I am writing this after returning home to the States for a few days. I first noticed how loud everyone was at the Houston airport. From being in Spain, where everyone keeps their conversations to themselves and tries to maintain a respectful tone, I was reminded quickly that the same does not apply back home.
In this blog we are asked what I have learned about myself after being abroad for four weeks. The first important lesson I learned firsthand is that surprisingly, having an incoming hurricane on the same day as a departure can lead to travel delays. The important lesson was that when I was delayed on my way back home, instead of getting worried, I took it as an opportunity to sleep some more before my flight.
After living with 40 people for an entire month, you get to learn about them. The most interesting thing is that we can learn so very much about how others were raised, the town they live in, and the relationships they value through the way they interact with their environment. I enjoyed learning from both our professors, not only in the classroom but outside of the classroom.
The prompt also asks us what we would tell someone considering embarking on a similar journey. I would 100% recommend doing it. Everyone should go outside of their comfort zone and live with their classmates in a foreign country. From just learning how to travel on your own to talking to people who have lived entirely different lives, it is important to learn these skills. As we grow older and become business people, these are the skills that allow us to focus on the work we are doing and bring in unique perspectives.
In the future, if I ever talk to a Spanish person in a business setting, we have the potential to get along much better because I know more about their culture because of this trip. Overall, this was an unforgettable experience. I seriously do not know the next time I will go on a month-long trip, so I truly value the opportunity to have done so.
