Have you ever had your passport stolen in a country where you don't speak the language? Been stuck on a bus for 10 hours in the middle of nowhere where the only food looks like it can walk? Had to get from your hotel to the airport at 2am without having a taxi service to call? Everytime I go through something like this it empowers me and that will to survive goes straight into my business. Sales down this month? Whatever, we'll figure it out. Critical service down? Eh, I'll do an all nighter and write personal apologies to customers with salutations in their language. Before I travelled I was a youthful know-it-all. Years later I'm a much more youthful, stable, interested-in-all-perspectives adult who has the confidence to take on almost anything because business just isn't that hard compared to living on $1 a day with fresh water 10 kilometers away.
All your examples look strange only if you're living in a wealthy place. I can recall having to do all these without having to set foot on a plane, except one: whenever I go somewhere, I bother to learn at least a little of the local language.
Thus highlighting a benefit to traveling if you're not familiar with the realities of different countries. I was shocked to find out that some relatively affluent countries still don't have street addresses.
Yes, you're right. I grew up in a very comfortable country where bureaucracy, transport, communications etc were not problematic. When I go home I'm no longer bothered by 'first world problems' and it's just made me a happier person.
