I'm unsure if my husband and I will do much today. Hubby is in the hotel bed sick with stomach issues. I went out for breakfast myself and brought him yogurt back and was luckily able to make him some peppermint tea. I hope he feels better tomorrow.

Travel abroad is always a good (though sometimes really hard) learning experience, especially when you step outside tourist enclaves or resorts, which most don't do. For sure, even travel outside one's own block is important. It's the only real way to understand a little bit about the struggles (or not) of others. True understanding and open eyes should bring at least some empathy. And knowledge that some things are just plain complex and multi-faceted.

My past struggles with a serious mental illness, though severely painful, is another example of something that taught me more compassion and less prejudice than I might have had without. Though mental illness is nothing I would have ever chosen voluntarily, I appreciate the education.