After traveling abroad, what incident or custom of the visited country changed the way you view yourself?

Question

or any assumptions that you previously held?

Answer 1

I've had many experiences that changed my outlook, from when I first travelled to Europe in my early 20's as a rock n' roll musician to visiting monasteries when affiliated with the Church. My first trips to Europe changed my view of the U.S. and frankly I was surprised to learn that the U.S. was not the center of the universe after all. I noticed huge differences, but if I can find a common thread in all these experiences I think I can say that the difference I notice has to do with CULTURE.

Other countries, countries that have ancient histories that are part of their national heritage, seem to share something else in common a sense of family and culture that includes their ancestors and a real almost tangible connection to antiquity. The U.S. on the other hand, although we've been given the idea that it's a 'melting pot' and a combination of many cultures, more often than not has amounted to a LACK of any real CULTURE to speak of except for what I would call a culture of commercialism or "popular culture". American "Pop Culture" turns us into nothing more than consumers and flashy pop-stars, where as the cultures of the old world turned people into heros and saints. You can get a sense of this when you travel; it's in the difference between the flashing billboard of a famous model in a major U.S.city when compared to the weathered icon of a holy saint in a road side shrine in a small villiage in Greece or Italy.

The most memorable experience of an incident or custom that changed the way I view myself happened when I was a monk novice and traveling with my small group to visit the monasteries in Egypt. As we walked through the little squares and the holy places that were visited by pilgrims, the children, whether Christian or Muslim would follow behind us; anyone who wore the dress of a cleric would be greeted and called upon the same way 'Saidna', 'Saidna' they would call; which translates into "Father, Father"...... These children were SO excited, so full of love, respect and excitement they absolutely LOVE the monks and priests of their Coptic church. I saw first hand for the first time what they eyes of faith can do to transform reality. It's really hard to explain, I can only say that at that moment; at that time and place.... holiness existed. It exists in a way that it seems to not have an opportunity to exist in the modern world. It exists because the people, the children and even the adults sincerely believe - and you can see it in their eyes. I don't know if I'd ever seen first hand that another person's faith has the power to transform, sure the faith of one person in his or her own life can have that effect, but this was the first time I ever saw for myself that the faith that others have is so powerful. Their faith can even transform you, by transforming the very way you see yourself, not in a prideful or egotistical way, but in a way that you can see God's beauty, love and power in everyone including your self. In our country we have so much talk about "self-esteem"; but what I saw transcended self esteem; it was greater than faith in yourself or so-called "self -esteem" because there was a "God esteem" - I wish all Americans could travel, and see the differences in other cultures; these old world cultures have a strong faith in God that's palpable and life changing.

I don't know if this makes much sense; my answer is quick, spontaneus and "off the cuff" as they say... but it was a humbling and memorable experience, as small and insignificant as it may sound, that is just the memory of children running after me calling me "father", but it truly transformed me that day, and changed the way I viewed myself, society, culture and faith.

Answer 2

As an American, I lived on an exclusive island in the Caribbean for a few years or so. A popular island for celebs, etc. The celebs love this island cuz the natives don't pester them, no paparazzi, etc. Myself, I had many problems w/ this island. Most importantly, these stick out:
1. The way they treat their animals (dogs, cats, etc) is just awful. Truly inhumane and wretching. One vet on the island and only the 'foreigners' used the services. Everytime I left my home, I was sickened at all the flea ridden, sick, half dead, dehydrated animals lying around everywhere.
2. Police. Our police may have some serious issues, but there the police are USEless. Just awful. If u have a problem, do NOT plan on using the police. A) they don't wanna get involved. B) You will have the reputation as someone that even calls the police (bad!). Domestic Violence? haha Police can't be involved. Stolen car/ or car accident? Ha! Police can't figure it out and noone has ins. anyway.
3. Get sick and need medical help? Good luck. The hospital is a 2000 squ. foot ranch and there is one ambulance on the whole island. I had stomach pain and went to the hospital one night-- the Dr said, "it must be gallstones-- I will take them out for u if u like."
4. The natives, esp. men, will offer and try and charm u into every busines deal they ever dreamed of.
5. Everyone knows everyone and they take care of themselves first. Gossip is rampant. And gossip on a small island blows faster than the wind.
6. Water? Hahaha water. There is none unless u pay a very high premium- a lot more than our 4.00 gal. gas--- so, pray for a lot of rain. No hot showers. Cold ones can be feesible at 5 minutes a shower (and that's one expensive shower).
I could go on and on.
Yet, the PROS? Hardly any racism. Love tourists from any country because of the almight tourist dollar.
Back home"
I've learned to appreciate my water faucet supply.
I appreciate that their is a Constitution and a police force if u ever need them.
I've learned to spot a player, a sweet talker from a mile behind me.

