Studying abroad is not for everyone, but I believe everyone should try it. There is something about uprooting your life into an ecosystem that was not made for you that changes the way you think, act, and even feel. It is a comfort to remain unchallenged and unchanged, perpetually surrounded by the same people and the same mindset, but much more is lost than gained by staying in your comfort zone. Mind you, you do not need to study abroad to expose yourself to a world outside yourself. If one is open to the experience you can experience the “foreign” all around us. Many times, we think that because we are used to an environment it is because we are meant for it, but it is impossible to know that for sure unless we try to exist in a different space, perhaps where we do not come first. Perhaps in a place where people speak a different language, live a different culture and pray to different gods, we can find a home within ourselves.
It can be as complex as moving into a different continent where you need to schedule calls with your loved ones because they start their day as you settle down for the night. Or it can be as simple as going to that restaurant down the block ran by people from the country whose food you are about to try. It can be about engaging in curious conversation when that new international student starts speaking about their home. Maybe it is about looking to meet people that think drastically different things than you and try to genuinely understand why they think what they do. It comes from listening without waiting for your next opportunity to speak. It originates from genuine care. Traveling abroad is not necessary to learn about different cultures, specially in a country built from immigration like the United States.
To be or not to be a foreigner, having the free will to decide is a privilege many do not enjoy. Wether its war, poverty or the need for a better life, being a foreigner is a decision made for them, one that takes tremendous courage and will, effort and strength. So, if you wish to hang out with the same people, remain unchallenged, unexposed, uncaring, and as such unburdened then do not go to another country, even if you can.
If you are willing to care, to try, and try again, to engage, show curiosity, learn some of the language (enough to get by), if you want to understand others, then please, please take the opportunity and you will enjoy great kindness wherever you go. I will not lie, even then, with an open mind and an open heart, leaving is hard, feeling like you have fallen out of synchrony with the people you love can be painful. However, it is also an opportunity to not only find your true rhythm, but to discover that anywhere you go, you will find people who will fall into natural synchrony with you. Be willing and ready to be vulnerable, to push your comfort zone to expand. If you are willing, you will find harmony with many new people, maybe it is a classmate you ask out for lunch because you like the way they think, or someone you meet in orientation, a stranger in an elevator or a waiter in you new favorite restaurant. Maybe it will be discovering you love raspberry gelato or trying to communicate with someone that does not speak your language in a game I love to call International Charades. But little by little, you will tune in, and soon you will create a new home.
Change is not a thing most people enjoy or really want in life, yet it is the only certainty we have as beings. Whether it is a change of job or school, going from our parents house to our apartment, perhaps down the road, maybe in a different continent. We each get to choose where to root ourselves, knowing no matter where you go you take your roots with you. Even after leaving two homes, I still laugh the same, call the same way with my mom, listen to music in Spanish when I am homesick and always ask for spice no matter the food I try, and continue to find myself translating spanish phrases (that really have no translation) to friends so they can understand how I think. Because I still say “¡Aguas!” instead of “Watch out!” to warn people, and because the further I go the more excited I am to come home. So be ready, be curious, be willing, and you will find your way.
María B, a proud Mexican, is a Global Studies Major doing her concentration in Immigration and a minor in Italian Studies at Salve Regina University and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. She is eager to explore the world, not only geographically but culturally and linguistically as well. She believes the world would be a far better place if we could all accept we are ignorant, and still be curious to learn.
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