Today, most Americans cannot even find their own home towns on a map of the world. Even those who are running for political office and presume to lead the nation are woefully ignorant of foreign affairs. It is more important than ever for American students who are part of the next generation of business and political leaders to take a semester or two and studying overseas.
There is no better way to gain deeper insights and understanding of world affairs than by spending a year studying overseas. The main reason is that you will be interacting and relating to those who are average citizens such as yourself in everyday contexts (as opposed to seeing the tourist attractions ‘ which rarely reflect the reality of everyday life in a given country). Yes, it is good to study different systems of government and models of society, and it is no bad thing to get insights into the way business is practiced in other countries. However, all of this is theoretical; where the proverbial rubber hits the road is in the streets, the cafes, the classrooms, the shops and theaters and other places of social interactions between real people, the average citizens of these countries who actually make their societies operate.
You are liable to be pleasantly surprised at how much you have in common with the people you meet. Yes, the language will be different, and some cultural customs, such as greetings, clothing, music and diet will be unfamiliar to you. Underneath all of this however, you’ll find many shared beliefs and values ‘ common ground on which to build relationships that can serve you well in a future career in business, diplomacy, politics, the arts and more.
You’ll also learn about how various societies succeed and the benefits of different systems such as social democracy (and you are likely to be very surprised on this score as well). As long as you are in the U.S., getting news that is filtered through a narrow commercial media prism, you are unlikely to ever truly understand how the rest of the world works.
Studying overseas is the absolutely best way to get the clearest and most accurate picture of those outside our borders.
