"It is better to travel
ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books." This is a
famous Chinese saying that was cited by the first lady Mrs. Obama during her speech
in Beijing University in 2014. Traveling is the most popular learning style in Ancient
China. Taking the greatest philosopher, educator and thinker of china, Confucius,
as an example; He took his students to travel and study in more than nine
state, and he believed this is one of terrific approach of doing self-cultivation.
This opinion is also appropriate for today, and it get more popular because of the
benefits of traveling are developing independent ability, building up
communicative skill, and providing opportunities.
Based on the online statistic, only 35% American
have a passport which means 65% American don’t even have chance to travel
abroad. A lot of American study hard through high school in order to get in to
a good college. Unlike other country such as New Zealand and Australia, the
students usually take a gap year to travel and see the world after high school.
In china, high students are love to visit or take summer school in other
country during long-term vacation. Student can learn a lot of things during
traveling.
First of all, independence is an
essential quality for America high school students to adapt in this diverse
world, and traveling is an excellent method to develop this trait. During the
travel, students have to package and be responsible for their luggage. Specially,
for the world trip, students need to package depend on their destination. Before
the trip, students need to do some research about weather, location, culture,
food and people. For example, students want to go Brazil in January, and at
that time, temperature in there is 27 degrees Celsius. Students need to prepare
more summer clothes not warm clothes. Because students travel in different
country, where people may not speak English, problem solving skill is essential.
The first thing I learned when I travel to different country is to remember the
emergency call and the number of Chinese Embassy. When I’m in danger or meet
some emergency situation, I can find somebody to help me. Personal safety is extremely
important during travel, and knowing how to ensure their own security is a signal
of being independence.
Second, communication is another lesson
that people can learn from traveling. One online research shows that almost 80%
American can only speak English. Some people may think they don’t know other
language, so they cannot go travel to another country. Actually, this is fault
thought, because language is only part of communication. When my uncle traveled
to Russia last year, he only knew a little bit Russian. He used picture on the menu
to order food, body language to ask round and electronic dictionary to talk
with the other people in the bar. He had really great time in Russia, and he
made a lot of friends. High school students should practice communication as soon
as possible, because it is very useful skill in future. When people travel to
different countries, they have to deal with diverse type of people. Students
will meet the people who are really nice, who are don’t care about you or who
want to steal your money. Because students will deal with many different people
in travel, they will prepare and not panic when they meet the same situation.
In addition, the purpose of travel is to enrich
people’s vision, and people can find a lot of opportunities during or after
traveling. One of my classmate found an internship when he traveled to Japan. The
man that he met during his travel is an office manager work of a huge company. The
manager really likes him, and he offer my classmate an internship opportunity. Also,
having unique perspective is helpful when student apply jobs. When students visited
many place, their worldview and the way of thinking will become mature than
others who only stay in their own country. Nowadays, businesses are looking for
people who have unconventional or divergent thinking. The perfect way for high school
students to lay the foundation for their future is to travel.