Author Emmanuel Laroche On Why & How Traveling Can Help Us Become Better Human Beings

In an article on Medium, author Emmanuel Laroche writes: Travel leads to personal growth because it interrupts our assumptions. When you’re in a new environment, nothing operates on autopilot; you must observe, adapt, and engage with the world more intentionally. That shift in awareness often reveals strengths, blind spots, or possibilities you didn’t notice at home. One moment that changed me happened in Madagascar, when I stood inside a small room filled with vanilla beans curing slowly in the heat. A farmer explained every step of the process with pride and patience. Until that moment, I had understood vanilla as a commodity. But seeing the work, the risk, and the craftsmanship behind each bean transformed my understanding — not just of vanilla, but of the human stories embedded in every ingredient we use. That kind of awakening only happens when you allow a place, and its people, to reshape how you see. One cocktail dinner in Antananarivo connected me with people who welcomed me back to the island, forming the network that inspired A Taste of Madagascar.

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