“ The experience of living and studying in another country was so eye-opening … [it] tested preconceptions and habits I wasn’t even aware were so ingrained in me,” says Cynthia Perras
It is significant to note that these intercultural benefits are not fleeting but continue to impact participants’ lives long after their time abroad. Almost all of the respondents (94 percent) reported that the experience continues to influence interactions with people from different cultures, and 23 percent still maintain contact with host-country friends. Ninety percent said that the experience influenced them to seek out a greater diversity of friends, and 64 percent said that it also influenced them to explore other cultures.
“It has been nearly ten years since I was a student in Vienna, but not a single day goes by where its impact is not felt in my life,” says Jason Thornberg . “My time there fundamentally changed how I view the world and has given me the ability to view the world, and its issues, from several perspectives.”