how can living overseas teach you anything?

People always say that living overseas can make a person more cultured or wise. How can living in a different country teach you anything? Besides the language.

Public Comments

1. You must be American.
2. It can teach you the ways of other, that is, if you are open to learning it.
3. If you are from the US you really need to know that there are actually other countries outside America.. I remember a lady in California asked me, When I said I was English...Oh! did you drive over....? But I gotta say as a world traveller I have lived in and visited the USA often..and they are the best people I ever met..my closest friends have been American.. It's just a shame about the Bush Admin...
4. It can teach you about other cultures, other lifestyles. It can make you more tolerant and accepting of others who have different opinions, and faiths from yourself.
5. You learn how other people live and that there's different ways to do things. Gives you a better perspective on the world and introduces you to new ideas. Why would you want to live in the same old boring town, you'd become a boring person.
6. One not only gets a chance to be emerged in a language but to be living with other governments and cultures as well-seeing things from the other side of the fence is always an eye opener and that always helps you become a broader and more worldly person
7. Seeing different solutions to the problems any country has is very eye-opening and makes one very humble. I have lived and worked in three countries and must say that I never knew that there were such a wide variety of ways of doing things. I loved it and I am gratefull that it was posssible.
8. Well, you learn others culture, religion, life styles, differences. Being abroad and traveling is probably one of the most interesting and mature ways to learn anything about the world and sociability with other races.
9. It shows you how other people live, their cultures, beliefs, day to day life, etc. I don't think you need to live over there though, just visiting will work (visit places off the beaten tourist path). Or just interacting with the diverse group of people living here in America is a great experience.
10. teaches you that the domestic problems of your own country aren't as bad as people trying to get a free ride make it seem to be like race relations or religious freedoms. Just look at a lot of the middle eastern countries it's only legal to openly practice Islam in 98% of those countries. Vim- was she blond by chance?? Unfortantly most americans could not find Chad on a globe or atlas if it was the only country with the name printed on it sad really.
11. You see things from a different perspective. Different ways of thinking, eating and conducting yourself.
12. Make you eligible to work for the CIA, in certain cases. Also, shields you, hopefully from the sliding dollar, if you're working and being paid in Pounds or Euros. Living in another culture will teach you how to get along with other peoples and that your culture is not the center of the universe. Humility?
13. Enough with the American bashing here on Yahoo answers... It is ridiculous and pompous... Living overseas is a fabulous way to learn about other cultures, including- art, entertainment, food, music, educational systems, games, clothing, transportation, religions, economics and on and on.. It is the action step in the saying "walk a mile in my shoes".. If you get the chance you should really do it. Everyone could benefit by being open minded about other cultures and not making snap judgements.... like the anti American answerers here!!!
14. For you American bashers, most of the people here saying "living in another country is a good thing" are Americans.
15. Well, there are, of course, the obvious answers.... learning new languages, customs, traditions, history, politics, all kinds of social lessons are to be learned. But now consider the less obvious..... Living away from home, from the people you know, the life you're accustomed to, can teach you more about yourself. You'll learn how resourceful you are, how well you handle difficult situations on your own, and can build your self-confidence. But perhaps most importantly, you'll learn a whole new appreciation for your home. Absence, as they say, makes the heart grow fonder.