- Published on
by Dr. Heather Tracy, Ed.D. Posted on Medium at: https://medium.com/@drheathertracy/the-best-way-to-learn-about-america-and-yourself-is-to-leave-it-1cef548fb43f
Immersing in a new culture made me whole in places where I didn’t even know I was broken.
Find an opportunity to leave. I’m not talking about a 2 week trip to a Mediterranean island, which although lovely, basically leaves you with a very nice tan and a smaller bank account. I’m talking about real cultural immersion and all of the messiness that comes with it — the language, the food, the driving, the music, the politics, the weather, and the people.
Why bother? The challenges life hands you abroad may be much more difficult outside of your comfort zone, but the benefits — if you are open to them — will change you, your perspective, and your life for the better. Yes, you will (hopefully) learn a marketable skill by mastering another language. But perhaps more importantly, you will learn problem-solving, empathy, humility, patience, perspective, openness, and completely new ways of communicating — not to mention the grit and confidence that you can indeed get through pretty much anything.
Click here to read more ----------------------->
Why bother? The challenges life hands you abroad may be much more difficult outside of your comfort zone, but the benefits — if you are open to them — will change you, your perspective, and your life for the better. Yes, you will (hopefully) learn a marketable skill by mastering another language. But perhaps more importantly, you will learn problem-solving, empathy, humility, patience, perspective, openness, and completely new ways of communicating — not to mention the grit and confidence that you can indeed get through pretty much anything.
Click here to read more ----------------------->