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Studying abroad in Oxford, England, for almost five months was the experience of a lifetime. I got the opportunity to travel to eleven different countries in Europe and see first-hand aspects of culture that are different than my own. It was truly interesting to see the changes and alterations in lifestyle from one city to the next, especially when they were in the same country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For an example of cultural differences in the same country, I visited Munich and Berlin, Germany. Never before have I seen two cities of the same country differ so much from each other. In Munich, the whole town was covered in a blanket of quirkiness, which stemmed from its peculiar history and folklore-loving community. Everywhere you looked, there was another chance to see and learn about some odd pieces of history that were unique to Munich. Munich owes much of its history to beer! On the other hand, in Berlin, it was a totally different story. Most of the history you learn about in Berlin is related to the Second World War, the Holocaust, and the Berlin Wall. Because of this, the sense of the town is much more somber and always has an air of remembrance, although it also has its quirky spots. One way that Berlin vastly differs from Munich is that Berlin has monuments throughout the city to remember those who were persecuted during the more shameful parts of Berlin\u2019s history. In contrast, Munich\u2019s monuments are more positive and reflective of the fun parts of the city\u2019s history. These factors greatly contribute to the differences in the character of each city.<\/span><\/p>\n I learned many things on my Study Abroad experience. I learned how to use four different currencies, public transportation in dozens of cities, the useful words in Italian, German, and French, and how to travel efficiently and effectively. However, overall, the most important thing I learned from my experience was how to see situations from different perspectives. When you see how different people live in other parts of the developed world, it makes you think about how you live. A mundane example is the lack of clothes dryers in most of Western Europe. In Europe, people hang their clothes to dry. As someone who grew up using a dryer, it was a little strange to see clotheslines along the streets in front of houses. While line-drying clothes is not the way I dry my clothes, it is not the wrong way to do it. That is the most important thing to remember, that just because it is different does not mean it is wrong. <\/span><\/p>\n This is true for a lot of aspects of our daily lives. Getting to talk to people who live differently and believe differently than I do, has vastly reshaped how I view and engage with the world. I am now able to consider situations from a more diverse perspective and understand and appreciate the way those around me view them. I am so grateful for the doors opened for me by this experience.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.9.2″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/honorscollege\/files\/2021\/07\/Whatley-Jones-Spring-2018-3.jpg” title_text=”Whatley Jones Spring 2018 -3″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/honorscollege\/files\/2021\/07\/Whatley-Jones-Spring-2018-1-2.jpg” title_text=”Whatley Jones Spring 2018 -1″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.9.2″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”180.7px” custom_padding=”3px||0px|||”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.9.2″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/honorscollege\/files\/2021\/07\/Whatley-Jones-Spring-2018-5.jpg” _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default” title_text=”Whatley Jones Spring 2018 -5″ hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.9.2″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/honorscollege\/files\/2021\/07\/Whatley-Jones-Spring-2018-2.jpg” title_text=”Whatley Jones Spring 2018 -2″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Studying abroad in Oxford, England, for almost five months was the experience of a lifetime. I got the opportunity to travel to eleven different countries in Europe and see first-hand aspects of culture that are different than my own. It was truly interesting to see the changes and alterations in lifestyle from one city to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20655,"featured_media":4868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"1080","footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\n