Importance of Cultural Exchange

When you live with a host family, you are integrated into their family and temporarily become part of it. By doing so, you become aware of the inner concerns, hopes, and dreams of a family, a neighborhood or city, a nation, and global community. And with this realization comes the corresponding knowledge of what it means to belong to your own particular country and culture.

Participants develop leadership skills, self-confidence and a greater understanding of the complexities of the world around them. Getting to know the locals, experiencing the culture, and living as they do; these are things tourists miss, and this is where you really discover the way of life in another country with all its subtleties.

As cliché as it sounds, today we live in a global village where virtual connection from anyone living in any part of the world can be made in seconds. Yet, today’s world is more xenophobic than ever before. Today’s modern people believe in more stereotypes regarding other nations than what one would expect. Today we tend to generalize, fear and exclude “the other” more than our previous generations.

Let’s explore some of the benefits of cultural exchange.

Provide alternative perspective

Cultural exchanges provide an opportunity to explore other cultures, traditions, customs, beliefs, societies, languages and much more. Hence, such opportunities make you view the world with a different lens. This provides alternative perspectives! It broadens one’s horizons and increases the tendency of acceptance.

Makes one aware of one’s own self and culture

By understanding differences from others, one tends to recognize one’s own self. Cultural exchanges allow us to experience the exotic cultures, but at the same time, provide an opportunity to better understand our own cultures and traditions. Hence, these opportunities act as widows of self-awareness.

Increases knowledge about our world

Directly experiencing something is the best way to learn. Therefore, cultural exchanges allow us to experience another culture by living and learning about languages, customs, traditions, lifestyles, food, social structures and what not!

Makes one understand the beauty of diversity

Diversity is beautiful. It is the pre-requisite of unity. Unity, instead of uniformity, creates tolerance, acceptance and flexibility. To attain unity, it is necessary to appreciate diversity. Cultural exchanges help us do just that. When one experiences other cultures, view the world with another lens, accept the “other”, one understands the very essence of diversity which is the first step towards attaining unity.

Helps debunk misconceptions and stereotypes

These are stereotypes and misconceptions about nations which are believed across the globe. Cultural exchanges help us fight against them by representing our real selves by interacting with those who have never met us before.