My first year of college I spent two weeks in Central America and it changed my worldview. My sisters were able to visit Europe and India and they say their time in another country helped shape how they view life. Leaving the United States is something every kid should do. It could be a mission trip or a school trip. Maybe they’ll help build a well or backpack across Europe. I say kids, because the best age to make these kinds of trips is right out of high school or during college.
Growing up in the United States can make us feel entitled. Most kids can eat when they’re hungry, go to school, hang out with their friends at the mall or the movies. Basically, we’re privileged and we don’t even realize what we have. They don’t see how people live in London or Africa. Sure, there are lots of preconceived ideas and stereotypes that we are fed through the media. There’s really no way to understand the world if you haven’t seen the world.
One of the best reasons for Americans to travel is to show the rest of the world what we’re really like. We aren’t all like Brittany Spears or the cast from Jersey Shore. We are just as diverse as the world and by travelling our kids have the chance to show the kids in Costa Rica what music they like and what their favorite food is. Our kids also get to experience new foods, new music, new traditions.
It’s an amazing eperience, no matter how the trip goes. We all see the trips that went bad, like Amanda Knox and her battle for freedom in Italy. Those are stories that are few and far between. Overall, kids come back with a new perspective and new interests. Norman Duarte, a spokesperson for AFS (one of the world’s largest student exchange programs), cites multiple benefits to studying abroad, including learning another language, developing new relationships that change your outlook on life, and gaining awareness of international issues. “When you live in another country, you don’t just learn another language,” says Duarte, who was an AFS participant himself as a teenager, “You also get a bigger view of the world.”
Did you travel as a teen or college student? Do you wish you had the opportunity? Will you encourage your children to visit another country?
