Almost all of us go abroad on holiday at some point. But there are a lot of people who never leave their home country in their entire lives. Nevertheless, they form an opinion about other countries and about foreigners in their country. They come to the conclusion that their home country is the most beautiful and best, for whatever reason, because they really have no basis on which to base this opinion.

Even those who regularly go on holiday abroad only have a limited perspective. They only see what they want to see.

But there are so many angles that we don't experience in this way and that are so important and formative for us.
In fact, they are so important that each of us should even be obliged to spend a certain amount of time in the country of our choice, similar to military service.

What influence does experience abroad have on our lives and our attitude towards foreign people?

Even if a country appears similar to our home country at first glance, there are always a number of cultural differences. People eat differently, perhaps at different times, shops have different opening hours, there are different fashion trends, etc.

If you go to England as a German, for example, you initially think that we are the same race and that Germany and England are so close to each other that there can't be that much difference. In reality, however, the English mentality is completely different. Business people call each other by their first names when they first meet, which in Germany would be hard to beat in terms of rudeness, but in England is a sign of trust and friendship. Whereas in Germany, people waiting at a bus stop are jumbled together and elbow their way onto the bus, which is considered normal, the English politely and cautiously queue up and wait patiently for their turn. A bully who jumps the queue can only be a foreigner.

There are hundreds if not thousands of such examples that are even more profound than this one.
And we only learn most of these differences through the routine of daily life.
Once we understand these cultural differences, it helps us to better understand and, more importantly, tolerate other cultures in general. We realise that there is more than just our own way, and that these other ways are "right" in their cultures where ours are "wrong".

It is an invaluable life experience that makes you more open and understanding towards other people. While living as a foreigner in another culture, you have to adapt to that culture if you want to be accepted. This doesn't mean that you have to change completely, just that you have to recognise in certain situations that certain things are handled differently here.

After several years in Spain, I still find it extremely annoying when I want to enter a shop at half past one, which according to the opening hours is supposed to be open until two o'clock, but I find the door closed. The German in me protests loudly ("how impertinent, it says two o'clock, they have to be open until two o'clock sharp"), then I have to reflect for a moment, push my anger aside and say to myself: "You're here in Spain, things are different there". People don't take it so seriously and finish work early. Never mind, I'll just come back tomorrow. I'm the foreigner, I have to live largely according to their rules or I'll remain dissatisfied.

My most important personal experience is that you understand how you feel as a foreigner in a foreign country. You do things wrong by mistake without realising that you have misbehaved. You are seen as an oddball because you didn't kiss the estate agent on the cheek, as is customary. You feel spontaneously attracted to other foreigners because they are in the same boat.

Perhaps I will learn from this that foreigners in my home country feel just as foreign and will be more understanding of them in future. If a foreigner makes a faux pas, I don't immediately take offence because I know that they come from a different culture and don't necessarily know that they have done something 'wrong'.
If I was welcomed openly abroad, I do the same with foreigners in my country and try to make their stay pleasant. After all, we want them to have fond memories of us Germans.