In general, I think one’s identity is the only lens in which a person can see and experience the world through. No matter what experience a person is having, they are bound to compare it with past experiences they have had in order to gain a better (subjective) understanding of their current situation. Because of my own identity, whatever that may be, I feel as though I am able to see and experience the world through a very unique lens. While I am very fortunate in that I come from a loving family as well as attending a beautiful school, I have also been fortunate enough to be exposed to people who are less fortunate than myself (in those aspects). Because of my upbringing, I have had access to travelling opportunities as well as eye opening experiences in my own town/state/ country. I believe exposure to people who have lives very different from your own is important because it allows a person to step into another person’s shoes and understand the world from their perspective. While there is no place quite like home, I have come to learn there is no place quite like any other place either. My identity allows me to see the world from not only my perspective, but because of my range of experiences, I feel like I am able to more easily understand the world through the eyes of others as well.
One advantage of my identity, as previously stated, is that I feel I have the ability to understand a wide range of people. Because of the different experiences/people/places/education I have been exposed to, I can relate to multiple situations and scenarios which is incredibly beneficial in new environments with new people. I feel this is an advantage because having a previous understanding of certain people/places/environments/situations allows for me to be more personable as well as more comfortable when trying to connect with new people in a new place.
I am not sure what other identities I expect to encounter abroad. I say this because it is impossible to predict who you may meet and what they are going to be like. Even though it is fair to assume that people abroad will be wildly different from all my fellow Americans, I have an inkling that people around the world are just as different from you as your neighbors at home, and also just as similar.
I am curious as to whether or not Aussies experience the world the way their stereotype suggests they do. In America, the stereotype for an Australian is someone who not only surfs a bunch but is more or less completely carefree in every sense. It is hard to predict how an Aussies might ACTUALLY experience life differently from me, but I do have a couple guesses. Firstly, I think it is fair to assume they don’t love America as much as your stereotypical American does. Secondly, while I think most Australians might actually live perhaps less stress-filled lives, I don’t think it is to the extent that most people think it is. While we all want to believe that Australians are just always running on a beach in slow motion with a surfboard in hand, I am assuming the Australian fantasy created by Americans is quite exaggerated. Further, it is important to recognize the aboriginal culture in Australia. The Aboriginal people are the indigenous peoples of Australia and I think because of society, time, and systematic racism, some aboriginal people probably experience the world vastly different than tourists and non-indigenous people of Australia