constant, I believe, of travel, if we’re doing it thoughtfully – it teaches us so much about ourselves, the world, and our place in it.

This episode shows the value of travel again, with three wonderful guests with new lessons to share, and I hope you enjoy it.

Show Notes: Episode 256 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

Travel Teaches Us So Much

Travel is fun, but even more, it teaches us so much. From life skills to personal development and even changing our fundamental personality, travel has the potential to do it all. I start off this episode briefly mentioning some of the research that has backed this up, but the most important thing is hearing the stories from my three wonderful guests.

First up, I chat with Jennifer Johnston who has one particularly important lesson from travel: learning how similar we all are, no matter what our culture or homelife or language. Next, I talk to Carolanna Lisonbee who spent a year teaching English in China, and this particular experience changed her significantly. Finally, I speak with artist Kate Peterson who points out something I hadn’t concretely considered before now – that the contrast of learning about other cultures when you travel helps you understand your own background and culture much more deeply.

Links:

• Jennifer Johnston at Travel Bug Within 
• Carolanna Lisonbee’s poetry book – Wisp of Fog Moment
• Kate Peterson’s art  
• Kate’s travel journal Around the World and Back Again  
• Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers
• Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers

Transcript

Amanda Kendle 0:00
Hello, and welcome to episode 256 of the thoughtful travel podcast. This episode is titled travel teaches us so much. This i something I believe to such a high degree. It’s the probably the main driver behind why I love travel, want to travel more, and why I take my son traveling especially. So I’ve talked a lo in previous episodes about some of the specific things that travel has taught me. But it’s not just me, it’s definitely not just me. So last year, when I was writing my book about why we need to travel, I had a lot of chances to dive deeply into the academic literature. So now on my laptop, I’ve got a wonderful folder of PDFs of research papers. So I’m going to scroll through that and just read you some of the titles to give you a taste, for why I know it’s not just my opinion, that travel teaches us a lot. So I’ve got papers like the Educational Benefits of Travel Experiences, and these are all peer-reviewed academic journals, proper research kind of stuff, Travel and Learning: A Neglected Tourism Research Area. I agree. And a lot of the research focuses on things like study abroad programs, Assessing the Impact of Business Study Abroad Programs on Personal Development; Crossing Cultures: Student Travel and Personal Development. Here’s an interesting one, Do People Who Travel More Perform Better at Work? The answer, of course, is yes, I can tell you that already, spoiler. The Effect of Short Term Study Abroad Programs on Students’ Cultural Adaptability, that’s another thing we learn. Learning By Going: Transformative Learning Through Long Term Independent Travel. Another paper titled Living Abroad Gives You a Creative Edge; Social Tourism as Opportunity for Unplanned Learning and Behavior Change. Oh, I like this one, You Went to Europe and Returned Different: Transformative Learning Experiences of International Students in Portugal. I could go on and on and on, but I won’t, because I don’t know how many I have. But there’s probably 100 papers in that folder. And pretty much without exception, they all conclude that travel teaches us so much. So of course today I have three guests who’ve learned a lot from travel and agree with me. And today I’m starting off with a chat I had with Jennifer Johnston. So Jen and I actually recorded this chat a few months back, while our state borders were closed, we kind of mentioned that our state borders practically still are closed in most respects. But things look like, down here in Australia, they are going to be opening up sooner rather than later. So that’s a precursor to this chat. But Jen and I talked about some of the reasons that travel teaches us so much, and some of the things that she’s learned from travel.

Jennifer Johnston 3:27
For me, the lessons that I’ve learned in travel is just how similar we all are, just in different countries. When I go to a place I try not to just book in a hotel, if I can book into more of a local place or an Airbnb, and then go down to the local markets and find out where people shop. So even though often if it’s in a different country, I can’t understand what’s going on, but you get an understanding from through observation. And it always makes me feel like they’re just like us: their kids go to school, they they have pre and post activities, whether they’re on the soccer field or swimming, and they’re at home at night cooking. And you always think different countries, yes, they have different cultures and they’ll be eating different food and doing things slightly different, but they’re still just the same as us. They’ve got their apartment, they’ve got their house, they’ve got their car, they’ve got their bike, it’s just slightly different. And I just love that. So I’ve got this desire at some stage to go and live abroad somewhere when the kids are older and I’m independent, so that I can actually feel what it’s like to live in a different country in a different way, and not just be a visitor. You know, we were mentioning living on campus for three or four months, it’s not quite the same.

