Blog 2 An American Abroad in South Africa

New Culture or First Long-term Experience Abroad

This study abroad trip will be my second adventure traveling outside of the United States.  I had my first experience in high school when I was 15 years old.  While abroad I traveled to 7 countries in eastern Europe.  During my time away, I learned a lot about myself and discovered that I love exploring new places.   I also realized that life around the world is very different than the way life in America is.  Before traveling I thought that people behaved in very similar manners all around the globe.  For example, the presence of time in some cultures is almost non-existent. However, here people are expected to be punctual and lack there of is viewed as unprofessional behavior. With that being said, I believe it is extremely important to be open-minded when traveling to a new location.  After all, the whole point of traveling is to experience a new way of life. 

Now that I am going to be traveling for a second time, I have a better perception of the world around me.  I realize that the world is full of diverse cultures, and each one plays an important role in the global society. However, I am not claiming to be perfect or the picture perfect traveler.  I know I have strengths and weaknesses that I need to learn to cope with.  In fact, throughout this class, I learned that I am an outgoing person especially in situations where need be, but I am also a very private person and value my space. I hope that my experience abroad will help to bring me out of my shell and force me to be more outgoing all the time. I think that will be most helpful in life.  I also know that I am not an extremely independent person, but I'm sure I will learn to be.

Returning to a Familiar Culture:

Once I return home, I plan to share my experiences with family and friends.  I hope that they will be welcoming to my stories.   I want to be able to give an accurate description of my host country, therefore I believe it will be particularly important to keep a detailed journal of my time abroad.  Another goal I have is too get to know the locals and build relationships with them in order to deepen my understanding of their way of life.  I believe that the relationships I make will be the most influential aspect of my trip.  Likewise, sharing my experiences with people at home will also be of upmost importance. 

As far as learning something, I would love to learn how to interact with diverse groups of people without worrying about social barriers that could make it difficult.  My goal is to just be myself and open to new ways of life, and hopefully people will return the same treatment.