Answer 3

The thing that international travel has impressed upon me is that we, in the US, have NO IDEA how fortunate we really are. Try finding a public drinking fountain across the entire PRC or Philippines. Can't find one? That's because there aren't any. There is no safe public water supply. You brush your teeth with bottled water or tea. The last time I was in Beijing, you could barely see across the street from our office, for the thick, yellow pollution. I didn't see a bird the entire time I was there. How they're gonna get this place cleaned up for the Olympics is beyond me. Now I know why there is an EPA in the US. Talk about poverty? Once you've seen the tin shacks, open sewers, and naked hungry kids running around, you'll look at your house or apartment and realize that you live in a palace compared to most of the rest of the world. The interesting part is that the poorer the people, the more generous they are. If they had it to give, you'd get the shirt off of their backs. It just goes to show you, poverty is a state of mind. We, in the US, have many lessons to learn in humility.

Answer 4

I am Indian and I have lived in America for over a year.
The differences between the two countries are glaring to say the least. What is thought of as a basic amenity in the US is a luxury back in my country. There are never problems like scarcity of water or electricity in the US. How does that happen I wonder ?
And I was a little surprised to see the use and throw culture whereas my attitude it to try and reuse things, not to spend more water than I need etc. The abundance here is so taken for granted that it surprised my third world sensibility.

We are a more family oriented society while America is all about freedom of the individual. In India the family, extended family and even neighbors are ever willing to help and interfere in your life. You can walk into a friends or relatives house uninvited and be sure that they will share their lunch with you (however meager it maybe) and give you the most comfortable bed to sleep in, since we believe in "Atithi devo bhava" (A guest is akin to the Gods and must be treated with utmost respect).

Freedom of the individual and freedom of choice is very liberating indeed and I admire how people in the US can go to school at any age, try new things at any time of their lives and I admire the resilience of the Americans.
Resilience in terms of never giving up and saying "I am too old now for this or that".
But in some ways that works as a two edged weapon...people keep looking for the perfect lover the search is never ending and so are the options. Whereas in India it is more about acceptance and patience. Maybe it is because people are so engrossed in making a living that these options don't even cross their mind.

I also found people courteous and helpful at most places I went to. I met people from so many different countries here, all drawn in to pursue the "American Dream". Quite a melting pot of cultures.
I made a few good friends too and when I talked to them I realized that the whatever be the color of our skin or the accent of our speech we all have the same problems of love and hate.
We all look for love, trust, friendship, companionship. The human factor, the emotional tapestry, is unchanged everywhere. To put it in other words.. "The more things are different the more they are the same."

Answer 5

I traveled to Torgau, Germany twice in high school, three weeks each time two years in a row. It was a wonderful experience, each time I lived with a family and went to school with someone my age. There were a number of things that I learned while there and habits that I picked up.

I realized how much water we use and take for granted here, we have swimming pools everywhere and take long showers every day. While there it was expected that you turned off the water when you shampoo your hair and soap up. I also realized that textbooks are something we take for granted, the high school there had one set of text books that everyone used, you did not take your books home with you. Family life was also much more important there. The second year that I went I lived in a house with my host family and grandparents. The two other houses on the property were the homes of my student's aunts and uncles.

Habits that I brought home with me were styles of eating and world cup soccer. Small meals were served about 4 or 5 times a day, including an afternoon coffee and cake. That afternoon coffee and cake break has stuck with me as a nice way to take a breather in the middle of the day to help get through the rest of it without too much stress. Since I went during world cup soccer the first year, I discovered that it really is a contagious sport. Now I still follow the world cup tournaments and enjoy every minute of it.

