Manly Men

Quick! I'm going to flash some images really quickly and I want you to say the first thing that comes to mind when you see them:

Ready? The answers are as follows:
1) Manly
2) Manly
3) Manly
4) Manly
5) Manly ('murica and freedom would also have been accepted)
6) Manly (Mother Russia would have been accepted)
7) Manly (what a playa and wine-o would have been accepted)

Don't lie; you thought that for the last one.

Okay, I won't fault you if you don't think that. However, since a majority of us can't ride bears, have no desire to look like the Terminator, and don't feel the need to spray patriotism at a rate of 100 rounds a minute, the last one is probably the most realistic for most of us - going abroad.

The company I studied abroad with and currently work with, CEA, informed me at our latest meeting that there is a huge deficiency of college-aged men studying abroad. I can vouch for this - in my Granada program, there were seven guys and about forty girls.

Guys....guys....c'mon. Look at those odds.

This isn't a CEA-exclusive phenomenon, either. The university we attended, Universidad de Granada - Centro de Lenguas Modernas was mainly for American study abroad students who were there to learn the language. I'd reckon a good few hundred are there every semester.
And guys...seriously...I'm not joking when I say at least 80% of them are females.

Maybe you're not really on the market right now - that's okay! To be honest, of all the reasons to go abroad, looking for a lady should be really low on that list because you're far in a foreign city where you'll meet all these people, only to probably never see them again because the distance between you two is so large!

Do as I say, not as I do, internet.

Ahem, yes, I know - I broke that rule. And it turned out okay for me; girlfriend is still with me a year+ later. :)

The National Association of International Educators - NAFSA - released a study a year ago showing that a mere 1% of all US college students study abroad!!!!!

ONE PERCENT! GUYS - SPECIFICALLY GUYS - WE ARE THE MINORITY OF THE MINORITY. I DON'T GO INTO ALL-CAPS RAGE OFTEN, BUT SERIOUSLY, THIS IS OUR OPPORTUNITY. STUDY ABROAD AND SEIZE THIS CHANCE!!!!

Why so few students in general do it, I do not know. That in of itself is probably worthy of a later blog post. However, the world is critically low on well-traveled, cultural, understanding men. Studying abroad opens up so much of the world to you and so much of you to the world, you never come back the same. In the interconnected world we live in, understanding and respecting our cultural differences is all the more important and crossing these borders - while difficult - can prevent so many of the problems we face in the world today, not to mention you will earn more money because you are far more versatile and useful to any serious company nowadays.

Men, I'm going to list of just a few of the main reasons you need to study abroad in college or soon thereafter:

1. It's like a college party, but for six months. I could go on and on about all the stuff that goes on abroad, but I know my mom reads this (hi mom), and I like somethings being a secret. Depending on where you go, there is a lot more to do, and more frequently, than good old conservative America. Even if you don't particularly enjoy monster hangovers and rushing to catch your bus in the morning - you're probably a better person - the pure atmosphere of going abroad is of a fiesta itself. Few worries, new adventures, new people and friends, and memories that you'll always be bringing up that will force some friends to get annoyed with you later on. Regardless of inebriating activities, a semester abroad is a six month party for your inner being that, unlike actual parties, strengthens you in more ways than just your alcohol tolerance.



The people at CEA, probably...(via imgur)

2. You get to do college without actually doing college. I was seriously surprised on this one. With participation so low in America, most respectable colleges that I know throw money at students who consider studying abroad. Yes, there's a lot of paperwork, deadlines, and research to go through, but when has anything great ever been easy? While there, you get to take easier, yet still interesting courses that leave you with enough time to learn things and still experience the local area where, to be honest, you learn so much more than a classroom can ever. Plus, did I mention that many times it's actually cheaper than your university at home? Lucky for you, CEA has plenty of money to give away too, including extra money on top of scholarship money. It's like money on top of money.
3. You're much more marketable and will make more money. While German tops the list because of it's business-oriented culture, any language will really make you more money than only English. This is only in financial terms - the number of employers who want multi-lingual people is only growing (heck, even I got a job because of it!) and these travel and language abilities let you be so much more versatile as a person throughout your entire life - once you've flown RyanAir, not the most cramped and late bus will ever make you cringe again!
4. You come back inspired and changed. This obviously varies across the board, depending on how you are and what you did. But it's undeniable that you cannot be the same pre-you as you are post-you. Once you see all the history of a different country, the world from their perspective, and the people in person - not words on a news report - you think differently, act differently, and find priorities have changed. I picked up a third language - Portuguese. I never would have imagined I could speak and understand two, much less three languages. When you're back at your home university, it's not that things magically happen, it's that you realize things that you didn't before. Try it! and finally...
5. You get to be exotic for a bit. This seems silly, I know, but America is a big, powerful, and influential country, for better or worse. Many people in the world have never really interacted with an American, and the news they see does not exactly highlight the good parts of our society and interactions with the world. We need to change that. We have an awesome culture with awesome people, and so much of the misunderstanding comes from a lack on interaction. In learning about new cultures, they in turn learn about you. You become much more aware of what you like and don't like in your culture and you alter it - you really do. Plus, in some countries, you actually stand out - like, physically stand out (I'm six foot three soooooo.....). That's kind of cool - and awkward - when not everyone looks like you. Putting yourself out of your comfort zone is necessary for growth, and what better than forced growth than putting you in situations you've never encountered before? 

That's studying abroad, guys, and that's why you need to do it now.