The statements made by Curtis S. Chin are not only broad generalizations, but they are also pessimistic and potentially ignorant in nature (in that this frame of thinking can be applied to any facet of life and/ or education). While studying abroad might not be “essential to a good education”, it is important to define what a “good education” actually is, and further, it is important to consider the elements that contribute to what might be a “good education” in the first place. While he is not wrong that it can be an “expensive waste of time”, it also completely depends on who the person is that is studying abroad and what type of experience they are going to try to have. A person should only go abroad if they know they are going to use the experience to grow as a person and attempt to see the world through the eyes of a different culture. Studying abroad can be an expensive waste of time in the same way that going to college or doing anything, really, could be an expensive waste of time. I don’t believe there is a better way to “instill knowledge, increase opportunities, and open the eyes of our young people” than forcing them into a culture that is different than their own. Being abroad for about 4 months now, I can confidently say I have learned more about myself, the world, and other people in these 4 months than I have in 2 years of attending an undergraduate college in my home country. I believe one of the only ways to observe something clearly is to step back from it, given you cannot see something to its fullest potential if you yourself are a part of it. Being pulled out of my own school community and the American culture, I have been able to view my own life, as well as the country I live in, from an alien outsider’s perspective rather than a participant who does not even realize there that there is an outside perspective. When Curtis Chin states that studying abroad could be a nice “add on” in theory, it does nothing more than highlight the fact that he himself has missed the point of studying abroad altogether.
