There’s a saying that goes if you’re a true lover of art, music and good food, it’s impossible to be fully xenophobic. That’s because every nation and culture on earth has something to offer. That may be something of a platitude or too simple to account for every reality, and of course, difference has unfortunately led to conflict in the past, and it likely will in the future.
However, those with their heads screwed on correctly knows just how important and healthy it is to have different perspectives and people in your life. For this reason, befriending someone of a different culture, not as a token of that culture but a person worth knowing with an interesting backstory and personality can be a lovely investment.
That’s not to say you befriend someone for what you can get out of it of course, only that making space to be open minded can often reward us in many lovely ways. In this post, we’ll discuss some reasons why having friends from different cultures can be so beneficial.
You Gain A More Nuanced Understanding Of The World
A friend from a different culture to yours means you get to hear firsthand about traditions, values, and ways of thinking that might never have crossed your mind otherwise. It’s one thing to read about another country or culture online as most of us do, but it’s another to have a friend who actually grew up there telling you stories about what life was really like. It also helps put things in perspective. Maybe something you always took for granted turns out to be a big deal elsewhere. Maybe an issue you never thought about before suddenly feels personal because it affects someone you care about. The more you talk, the more you realize that the world isn’t as black and white as it sometimes seems. There’s a whole spectrum of experiences, and being exposed to that makes you wiser.
You Learn The Truth, Not The Stereotype & Challenge Yourself
It’s extremely easy to rely on secondhand ideas about different cultures, especially when so much of what we hear comes from media, history books, or random opinions that get passed around. Unfortunately, even the ignorant tides of social media can influence us now, and that’s not always healthy. Thankfully, the more time you spend with friends from different backgrounds, the clearer it becomes that people and cultures can’t be summed up in a few broad strokes.That doesn’t mean they have the ultimate objective take, but it’s much more textured than you may see otherwise. That might include inside jokes, family traditions, and not-spoken-of rules that only make sense when you’re there in their homeland or with their people.
You Make Room For Further Fun & Empathy
At the simplest level, making friends from different cultures is just fun. You don’t have to treat it like you’re learning from an encyclopedia. You get introduced to new music, new movies, new celebrations. You might find yourself at a festival you’d never have gone to otherwise, taking time to try dances you didn’t even know existed, or even heading to their local authentic supermarket and changing your preferred brand of rice. There’s something really special about stepping into someone else’s world and sharing a little bit of it, especially when they do the same for you, be they inviting you to wear eid outfits or come with you to an event later on. It makes life more rich in almost every way.
With this advice, we hope you can continue spanning your friendship across the world.