You've got to do it - its a valuable and enjoyable experience.
The biggest difference is the silence! You can converse with the guy in the back seat normally and can judge windspeed by the noise of the air rushing over the canopy. It will teach you to fly more accurately too.
On the very few times I've been gliding, I've always been surprised by the lack of turbulence. Although theres been a strong wind blowing off the hills and the tug has been bouncing around, the glider seemed unaffected.
Stalls always seemed a non-event too, at 35kts, the nose dropped gently and we recovered after a height loss that seemed like inches.
I can't wait to go again!