The 4 Benefits\u00a0of Being Black\u00a0Abroad<\/p>\n
For\u00a0African \u00a0Americans, living abroad\u00a0may present special challenges. These challenges vary depending on how people in your host country perceive black\u00a0people. While many people assume that being black\u00a0in 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\u00a0abroad\u00a0can be an advantage:<\/p>\n
First, being black\u00a0abroad, 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\u2019t take this as an offense; instead see this as an opportunity to share your culture and other differences with them.<\/p>\n
Second, being black\u00a0abroad\u00a0gives you the innate ability to adapt quickly to your host community because of your experience being a minority\u00a0in the U.S. Your experience being black\u00a0in 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\u00a0person 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.<\/p>\n
Third, you might be the only black\u00a0person 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. \u00a0You should also consider that they might share these experiences with their friends, families, and local communities. \u00a0Thus a single, seemingly insignificant, encounter for you could mean a lot more for a member of your host country.<\/p>\n