Answer 6

Every trip abroad brings something interesting to my life; it's one of the reasons I travel (the other biggie is the food). Every now and then I just have to leave the U.S. to appreciate it. I went to England for 6 weeks and no one would talk to me except to tell me how much I owed (for something I was trying to buy)--that's all they wanted was my money. I tried to start up conversations as I would do in the U.S. (almost anywhere in the U.S.) and they'd just move away from me and give me the evil eye. Ok, I have an American "accent" or speech pattern but, jez, does that make me a pariah? Even just asking directions I got nothing but nasty glares and one guy wrote a sign, right in front of me saying "I am not the tourist bureau so don't ask me anything except the price of my goods." I almost came home early just because I hadn't carried on a friendly conversation, even a short one, with anyone for 3 weeks, and I'm not a normally chatty social person. Finally, while I was sitting alone reading in a park, a Bahamian man stopped to ask me what I was reading and we started talking. He pointed out that the immigrant areas were a lot more friendly to strangers--so I headed there and found it was so. It was an eye opener because everywhere I've ever gone in the U.S., after only a little while the local people, once they see you aren't a threat and are just visiting, start to talk to you, want to know where you are from, are curious about you.

On other trips to other places, it becomes obvious that females in so many places are treated as second-class citizens (or worse) still. My niece was almost raped in Paris and the police wouldn't do anything because their attitude was "you're female and you shouldn't be out alone, you brought it on yourself, and it serves you right"; it was broad daylight when it happened and she hadn't been walking down some dangerous dark alley or dressed provocatively or flirting. In spite of all the negative things though, I still believe being somewhere where you are foreign is good for you, forces you to think on your feet, forces you to focus, lets you see how others live in this world, etc. And I always come home appreciating the U.S. more than I did before I left.

Answer 7

Other countries, countries that have ancient histories that are part of their national heritage, seem to share something else in common a sense of family and culture that includes their ancestors and a real almost tangible connection to antiquity. The U.S. on the other hand, although we've been given the idea that it's a 'melting pot' and a combination of many cultures, more often than not has amounted to a LACK of any real CULTURE to speak of except for what I would call a culture of commercialism or "popular culture". American "Pop Culture" turns us into nothing more than consumers and flashy pop-stars, where as the cultures of the old world turned people into heros and saints. You can get a sense of this when you travel; it's in the difference between the flashing billboard of a famous model in a major U.S.city when compared to the weathered icon of a holy saint in a road side shrine in a small villiage in Greece or Italy.

Answer 8

When I went to Mexico last week, my stance regarding the influences the media has were really challenged. While in Cozumel and Playa del Carmen, my four female relatives and I were constantly called "sistas" and "soul sistas" because we are black. We also had men hitting on us every second...and what made it weirder was the fact that none of the other females that we saw PERIOD were being treated the same way we were. After I thought about the fact that the few black people from the different cruise ships were the only black people there, I realized that the only time the people we encountered have seen black people has probably been on television, such as BET and MTV. That definitely does not make me feel secure about the way other people view me, because the people on those channels do NOT in any way represent me, and I do not like the fact that these representations are probably the only side of black people that people in other countries receive. Basically, my trip to Mexico made me really want to fight for a change in the media, especially on channels such as BET that do more harm than good.

Answer 9

Freedom of the individual and freedom of choice is very liberating indeed and I admire how people in the US can go to school at any age, try new things at any time of their lives and I admire the resilience of the Americans.
Resilience in terms of never giving up and saying "I am too old now for this or that".
But in some ways that works as a two edged weapon...people keep looking for the perfect lover the search is never ending and so are the options. Whereas in India it is more about acceptance and patience. Maybe it is because people are so engrossed in making a living that these options don't even cross their mind.

Answer 10

Not sur if you'd consider it abroad, but, the last foreign country I visited was Mexico. The people in Juarez seemed humble, generally happy and very grateful for small blessings. It was certainly enough to make you step back and realize that we have a lot to be thankful for in the United States. We should not take so much for granted; especially when..even in this country.. those before us (for the most part) did not have quite the life that we enjoy today.

Answer 11

My mother grew up in Africa and Lebanon, then she came back to France as a young adult and got me. Although we are full blooded french we take pride in "not being french". As I grew up my mother told me stories of french who embarassed her very much as a teenager in Lebanon So when I moved to the US I did my best to be french in what is good and not in what is bad. But I found out that although I tried my best to adjust there was always something I would do that would look weird to others. This taught me to be more patient with foreigners when I came back and to be more cautious when I came back to the US for vacation. Not to be too much out going because if some find it funny many are hurt by it. My trip abroad taught me that the way I see myself is linked to my personal history which is partly linked to my cultur and that since the others have a different one the same fact can be very differently interpreted.
I guess I got the message right because now when I go back or when I talk to americans here they say they don't consider me french or they don't even realize I am french.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
And this is all about trying to understand the other and try to be a little humble. No France is NOT the center of the world. Its center position on world maps is only cultural, if you take a world map from China, China will be in the center!!!! LOL