South of the Border Series (Seven Months in South America)

I have been traveling in South America for the last seven months. It has been an amazing experience. I’d like to share a small piece of it in this series of blog posts.

Why Travel Overseas?

It’s good for your brain: Learning a new language and culture is one of the best things you can do for your brain long-term. Becoming bilingual makes your brain stronger… There is evidence that bilinguals are better at multitasking and can delay old age diseases like Alzheimers.

It makes you grow: Being outside of your home country and culture, you will learn and grow a lot. I feel like I am such a different, better person from when I started my trip.

It broadens your perspective: You are taken outside of your comfort zone, meeting so many different types of people and learning every day. You learn new ways of thinking and new ways of living… Sometimes ways of thinking and living that are a better fit for you than you learned in your home country.

Why South America?

South American culture seemed so different from North American. I wanted to learn more about it. After being here for seven months, I have had a small glimpse of this… I also learned that each country and even each city had its own unique culture.

The Most Important Part of the Journey

I consider the most important part of my trip to be the people I have met. Both the locals and other travelers. They have been so friendly, caring and welcoming… Often going out of their way to help me when I needed a place to stay, help with learning Spanish, or navigating a city. I have made some lifelong friendships, learned Spanish, ate some amazing food, and had a lot of fun.