Amanda Kendle 5:05
Not quite the same. You’re right.

Jennifer Johnston 5:07
I don’t I don’t know what country it will be. I haven’t decided that yet.

Amanda Kendle 5:10
It might be several, Jen.

Jennifer Johnston 5:14
And it might allow me to learn a new language as well, because I’m not fluent in anything, you know, I just take a phrase book with me and try and just converse, but I feel awkward. Don’t have enough. So I thought if I lived in a country and made myself learn the language through school beforehand, or while I’m there correspondence. But part of me…it’s just the opening up, and it’s opportunities everywhere. And at the moment, because we can’t travel internationally, I’m finding I’m doing the same thing when I’m traveling locally, you know, observing the main street, what they’ve got, you don’t have to worry about changing language over here. But just I love the lifestyle of being somewhere different, that’s not your known. So every time you step out the door there’s an opportunity to take a different path and to walk differently, drive differently, if you do have a car. Try different places to eat. I don’t know, maybe it’s because I feel like I’m on holidays, but you just tend to smile at people walking past.

Amanda Kendle 6:32
Who’s that crazy person? No, do it! Keep smiling at them. I mean, 100%, I completely understand that feeling of the curiosity of seeing how other people live. And that realization we often have that we are all so similar in so many ways. And I think that’s… it’s such a such an allure of travel to go and see what are those differences? And what are the similarities? It’s a beautiful part of traveling, and I would very much encourage you to go and spend an extended time living somewhere because it is different, it’s wonderful.

Jennifer Johnston 7:14
It is wonderful. And when you were just describing that, I remember walking… I think it was in Breda. I had a friend in the Netherlands who was over there lecturing, stayed with her. So I’d go out, walk around the streets. And one thing that I found different is – I don’t know if it’s all over Netherlands – but they don’t close the curtains. I don’t know if hat’s something other people notice, but it’s almost like they’re inviting you to look into their lounge rooms. Just just a quirky little observation. Because here, we’re always closing our blinds, and maybe it’s because it’s hot and sunny, but over there I just love walking the streets and being able to see into people’s loungerooms, and this is at nighttime.

Amanda Kendle 8:06
Yeah. See how they’re living, their evening’s out and what they’re up to. I love that.

Jennifer Johnston 8:12
Yeah. Not being, you know, too voyeuristic.

Amanda Kendle 8:15
Just in passing, just in passing. That’s brilliant. Yeah, I think we have the same intense need for learning and general curiosity. And it’s just nice… I just really missed that part of travel. I’ve done the same within Western Australia, found new places. But it’s not quite the same because there’s no language barrier. There’s not much cultural difference. But I think you’re right, I’m heightened to looking for those differences and similarities now, because it’s as far as we can go.

Jennifer Johnston 8:57
I mean, we’ve got immense gratitude for where we can go right now. Absolutely. The beauty on our doorstep, Western Australia, Queensland, all the other states have the most stunning places, and we are discovering them. And I think that’s a beautiful thing. But there is something about that language difference and the cultural side of things that you’re just like, oh boy oh boy, when we get back there, we’re going to be bursting out of our box.

Amanda Kendle 9:25
Absolutely. We will love it even more than we ever loved it before. I don’t want to sound like a creepy voyeur but I have to say, one of my favorite hotel experiences: I was staying in Penang, where I could from my hotel window – we were based in one hotel for a whole fortnight, which was quite delightful – and from that room we could see into the backyards of several pretty flash houses on Penang, and I really got to know what the people were doing and how they were living their lives. And I guess I probably shouldn’t have looked so hard, but they would know that people from the hotel could see them. I love experiencing things that way as well, of course, even better to get to know them rather than than just be staring. But Jen’s comment about looking into lounge room windows at night in the Netherlands made me think of that. Now, my next guest today is Carolanna Lisonbee. And like many people – me included – she went abroad to teach English and it really changed her. And I mean, absolutely the same for me, I’m sure I would be an entirely different person if I hadn’t taken that step. And it’s really interesting to hear Carolanna’s story.

Carolanna Lisonbee 10:43
As I mentioned, I am shy. I used to be much, much worse. Like all throughout growing up, all throughout grade school and into college I was almost beyond shy, pathologically scared of talking to people. And what I was scared of is that I would say something dumb. Everyone thought I was smart because I got good grades. The teachers loved me, I was always quiet and obedient. So everyone thought I was smart. And I was constantly terrified that if I said something dumb, everyone would know that they were completely wrong about me. So I had zero confidence in myself. I wouldn’t interview for jobs, I wouldn’t ask teachers for help if I didn’t understand something. It was actually a huge problem. But I really, really wanted to travel, I grew up in a very small town, kind of away from everything. And I loved reading about foreign places, reading National Geographic cover to cover, I wanted to travel so much. So when I was in my mid 20s, I’d been telling people for years that I wanted to get a job teaching in China, because I’d taken Chinese in high school. And so my sister brought me this job advertisement and was like, Hey, why don’t you just apply for this job. And I applied for it, I just quit a job that I absolutely hated and so I was looking for something new. And I did not think I would get it. That was part of my lack of confidence. But I applied for it and I actually got hired for teaching at a preschool in China. And then I got on the plane and was like, Is this really happening? Like the moment that was when I guess this is real. And I got to China, it was a big city in the Northeast called Shenyang. And I got off the plane and looked around – and as I mentioned, I studied Chinese, but I didn’t understand anything anyone would say. And then I went to the restroom, and it was a squat toilet, the first squat toilet I’d ever seen in my life. And it was like, what’s happening to me?

Amanda Kendle 13:17
I know, they’re quite confronting the first time.

Carolanna Lisonbee 13:21
Anyway, I started my job and I’d never taught children before that and I had a class of 26 kids. And I had two Chinese co-teachers. And so they teach the regular lessons and then I would teach the half hour English lesson. And then I’d go to other schools to teach English lessons in the afternoon. And for the first month I was completely overwhelmed. I don’t know if I can do this, I might have to hop on a plane back to the US. But I found that I’m a lot more comfortable with talking to small children than I am talking to adults. I learned how to be silly with them and make them laugh and play with them. And also, I did make a lot of mistakes and I got lost several times. But what I learned from all this is that making mistakes and humiliating yourself is not actually fatal. And that gave me more confidence in myself than I’ve ever had before. And I was able to speak up for myself and voice my opinions more than I ever had before. And I got used to the dialect – the Northeast dialect is a bit different than the standard Mandarin dialect that I’d learned in my school. So once I got used to the dialect, I was able to understand more people and actually the most affirming moment in my life was when I was walking to the mall streets and I was halfway there and realized I left my tiny English dictionary at home and wasn’t scared. Well, I guess I’m just gonna get by with the Chinese that I know, then.

Amanda Kendle 15:11
That’s awesome. And did this confidence last beyond? I mean, obviously it did. But the confidence then, lasted beyond just when you were in China…

Carolanna Lisonbee 15:21
Yes. And a lot of that is I know that I can take care of myself, I know I can survive in foreign country. Also, I speak Chinese now. I’m not smart, because hey, that takes up a lot of dedication to learn something like that. So yes, I love traveling, it is one of my favorite things in life. And the places I’ve been, the places I’ve traveled to, and the places I’ve learned about have become part of me, part of my identity. And just having that inside me, gives me confidence.

Amanda Kendle 16:05
I think Carolanna has a really special way with words, I know that several of the things she said in this chat will probably become quotes on my Instagram account, because – actually, it’s no surprise – she’s also a poet, which you’ll hear more at the end of the episode. But my own experience moving to Japan to teach English and I also got to teach young kids. And I definitely, I was quite shy… pretty shy, not super, extremely shy. But that experience certainly changed me and I think fundamentally changed my personality or how I got along with people and express myself. So I really related a lot to to what Carolanna said about what travel had taught her. So my final guest today is Kate Peterson, and she has a another interesting take on what travel can teach you.

