How does traveling change you

According to a survey of National Outdoor Leadership School NOLS participants, even five years after their two-week or day wilderness adventures with the organization, NOLS alums credited their experiences with increasing self-confidence levels and helping them to cope with difficult circumstances in their present lives.

They also gave NOLS high marks for providing them with lasting leadership skills, team building skills and a "personal perspective on how life can be simpler" [source: Sibthorp]. But not every potentially transformative trip delivers lasting changes. For example, a study on Outward Bound participants showed that while the participants cherished their experiences with the outfit, they found it hard to hang onto any personal changes once they got home [source: Cushing].

And studies on how vacations affect happiness levels have consistently shown that glee levels peak during vacation and then promptly drop off post-trip [source: Nawijn]. However, another study did show that five weeks after vacation, vacationers reported less physical complaints than prior to their trips [source: Strauss-Blasche ]. And even if a travel's transformative effects wear off days, months or years after the trip, there's always the opportunity to seek out another travel experience to, yet again, change one's life.

In , the BBC reported that 12 Japanese tourists a year suffer from Paris syndrome, a nervous breakdown associated with the culture shock of visiting Paris for the first time. Supposedly, the tourists become disillusioned when their romantic ideas about the iconic city are dashed by the reality of it [source: Wyatt ].

Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Adventure Travel. Can travel change you? Some argue that travel sets the stage for personal growth. See pictures of paradise. Transformative Travel Purist travelers will tell you there's a difference between travel and tourism.

Evidence That Travel Changes Us As you might expect, studies show that inserting oneself into a new cultural structure can broaden one's outlook. Paris Syndrome. Can you ice climb a waterfall? When is the cheapest time to fly? How do you send a smoke signal? I think travelling is something you take to or not. For me, I love travelling.

It is an opportunity to see new culture and ways of life. When you see what little others have, yet how happy and contented they seem to be, it just makes me think that a simpler life may be better. Children seem to be a lot happier with a lot less!

It broadens peoples knowledge and understanding, and not to mention the friends one makes whilst travelling. It generally makes you a better person, I recommend everyone at least give it a try, if nothing else it makes you appreciate what you have at home in particular if you are from a western country.

To me travelling has brought a lot of fun in my life, as i naturally like to travel. Travelling definitely has turned me from being a shybird to become a bold one. Excellent topic for conversation. I would say traveling makes me more connected with the moments of my life. My typical daily routine seems to pass by without much significance, but when traveling the new sights, sounds and smells heighten my awareness of my own life.

Traveling has calibrated my passions to a sense of direction. Before my travels I wanted to go to grad school and study something.. Now I know where to go and what I want to research. Travel also makes you more tolerant of immigrants to our country. My conservative sister and I were fortunate to spend a week in Rome. Even though we knew some rudimentary tourist Italian, it was much easier to converse with each other in English. I think that experience made her much more tolerant of people speaking languages other than English in the US, and of those wanting to follow their traditional attire and ways while here.

Than poachers, there are many who specialized on searching such images, can quite easily track down the Rhinos based on the GEO tag delivered by the nice holiday images. So in more and more places national park management explicitly ask their visitors to remove GEO tags from their images before posting them.

This is just an example how travel can influence the life of nonhuman animals we visit. The other side of the coin…. I liked the video! Meet new friends, dates or future spouses Explore like areas Change thinking. Open ones Mind to the Possible. I recently spent time on a cooperative farm, and while I learned about farming like I expected I also learned about meditation, how to make friends and how to appreciate bugs.

Click here to cancel reply. All rights reserved. Start Planning Your Nature Adventure! Together, Nat Hab and World Wildlife Fund have teamed up to arrange nearly a hundred nature travel experiences around the planet, while helping to protect the wondrous places we visit. Together, Nat Hab and World Wildlife Fund offer nature travel experiences to over 50 countries around the planet.

Get travel and wildlife news delivered to your inbox! Share on Tumblr. About the author: Candice Gaukel Andrews View all posts by Candice Gaukel Andrews A multiple award-winning author and writer specializing in nature-travel topics and environmental issues, Candice has traveled around the world, from the Arctic Circle to Antarctica, and from New Zealand to Scotland's far northern, remote regions. In addition to being a five-time book author, Candice's work has also appeared in several national and international publications, such as "The Huffington Post" and "Outside Magazine Online.

Yellowstone: Restoring Wolves Revived Willows. Uptourist March 24, at pm - Reply. Explore Categories. Ready to change your perspective - and your life? Join a work and travel program today. Interested in learning more? About Us Programs Remote Nation. Subscribe to our Newsletter Contact Us Careers. Privacy Policy.