“I think visiting Mexico is especially important for any American interested in travel. Mexico is so close to the United States and accessible, but it’s also a great first country to study abroad in. Mexico is a beautiful and unique country, yet it holds many similarities to the US. In my opinion, it is an optimal country for someone leaving the US for the first time.

The learning experiences we had on our trip to Mexico were in the technicalities of living, working, and learning as a group. It was about learning to work with people you were having conflict with. But most of all, our trip to Mexico was all about shifting perspective.

Everything is connected to the way people think. You’d never realize in the United States that we are such a dominant country and culture. Maybe you do get it on a very objective level. Maybe you kind of understand the way in which Hollywood reaches across the globe, but you will never feel it until you leave. Until you leave and go to a place that you think is different. You don’t realize what your culture is, or to where it has spread until you get out of it. 

I learned about the United States on my trip to Mexico. But more specifically, I learned about the USA through the lenses of Mexican people.
Go to as many countries as possible and as many different places as possible that you aren’t familiar with! Go to China, go to Germany, go to Thailand, go to France, go to Rwanda. Go everywhere, and broaden your horizons on your perception of yourself and your country. Get out there! Out of your comfort zone, and into a place where your mind is set up for a deeper level of empathy. Let yourself learn to see the world through someone else’s eyes.”