This summer, I had the opportunity to go to Finland on a youth exchange for two weeks. I met twenty teens, ages ranging from sixteen to twenty, from many different European countries. Before I got there, I had already Facebook stalked everyone and “decided” who I would be friends with, and which teens were the weird ones. Once I got there, everything changed. I finally learned the real lesson, “never to judge a book by its cover.” I was introduced to a variety of other cultures and gained valuable insight in regards to their traditions and values. My view on the world and America also changed.

After Facebook stalking everyone I had decided that the girl of Lithuania, Jürate, was extremely strange. I had shown her profile to all my friends because her picture was of her with a lot of black surrounding her eyes. Once I was there, we started talking and were a lot alike. I learned the black eyes were part of a dress up for a festival in her country. She is very funny and we became very close. I still talk and Skype her at least once a week. This taught me to not just look at someone and immediately decide if we will be friends or not.

Before I got on the trip my view, like those of most Americans, was that I lived in the best country in the world. Throughout my trip, I also learned about the benefits and flaws of the rest of the world. I learned more in the first person accounts from my peers then most of my years taking World History. When I listened to the news, I heard about all these terrors happening in Egypt and Turkey but it did not seem very personal. After hearing these personal narratives the stories hit closer to home. I realized that it could be in their shoes because they were just normal teenagers. I felt very fortunate to live in America and have rights that some teens would only dream of. Although I felt more fortunate, I also found out many flaws that America has. I do not believe our education system is very good compared to the rest of the world. For example, in Finland they start school at seven so children have a chance to play. I also saw that many Americans have falsely placed pride. We continue to boast about our ability to drive big trucks, eat large portions and the money and strength we put into our military, but most of the world does not see these as positives. I began to see America in the eyes of someone else looking in and found this mindset was comical.

Before arriving, my mindset was closely minded and I believed American was the best. On the trip, I met so many different people with very different backgrounds. Talking to these teens, my ideas of America and the rest of the world shifted. I saw the benefits in the U.S. as well as the flaws. When I got back home, I realized America was not as impressive as I previously thought.