What ever happened to Rails Dispatch. It was a great resource when Rails 3 was still in beta. Then it died. EY always has great blog posts, I wish they would get back on Dispatch.
I happen to hate flying and the process of traveling in general. It is a huge hassle and it takes a lot out of you. But i literally force myself to do it as often as I can. In the last two years alone my wife and I have lived in the UK (London and Brighton) and France (Paris and Cannes). During that time we road tripped to Italy and Switzerland. The experiences we got from the trip were invaluable, not something you can learn about but something you need to experience first hand. These experiences always reshape me as a person and inspire my work.
For a few hours of hassle, you get life changing experiences. That's why we invented Valium :) Anyways, that's my .02. Experiencing another culture first hand changes you, it makes you see your world differently.