By Lylyan Yenson, Staff Writer
High schools give students opportunities to travel and gain new experiences through student exchange programs and study abroad courses. Studying in a different place gives students chances to experience living far from home and a slight sense of independency. It’s not just education, there are many incredible reasons for studying abroad such as seeing the world, experiencing a new culture, and you could meet new people and make lifelong friends.
Many students who choose to study overseas, get a chance to hone their foreign language skills. Students in high school usually take on a different second language and can travel to the language’s native country to learn to speak the language more frequently. There are many advantages to this because being taught the language in school for an hour each weekday is different from speaking the language outside of school to native speakers of that language. All languages have unique grammar and slang, not to mention many modern languages have sayings and words that could have double meanings. Not everything can be taught in school, some things you have to learn through experience.
For some students this might be their first time traveling to a different country. This gives them a chance to experience a lifestyle that might be completely contrasting to their own. Living around people with different cultures allow for the students to get new perspectives on life. These new perspectives might even give them a chance to learn new hobbies that they might not have even known about before. These hobbies might just become more than that and turn into their career choice. There are so many possibilities when living in a completely new environment.
In my opinion, nothing brings people closer than going through the same experience. Traveling to a completely new place might not feel too safe and having someone to experience that with can create a strong bond. Students get to meet new people from all over the world with different backgrounds or get to know some of their own classmates better. Making new friends or strengthening old bonds and having connections to people all over the world are great benefits.
As mentioned before, living away from home might give students the sense of independence they need in life. They get to explore a new country and solve new challenges. Not to mention, studying abroad might be a once in a lifetime experience. After highschool and college students might get so caught up in finding a job and succeeding in that job that they have no time to travel and enjoy new cultures. Studying abroad is a completely unique experience that many can look back on and reminisce about with their friends.
