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    I Visited 60 Countries. These 8 Changed How I See the U.S.



    I Visited 60 Countries. These 8 Changed How I See the U.S.

    I’ve visited roughly 60 countries throughout my life. Eight of them completely changed how I see the world—and my own country.
    —
    CHAPTERS
    00:00 – Intro
    01:09 – El Salvador
    03:21 – Jordan
    05:42 – Poland
    06:30 – Germany
    07:58 – Vietnam
    09:22 – Laos
    10:40 – Greenland
    12:09 – Israel & Palestine

    SOURCES: https://withoutapath.substack.com/p/8-places-that-shattered-my-american

    —

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    #travel #immigrants #americanabroad #travelstories

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    27 Comments

    2. @Bob_Roy_03 on

      I have heard that in the US schools the real history of the USA is not taught in history lessons.
      Only the good things were explained.
      Is that the truth or just something like a stereotype?

    3. @1957mattes on

      I'm sorry, but the Middle East has absolutely nothing to do with colonization. The world map is divided into two halves, and west or east has nothing to do with it other than making it easy to place the west on the left and the east on the right. But in principle, the west always lies in one direction and the east in the opposite direction. And the same goes for north and south. And the sun rises in Japan, just like everywhere else on Earth.

    6. @embreis2257 on

      6:31 'most Americans grow up knowing Germany exclusively through its history. so it's not a great first impression, to put it mildly.' not just this first sentence but the whole section about Germany up until the end felt like the word history only covered the time from 1933 to 1945.
      it's a pretty narrow view when a remark at 7:37 'living in Germany is to be constantly reminded of history given the pervasiveness of memorials reflecting on the past.' seems to focus on just one aspect. true, history is omnipresent in Germany, it's all around us. I walk on streets first paved by Romans before Jesus Christ was born. churches can easily have been built 800yrs or more ago and that's only the surface. their foundations go back much further and their crypts can easily date back to late antiquity/early medieval period.
      my point is: the Nazi tyranny left scars all over Europe and forms an important part of recent history. it is paramount everyone understands how it could happen and vows to never let it happen again (seems Americans as a nation are oblivious to this historic lesson). however, these 12yrs do not define Germany's history.

    7. @Limozo on

      El Salvador is just one, the US has intervened in almost every single county in Latin America, then Americans wonder why they are disliked. Ironic

    10. @user-eb9qq3rg5w on

      Great video, we all shall remember, most people just want to live in peace with each other, see their kids growing up and have the opportunity to embrace the moments on this beautiful world.

    11. @Lisdodde on

      I live in the Netherlands, and furthest I’ve traveled is Vietnam and Brazil (dipped into Argentina around the iguacu falls but that doesn’t really count.

      I don’t think I completely changed my image of these places, maybe because I grew up with slightly less propaganda and have read a lot of less popular books etcetera, or maybe because I’ve aphantasia and I go in pretty blank all of the time.

      But traveling, actually seeing the different way the light hits and the people live their daily lives, talking to them, it does make a big impression.

      I do also love reading or watching local stories before traveling to a country, even just in Europe, if possible in the local language with subtitles when necessary, because the history and culture of a place do enrich the experience to me.

      I was just wondering this morning about wanting to find a way to write down the life experiences of the types of people who would never become writers themselves, as they’re not reflective or very literate or into books. I think our bubbles are more limited than we are aware of, because only certain types of people write books. But maybe I should just try to watch content creators that are 100% the opposite of me until I find things we have in common, as making vlogs seems pretty accessible to anyone…

    12. @gaiaiulia on

      Not western media, just US media. I'm old enough to remember all of the US's meddling in Central and South America. It was on our Irish news nightly while it was happening. I remember back to President Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs.

    18. @amber9744 on

      Greenland's VIOLENT colonial history? Why do you call it violent? It certainly has had its ups and downs, and Denmark has good reasons for introspection – but violent?

    19. @J.L.P.Verne168 on

      Proves once again the fact that most of the Americans I have met abroad have a much better understanding of what the world really is like and that despite all the harm, hurt and destruction that the US as inflicted on the world just during my lifetime, I am almost 64 and Belgian, most people around the world still like Americans when they come as tourists and visit. I have met the diehard "why don't they have this, that or the other like at home?" crowd that never changes and travels wanting everything to be at home. I always travel to go as local as possible and I totally agree with all your observations and comments. I remember vividly a small village I visited in Henan province of China. It was my ex-Chinese wife's grandmother's village. About 20 house in the middle of endless field, no electricity (we are talking 2007), no road into the village just a path that you either had to walk or ride a bicycle or motorbike to. All the cooking was done on wood fired stoves with only a giant wok. No running water, no toilets anywhere in the village. Yet a cook that was invited to come and cook because my then wife was bringing her husband to visit there cooked up a gastronomic feast for the whole village, that I will remember for the rest of my days. I was shown a forbidden chapel of the underground catholic church. It was an aspect of China and an experience that I had never seen before and probably will never see again because of my ardent support for Taiwan independence from the communist dictatorship in China.

    24. @carlossaraiva8213 on

      In the Israel and Palestine situation i always say i SIDE WITH THE PEOPLE. The people, Israeli and Palestinian both. I side with the israeli and palestinian people against the fascist governments that are in power in both countries and the elites that support them. People need to realise the current nazi israeli government is fighting both people, palestinian and israeli both. Same with hamas. We need to stop lookinh st this conflict as between two countries but of an elite of politicians, both hamas and current israeli government, whose business model is perpectusl conflict, as that is the base of their power. We need to take these shits into account and remove them from power forever znd punish the elites who support them.

    25. @Zbeastie on

      I'm a millennial American living in Asia for over a decade, and have traveled in Asia and just started traveling in Africa.

      Even though I'm a woman, and not a white guy, I still really appreciate your fresh perspectives with these places.
      Thanks for sharing.

      Also, I grew up in Japan for a while and I remembered being really disappointed and sad when moving back to the US. 🥲
      Also, I loved Vietnam as well.

    26. @Juan_acosta-te2jk on

      Let me clarify. It's not the "Western media" that offers a distorted view of some countries, but rather the US media, its politicians, and the Hollywood film industry. The average American citizen is ignorant of geography and general knowledge. They wouldn't be able to correctly locate any country on a map and yet believe they live in the best and freest country in the world.

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