<p>Hey everyone, I keep hearing that some benefits of studying abroad are gaining new perspectives and getting a new view of the world and the U.S. </p>
<p>But what are these perspectives that people gain when studying abroad? What kinds of perspectives? And what are these new views of the world and U.S. that they have? In what ways to people think about the world after they study abroad?</p>
<p>I was just wondering this because I am interested in studying abroad next summer, and I wanted more clarification about some of the benefits that people have been telling me.</p>
<p>Living in the U.S. we have no idea how limited our views of the outside world can be. Travel abroad and you’ll be exposed to a different way of seeing, virtually, everything: how and when to eat, how to work, how to walk in the street, what is polite, what not, politics, religion. The list is endless. It can be a challenge to live in a place where things are so different but the huge benefit is that you will no longer take for granted that the system you now know is the only one or the best one and likely you’ll find that there are some ways of living in a foreign country that you wish were a part of life in your home country.</p>
<p>MMc is absolutely right about how narrowly people see the world when they have never lived outside their own country. All I would add is that your should learn a language if you can - when you speak in a different idiom, it even feels like you can become another person and your experience will be much deeper. I started in Germany, then France, then Japan, then Italy - I learned all (or part) of each language and it was a gas. </p>
<p>Trust us: it will change you in ways you cannot imagine.</p>
<p>My son spent a semester at Hong Kong U and a semester in New Zealand. He said it was one of the greatest years of his life. Take the opportunity if you can! Yow will probably save some money as well.</p>
<p>My daughter did a year in the UK and met people from all over as her suitemates and classmates. Everyone has thoughts of what people are like but reality is very different and it also shows you how to adapt and not be arrogant about having things the “way they are in US” So many Americans she met complained about things that were silly, they weren’t home, but some grew in many ways too.
She loved sharing ideas and having discussions on how life was in their countries, politics, how they view us, reading newspapers,trying different foods, etc.
If she could have stayed another year or semester, she would have in a heartbeat. </p>
<p>Her sister went for one semester to Scotland and said it was too short. Never regretted a moment.</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard, the students that mingle with local students get a lot more out of the experience than those that hang around more with other American students.</p>