Every year, millions of Americans travel abroad for a wide variety of reasons. Sometimes you travel for work and other times you are simply looking to explore some out-of-the-way places you’ve always dreamed of visiting at least once in a lifetime. Some people study abroad while others travel to visit family and friends. Even so, no matter what your reason for traveling anywhere on earth, here is some of what you can hope to experience.
We Are Not So Different After All
Humans have always feared the unknown and that is one of the main reasons why there seems to be so much ethnic and cultural bias in the world. What if you could visit every nation on earth and meet people from every socioeconomic class or sit in a home with a family at mealtime? You would see that we are not so different after all. Yes, there are cultural divides we may not be able to bridge, but in our humanity, we recognize that all mothers love their children and all cultures look forward to their holidays. Bonding is an important aspect of any society and although we may approach it differently, all cultures understand the need for community.
Global Health Concerns Are Similar
You have heard it said repeatedly that healthcare is a global concern. Not only is there an extreme shortage of healthcare professionals, but most countries lack the funding necessary to adequately staff hospitals and clinics or purchase the latest medical technology. Even when studying for a DNP online degree from top-ranked schools like Duquesne University, for example, it helps to understand we all have the same healthcare concerns. While it isn’t a requirement to complete a residency when studying to become a nurse practitioner at Duquesne University online, completing a residency in Dublin or Rome could give you a greater perspective on transcultural similarities in the current global healthcare crisis.
A History of the Cultures Which Have Become the “American Way”
As you travel around the world and visit new cities, you will see that various nations do things differently than we do here at home. However, from time to time something will kindle a spark of familiarity. It may strike you in that moment that the United States is a melting pot of cultural influences because the majority of the population are descendants of immigrants. Few Americans with genealogies dating back through several generations can lay claim to being ethnically ‘pure.’ We have intermarried to the point where any one person may have several ethnicities in their DNA. The merging of these widely varied cultures is what makes the United States unique and why we should be a beacon of hope in this transient world of the 21st century.
What you can experience when traveling abroad promises to be enlightening if you open your mind to the possibility that we aren’t so very different after all. We all bleed when we are cut, love our children with every ounce of our being, and we all have the same healthcare concerns which are not being adequately addressed. If you want to grow as a person and within your profession, travel the world with your eyes wide open.