When I decided to pursue my education abroad, my father called me in to an important meeting on the night of my departure. He said: “Consider yourself an ambassador on behalf of your whole country and act accordingly.” He added: “I want you to seek every opportunity to learn what is good and tell people there by your actions how good we are.” On my arrival in the Kingdom nine years later, the first questions my father asked me were: “What have you learned over the course of the past years from one of the leading Western societies, and how are you going to benefit your own people from the seemingly good things you have learned?” I have been asked the same questions by my close friends, colleagues, and relatives since I returned to the Kingdom. My answer has always been that I have learned many positive things. Among these are retaining an open mind, respecting people from other countries, and learning the art of argument. Having an open mind was the first thing that I learned, and I will make an effort to convince my own people to make it part of their mindset. The importance of having such an attitude lies, in my view, in the fact that it makes an individual ready and willing to receive favorably any thoughts, attitudes, and customs without prior judgment as to whether they are good or not. Furthermore, open-mindedness does not limit one's horizons to what is within one's own reach. It allows a person to accept what comes from his or her surroundings, and more precisely, the values that he or she has been taught. In addition, it is an avenue through which one can actively explore opportunities that cannot be seen by narrow-minded people. I emphasize that I am not for the acceptance of everything in an anarchistic revolution of morals and modes; rather, I feel that we should not limit our acceptance of others' ideas to the point where new experiences become impossible. Having great respect for people from other nations was another significant attitude that I adopted. We live in a diverse universe made up of many different cultures, languages, races, and backgrounds. This diversity can make all of our lives a lot more fun and interesting, but only if we show respect to those who are different from us. I managed to do a number of things that helped me succeed in this effort. I began by developing an understanding of the importance of respectful behavior and then proceeded by learning many ways through which I could show respect, including valuing others' opinions, being considerate of people's likes and dislikes, being sensitive to other people's feelings, trying to learn something from others, never stereotyping people, showing interest and appreciation for other people's cultures and backgrounds, not going along with prejudices and racist attitudes, and learning to appreciate people's differences rather than fear them. Additionally, I have learned the invaluable art of arguing. The concept of arguing in itself is certainly nothing new. However, when and how to argue is in fact what needs further consideration and close observation. The communication of good ideas is largely contingent on how they are presented, as nervous mannerisms and poor presentation skills diminish an argument's effectiveness. A person engaged in an argument should restrict himself or herself to discussing the issue under consideration, avoid personal attacks under all circumstances, and always begin an argument with positive remarks that acknowledge the other person's opinion. Good, solid reasons are necessary to support one's arguments or ideas. While learning the art of arguing, I realized that diversity, perspective, and variation are natural parts of life. Having others with whom to share different points of view is a great thing, especially with the knowledge that no individual can grasp every reality, even about one simple thing. We can get more out of life by having different perspectives to share and exchange. Living abroad for a number of years has greatly broadened my horizons and taught me these valuable attitudes and more. I now firmly believe that life seems counterproductive or even meaningless without acting according to these views. It is not an exaggeration to confirm at this point that I am a new person since my experiences abroad. — The writer is a Saudi academic who can be reached at [email protected]
