Why You Should Travel, Study, and/or Work Abroad

One of my Facebook friends posted this article from the Huffington Post today:

19 Things You'll Only Appreciate if You Studied Abroad

Though my husband and I weren't studying when we lived abroad (he was working) the heart of this article really applies to us, and anyone who has lived abroad for that matter. We have learned way more in our travels than we ever have in any classroom. As homesick as I was when I lived in Germany and as much as I longed to move back home, I find there are many things I miss about living there, especially this time of year, as I love European Christmas traditions.

If I could give young people graduating from high school or college one piece of advice it would be: travel. Get a backpack and a passport and go see countries other than your own. You haven't really completed your education until you leave the walls of the classroom and become a student of the world.

One of my favorite quotes of all time, and one I dole out effusively, is by Mark Twain and feels apt to quote here:

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”