Patrick Blaine Story

One Man, 14+ Countries, and One Central Message on the Importance of Traveling

Chile, Peru, Germany, Austria, and many more; one man explains how traveling the world will forever impact your life.

Patrick Blaine, a Spanish faculty member here at Morningside College, is no stranger to travel. Blaine lived abroad while he was a student in Spain, and has loved traveling and experiencing other cultures ever since. He has traveled to over fourteen countries so far (Argentina, Cambodia, and Italy, to name a few), and still has many more on his bucket list.

When it comes to discussing travel with students, he has one main piece of advice. “If you can do it, go.” He highlighted that traveling/living abroad will: teach you to be completely and utterly independent, help you become a more well rounded and knowledgeable person, will help strengthen your resume, and will make the idea of living in other countries long-term seem more possible.

This is not to say that living abroad is all fun and games. As he reflected back on his time spent living abroad, he remembered going through a stage of culture shock and unhappiness. “You basically go through the psychological effects of disconnecting from your own culture.” He acknowledges that breaking from your own culture can make you feel incredibly uncomfortable, but he believes that once you make the break you’re more free.

Although living in a different country can have its ups and down, Blaine’s main selling point was this: “Studying abroad gives you independence and teaches you self reliance in a way that nothing else can. It teaches you to kind of be the type of person that can get dropped in the middle of any place in the world and probably find your way out. It can be stressful but the experience is one that changes you forever in a good way.”

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