自信

Possibly the most important thing study abroad teaches is the necessity of confidence. You need it to make friends, explore strange places, and talk to people in broken language on topics ranging from politics to how to use the toilet. Since you're continually outside your comfort zone, you have to act confidently or you're not going to get much from the experience, and will just spend all your time on the computer, or reading.

There are plenty of self-help books that tell you it's important to maintain the appearance of confidence to get what you want. But this is different, what I'm talking about is more like how children do things without worrying about getting hurt. To experience the fullness and goodness of life, you have to "make decisions out courage and hope, and not out of fear."

That's sometimes very hard.