Making Friends Across the Globe
Last week in MHR 851, we had a guest speaker come in to talk about her job in Human Resources and to give us some advice when it comes to job searching. She gave a lot of great advice (I recommend really paying attention to speakers your professor brings in to class because they usually have a LOT of wisdom to share, especially when it comes to jobs). Anyway, one of the main take-aways from her presentation was travel. She talked about how most companies nowadays are going global. When hiring, companies like to see that job candidates have traveled outside of the United States. As someone who LOVES to travel, this was music to my ears. But, I also started to think about how great it is that I've been able to keep in touch with a few of the people I've met/become friends with while abroad. My international friends, as I like to call them, have taught me so much, not just about their culture, but also how to communicate with those who aren't from the United States.
For example, my friend from Guatemala tries (bless his heart) to teach me Spanish by throwing different Spanish words into our conversations from time to time. He also tells me about what it's like to live in Guatemala, how medical school is a little different there than in the U.S., and current issues going on in the country.
My friend from France keeps me up-to-date on all things European, like who the best DJs are and some good French movies I might like. He also tells me things about doing business in France, such as how his internships work, how his university classes are set-up, etc.
These are two great examples of all the things you can learn from having been abroad and knowing people in different countries. There is so much to learn about so many different countries, so who better to learn from than people who actually live in these places.
My advice to you: Travel as much as possible and make as many friends abroad as you can. Even if you just exchange information based on business, it will make you so much more marketable in job interviews if you can show you are knowledgeable about things happening outside the U.S.
Below are some pictures from Brazil: