Traveling to another country can be beneficial in a few different ways. The experience will stay with you forever, and what you learn about others and yourself will be priceless.

1) You will gain a more serious sense of self-awareness. Gathering first hand experience about another area of the world – seeing different landscapes, watching the difficulties of other cultures, listening to the opinions of non-Americans, provides a permanent sense of worldliness. Values and priorities will take on new meaning.

2) You will gain leadership skills. A person who has ‘been there and done that’ has more credibility. To put it simply – that person has more clout. Instead of relying on others opinions, those who have traveled gain perspective, confidence and conviction that makes it easier to gain the respect of others. Whether you have worked with a child teaching him English, painted a church, done physical labor on the farm – you will have completed a section of life that many never begin.

Also, you will make contacts around the globe. In this age of web communication, you will know someone in another country, and be able to foster that contact for as long as you see fit. Gone are the days of letter writing and wait times. Via whatsapp and other like programs, you can text / chat / facetime someone and gain a reciprocally beneficial contact for future business / friendship needs.