We are about four weeks into our Spring semester and many students are well into their study abroad programs. I wanted to take this chance to point out that there is a tendency among university students to expect study abroad to be a resort-like vacation with exciting food, a low drinking age, perfect Instagram opportunities and a dash of amusing local culture.

I saw this in a handful of peers in my study abroad group when I studied in Rome my junior year. I saw people who expected the local culture to cater to their expectations, who complained about the food, the smells or the customs. Not only is that sort of behavior a burden to everyone else on the trip, but it’s an obstacle to having a fruitful study abroad experience and it’s incredibly presumptuous and disrespectful.

The bottom line is this: if you want your study abroad experience to mirror the “American way,” don’t study abroad.

In my group, the students who had the best trip were the ones free of presumptions, the ones who were curious and open to the culture, who wanted to learn about the locals, and who understood that, though making comparisons is part of human nature, all cultures have something valuable to teach.

We are raised to believe that our culture is the superior one and that we have nothing to learn from other parts of the world. That is not true, but that sort of mentality is what separates a tourist from a traveler.

Ultimately, when abroad I invite everyone to be mindful that you are a guest in someone else’s home, that you were graced with the opportunity to learn of new customs from up close and that no one ever gained anything from approaching novelty with condescension.

Letizia Mariani can be reached at mari9259@stthomas.edu