Travel and Education: 3 Unwise and Common Inaction by Foreign Students
Being a student in a foreign country is always difficult. Although globalization and multicultural interactions continue to become more and more natural in the modern world, the ability to adapt as a guest in the country is still essential for any decent and wise person abroad. These are 3 inactions that make their life more difficult, less comforting and not as interesting and all-encompassing as it could be.
Not Trying to Speak Local Language
Great example of a respectable guest in the country was Hall of Fame baseball player Roberto Clemente. His English was perfect, because he considered it disrespectful to live in another country without speaking the local language.
Nowadays, when pretty much all of the languages store in open access of the internet, ways of learning has become a lot easier than it was a couple decades ago. Native speakers will take your ability to talk their language as a compliment. And for that reason, they will be happy to help you to learn it.
On the other hand, even if you have nothing against the language and you prefer no to invest your time in it – you worsen your reputation as a newcomer. Basically your inability and unwillingness to speak will quickly get interpreted as you saying to people the following:
“I’m fine with not knowing your language. I don’t need to learn it. It is not that important to me. I can cope without it.”
Local people will think of you as someone who dismisses their way of communication. And that is not the image that you want as a someone who decides to educate outside of your homeland.
Not Communicating Outside Of Your Ethnic Group
It is good when you travel to a different country for study purposes with your friends from the same country. However, it doesn’t open borders of your cultural knowledge as much, as if you were on this journey alone. Whichever your situation is, it is important to be able to get out and get yourself comfortable within the group of local people. Staying exclusively in the circle of your homeland buddies will make you look distrustful and deliberately alienated. It is okay to not want to talk to everybody on a regular basis. But it’s not okay to avoid everyone except your homeland buddies.
Not Picking Up Cultural Features
Being humble is the most universal tool for doing okay as a guest of a different country. On the contrary, being too loud and unapologetic can only harm you. Being pompous can also worsen your ability to notice cultural details that you have not heard off.
For instance, in some of the parts in Commonwealth of Independent States it is common to offer your seat to women and elders whenever you are using public transport. If you are in Japan society expects you not to talk on the phone in these places. Whereas in a place like China that is okay to burp and England is a place where you can jaywalk. In order to notice these details better it is important to formulate a habit to look for these features not only online but in real life as well.
About the Author:
Zack Hargrove is a remote editor among professional essay writers who can help with economics homework. Many of his topics are dedicated to music, fitness, education and ways of strengthening your scientific curiosity. You can find him on Twitter @zackhargrovejr.
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