I recently had an exchange with a friend of a friend on FB. He was going on and on about how great the USA is, that it was by far the best country in the world. I asked him how many other countries he’d been to. It turns out that he hasn’t ever set foot outside his native land. When I told him he should because there is a beautiful world out there with lots of interesting people to meet and things to see, he said, “I’m happy right where I am.” Where he lives is in the deep south in one of the most notoriously racist states in the US. His attitude indicates a profound fear of having his world view challenged. Travel and most especially living abroad changes us. In some ways, we come to appreciate our home country even more than we did before. We also discover that the way we were taught to think, believe, and be is not always the only way or even the best way. If people refuse to leave their comfort zones, they can’t grow. They’re like babies who refuse to be born. We cannot hope for positive change in a world where people are so willfully ignorant. I hope your story will encourage others to experience life in other countries and risk new perspectives.