Gain A Global Perspective

Many students must write an essay expressing why they are an excellent candidate for a study abroad program. Often they cite reasons such as, "I want to gain a global perspective," "broaden my horizons," "immerse myself in a new culture." This portion is almost always included, sort of an automatically-generated response across the board. I included an extensive paragraph citing all of these reasons and how they will help me grow both personally and professionally...

but I honestly did not put much thought into it at the time. It was more of a formula: I want X,Y and Z out of this experience...to make me a better person yadda yadda..

Now that I have returned and have had time to reflect on my study abroad experiences I cannot believe how true these statements really are. It is hard to explain how much my abroad experience has changed my worldview (both good and bad).

As for the good: My experiences abroad have broken down my biases, challenged me to step back and reassess previous assumptions, and become more accepting of other cultures and traditions. It has forced me to challenge things back home as well. For instance: Why do we have SO MANY stores, supermarkets, shopping malls, strip malls, etc. in America?! This manic consumerism and waste of space and land has come to annoy me. Why don't we recycle/compost/care? While the "green movement" is a big trend of late, other cultures actually live by the rules throwing away only a fraction of what goes into our landfills daily.

Just because people do things differently, does not mean their way is the wrong way. When thrown into a culture where you are the outsider: you dress, talk, act differently it is hard to justify that your way is right and the others are wrong...a wonderful lesson.

An appreciation for nature and natural beauty. I am in awe of the varied landscapes around the world. It is hard not to marvel at them, but often we are "too busy" to just stop, breathe and take it all in. I've learned that these moments of "doing nothing" are by far the most fulfilling.

As I've touched on before, the experience has also changed the way I see things back home. A simple trip to the grocery store is much different back home. Here, I walk down the cereal aisle and grow weary of the overwhelming number of options. I enjoyed the simplicity of shopping with limited options, a limited budget and limited space (one large tote + mile walk vs. cart full + car). Other nerves that strike back home: consumerism, materialism, workaholism, obesity and depression. While other countries have their own platefuls of problems, it was refreshing to see some of our biggest problems are really no problem at all in other places.

For those of you who have spent time abroad you likely have witnessed these changes. Perhaps you are a different person with a much different worldview because of it! The lessons learned outside of the classroom are too numerous to count, but their value is most certainly priceless.