Kate Peterson 17:00
I think my number one thing that travel has taught me is probably a lot of people’s answer. But I feel like there’s another little twist to it that I have learned. So I really believe that nothing does a better job of teaching you about yourself than travel, right. But I also think that nothing does a better job teaching you about your own culture than travel as well. And I think that’s the thing that a lot of people don’t think about. In my case, I’m going to learn a ton about America by going to another place. I think it’s absolutely true, because it’s often really hard to describe your own culture, right? I mean, everything, it seems so normal to you, it’s what you grew up with. And I think it’s often through contrast that we’re able to more clearly define ourselves. So when you go to a place that’s so different from where you’re from, and you encounter people who are so different from you, you’re able to realize what you’re not much more clearly. And that leads to a clearer sense of who you are. So my favorite example of this was, when I was in college, I had the chance to study abroad in France. And I come from a relatively small town in the American West, where pretty much everyone that you meet on the street, you’re gonna make eye contact and say hello, and maybe say how are you? And even right down to like, if you’re driving past somebody on a dirt road, you sort of do the finger wave, you know, where you’ve got your hands on the steering wheel, and you both sort of lift up your fingers, like, greeting strangers is just sort of a thing where I’m from, and I’d really never thought anything of it. Until I was just bouncing down the street in Marseille, France, you know, saying Bonjour to everyone. And of course I’m wearing these super bright, neon clothes, right? Because I’ve never figured out how to blend in. And I have no idea how to do this in Europe, because I’m 20. And I’ve never lived anywhere else in the world. And of course, naturally, people looked at me like I was out of my gourd, right. And I had never even thought about it. But it’s true. It really is the norm where I come from. And I think that experience really taught me that I actually really liked that about where I’m from. And it’s sort of a part of who I am. I make an effort to not greet people crazily when I’m in a place that it’s not normal now. But, but I really do like that about myself. And I don’t think I would have learned that, had I not been in a place where where that was normal or wasn’t normal rather.

Amanda Kendle 19:44
That’s such a good example. It’s a simple thing that you don’t realize is unusual until you moved elsewhere. But you’re exactly right like that. The contrast helps you learn so many different things about yourself, and then you get to choose which bits you like and which bits you want to change.

Kate Peterson 20:05
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. And I’ve also found that places bring out a different side of you, too, in addition to teaching you about your own culture, but I feel like being in a certain place can make you feel a certain way that that you might not have seen coming. We had the chance to travel to Cartagena in Colombia, which is an amazing place, I just absolutely loved it. And before we went, we had been dealing with a fairly significant sort of family health crisis where my father was in the hospital. And it was the kind of thing where everyone was really stressed. And there were a lot of calls with doctors and so on and so forth. And, you know, once we’d had this vacation plan for a long time, and once my dad was settled, and everything was good there, then there was this vacation that we were going to take, so we decided to go. And when we got there, I don’t know if it was the place itself, or just how exhausted I was from like everything we’d just been through…. every single day. And this is so out of character for me, but like there’s this rhythm to the place there. Because while we were there, it was so hot and humid, so you fall in this rhythm of you wake up in the morning, and you drink some amazing coffee – because Columbia has some of the world’s best coffee – and then you wander around the city before it gets too hot. And when it gets too hot, you go swimming, and you take a nap. And then eventually you kind of like emerge for food again, but normally, I’m that person who like plans out everything we’re going to do. And I’ve researched the restaurants ahead of time. And on that trip, I found myself kind of just winging it, and ducking into whatever little restaurant looked great and not worrying about it so much. And honestly, sometimes I kind of missed my Colombia self. But I think now that I’ve like been there and tasted that sense in myself, I can bring that into my everyday life, when I want to, now that I’ve seen that happen.

Amanda Kendle 22:02
And you know, it’s possible, you know, you can be different when you want to be when the circumstances are right. You’re able to broaden your possibilities and choose what’s right at that moment.

Kate Peterson 22:13
Yes, exactly. And I think places bring that out. And you know, whether it’s adventurousness or sociability, that’s not normally there, or the ability to toss the rulebook out the window, whatever it is…

Amanda Kendle 22:25
Kate’s so right, that seeing the contrast between your own culture and the one you’re traveling in is such a such a good way to teach you more about your own ways of life and the own uniqueness about where you live and how you’ve been brought up and the culture around you. I really love that approach. So something good to ponder and think about? So that’s it for episode 256 of the thoughtful travel podcast, I hope that it gives you pause for thought to think about some of the things that travel has taught you as well. Big shout out and a huge thank you to my guests for sharing their stories. First up, I chatted with Jennifer Johnston, then chatted with Carolanna Lisonbee and finally I chatted with Kate Peterson and she’s an artist, a very talented artist. The show notes are at not a ballerina.com/ 256 and I also mentioned putting quotes on Instagram. So if you don’t follow me on Instagram yet come and have a look. My instagram username is Amanda Kendle.

This has been in another episode of the thoughtful travel podcast show notes and other information are at not a ballerina.com/podcast Join me again soon for another chat about why we travel bye for now