Slow Havamal: 18

In the 18th verse, we learn that in order to understand anything about how other men think, one must wander far and wide.

The place we start our wanderings is our home. When we travel far, we leave familiar surroundings and encounter many things, some expected, some surprising. These things add to our picture of the world and the way we understand it. Every sorority girl knows that the best hobby anyone can have is “travel,” which often amounts to getting drunk in exotic places. I’ve traveled only a little, and I can scarce claim to have learned much from it. There’s a difference between going somewhere to do the things you normally like to do, and going somewhere to learn and be different. Most of us default to the first type of travel. The second cannot be planned, it can only be encountered, and it may not go as we intended.
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