

Even if you are in the most important place in the world, there’s only so much you can see from there. So, in order to expand your intellectual horizons and broaden your worldview, you have to travel.
This is especially important for students in the years when their ideas, personalities, and opinions are formed. Seeing and experiencing some things in time can make a huge difference in one’s life; however, this often depends on the target location of your travels.
With that in mind, here are the top educational travel destinations for students, as well as some tech they can use to make these travels easier.
1. A tour of the United States
If you’re not from the United States, it really doesn’t take too much explanation as to why you have to visit it at least once in a lifetime.
First of all, regardless of what your opinions are of the US and Americans, the truth is that they’re the current cultural hegemon, and sampling a bit of their culture at the source is always a good idea. Walk around cities where some of your favourite movies and shows are set, and try to visit the places where some of your favourite scenes take place. This is a great way to strengthen the delineation between reality further and fiction, which, in today’s digital world, seems harder than you think.
Second, there are so many stereotypes about the US and Americans, and the best way to dispel these stereotypes is to go there and see just how unfounded they are for yourself. Once you figure this one out, your overall stereotype resilience will skyrocket.
Also, one of the things that Europeans and Asians hate the most about Americans is when they classify their entire continents as countries or regions, with little interest in the nuances or differences. Well, chances are that you’re doing the same thing. Just travel around the US in order to see how fast the place really is.
Now, Europeans are often shocked by the driving distances in the US, which means that the likelihood of being off the grid is higher than you think. This is one of the reasons why you might want to start using offline navigation apps.
On the other hand, if you are from the US, chances are that you haven’t seen most of the country either. So, a huge trip might be a welcome idea.
2. A visit to Australia
There are so many reasons why a trip to Australia can be educational, starting with the unique colonial nature of the nation. On the one hand, it can help your students understand how it’s possible for a nation to be so young but to also be a home to a culture that predates that of their own by centuries (even millennia). To someone who is going to travel to a different place to study, this can be an invaluable lesson in diversity.
Second, it’s one of the furthest places you can go to, provided that you’re in the Western or Northern hemisphere. This means that you get to see just how an endemic culture can develop so far from home while simultaneously enjoying all the perks of a globalized culture. The spoken language there is English, and you’ll find the place to have far more similarities than differences.
Australia has amazing internet coverage, which means that you’ll still be able to use all the perks of hyperconnectivity of the modern world. Sure, the place is vast, and you may travel quite a while before encountering the next spot with free Wi-Fi, which is why you want to either get a local SIM card or find the right eSIM Australia service. The latter is undoubtedly a more convenient manner.
Everything is different in Australia, and for someone who is at a crossroads in life (like all students), this will be an invaluable lesson in the importance of understanding different perspectives. How different? Well…
December is summer, the toilet water spins in different directions, and even the night sky has different constellations.
This way, you’ll be able to see how even some of the most natural phenomena can be different when you’re someplace else.
3. A visit to the UK
A visit to the UK just makes sense, especially for students from the US. First of all, it’s a place that’s culturally similar enough that it isn’t that big of a leap, but it’s also different enough to show you the difference and teach you new lessons. It’s like a simulation in controlled circumstances.
Another thing you need to keep in mind is the importance of the fact that people there speak English. Sure, a lot of people make fun of Cockney or the heavy Scottish accent being hard to understand even by native speakers, but this is not nearly as bad as you think. The importance of an English native-speaking population cannot be stressed enough.
Also, most of the US population can trace their lineage to somewhere on the British Isles (at least from one of their ancestors), which is why you can make this into a sort of genealogical pilgrimage.
Through conquest and colonization, the British Empire has amassed the most impressive collection of art and archeological specimens in the world. For some (including the British Museum), this is a sensitive topic. However, for an art enthusiast, this is just a matter of fact.
In the British Museum, National Gallery, and Natural History Museum, you can see more art, history, and science than anywhere else in the world. In addition to interesting museums, you can also enjoy the picturesque nature of the UK and go for outdoor walks. For a breathtaking hiking adventure, consider trekking the West Highland Way, Scotland’s most famous long-distance trail, offering stunning scenery and a taste of Scottish wilderness.
Now, one of the things you’ll be surprised the most by when you visit the UK is the amount of different content you can find on the same platforms. There’s quite a bit of geo-restricted content out there, and to access it, you’ll have to start using a VPN.
This geo-restricted content can be anything from YouTube videos, all the way to materials for the online course you’re taking.
4. Visiting Germany
When taking their pilgrimage to continental Europe, most students will immediately pick France. If you want to break away from this cliche, you might want to go with Germany instead.
It’s Europe’s biggest economy biggest current political powerhouse, and it’s a place rich with history like no other.
Another important issue you need to understand when travelling to Germany is the fact that it’s the first country on our list so far where English is not a native language. This means that you’ll have to pick up a couple of phrases and even use translation technology.
Fortunately, in 2024, translation technology is more than decent. This is thanks to the AI and NLP (natural language processing) technology. It’s getting better and better by the hour, and most translation software is using it already.
At the same time, Germans are great English speakers, which means that you’ll do fine even without an app. If you want to travel somewhere where you’ll be able to figure things out without having to rely on your English proficiency, you might want to pick a different destination. A trip here (from a purely linguistic perspective) is akin to driving a bike with your training wheels.
One interesting thing you’ll notice in your trip to Germany is the higher level of censorship. Don’t be surprised if your favourite WW2 movie seems a bit off. When thinking about this further, you might notice that no antagonists wear swastikas. Video games, movies, and other media are heavily edited in Germany, mostly due to the country’s “troublesome” past.
This is another important lesson—not all censorship is bad, and not all censorship is done with malicious intent.
5. Going to Japan
There’s a reason why we’ve decided to end our list with Japan. While Australia is technically in the Eastern Hemisphere, it’s culturally a Western country. Not only that, but it’s also a Western, English-speaking country, a former British colony. In other words, it doesn’t get any more Western than that.
Japan, on the other hand, is an Eastern powerhouse with its own endemic culture, etiquette, and society. It’s different from any other entry on the list, but it’s still a first-world country and one of the world’s leading economies.
Japan is a perfect example of a technologically and culturally advanced society that took a slightly different direction from that of Western countries. An important lesson hiding here is the fact that, in life, there’s usually more than one “correct” answer.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that the Japanese way of life and education appear a lot different than those of their Western counterparts. So, if the primary purpose of this pilgrimage is a shift of perspective, there’s probably no better place to visit.
Japan is also a land of tradition. It’s a place where you’ll be able to see first-hand that it’s possible to embrace progress (new ideas), without immediately discarding what came before it.
Traveling is the most efficient way to expand your worldviews
There’s no easier way to break stereotypes and learn new things than to travel. This is also a way to challenge yourself, acquire new experiences, leave your comfort zone, and, ultimately, have fun. Traveling is already educational but with the right mindset and the right choice of destination, you can find a much better place.
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