The 4 Benefits to Being Black Abroad

The 4 Benefits of Being Black Abroad

For African  Americans, living abroad may present special challenges. These challenges vary depending on how people in your host country perceive black people. While many people assume that being black in a foreign country would be writhe with negative experiences, such as discrimination, your ethnic uniqueness can be a positive benefit while abroad. Here are four ways that being black abroad can be an advantage:

First, being black abroad, you will discover that your uniqueness facilitates conversation, creates curiosity, and attracts people. Having not seen someone like you before, people in your host country may become very interested in learning more about you. Don’t take this as an offense; instead see this as an opportunity to share your culture and other differences with them.

Second, being black abroad gives you the innate ability to adapt quickly to your host community because of your experience being a minority in the U.S. Your experience being black in America has gifted you with the necessary skills needed to thrive in a foreign land. Being in a country where you stick out, you would not be as uncomfortable as someone who is used to living as a part of the majority race in their own country. As a black person in America, you have to negotiate your cultural identity within a majority white society daily, which is the best preparation for engaging cultures and societies in other countries.

Third, you might be the only black person that the people from your host country will ever meet. Rather than consider the opportunity a burden, think of it as a chance to shape the image another culture or nation develops of your ethnicity, and of America as a whole. In many cases, your encounters with people in your host country may be the only frame of reference they have of people who look like you.  You should also consider that they might share these experiences with their friends, families, and local communities.  Thus a single, seemingly insignificant, encounter for you could mean a lot more for a member of your host country.

Finally, as a black American, you might find it easy to accept different perspectives and be more open-minded about different cultures. As a black American, you may have faced situations in which you were misunderstood or pre-judged based on your ethnicity. Having been misjudged you are less likely to prejudge the actions or behavior of the people in of your host country, thus allowing you to avoid building barriers that could limit the intimacy and connection you can have with the people of your host country.

This said, while their some benefits of being a black abroad, it doesn’t mean that non-black travelers do not have similar benefits. We all have something unique about us and can use it to our advantage while living abroad.