As world travel is growing exponentially, “alternative” travel has grown apace: from ecotourism, gap years, short-term mission trips, cultural travel-study tours, and foreign language study, to college-level study abroad, “voluntourism”, and international service-learning.

This book is intended to help the new generation of ethical and educational travelers make the most of their international experience, and show them how to broaden their cultural horizons while also making a contribution to their host community.

This book guides independent and purposeful learners considering destinations off the “beaten path” on connecting with a wider world. Whether traveling on their own, or as part of a group arranged by an educational institution, humanitarian organization, or congregation, this book will enable them to make their international encounter rewarding, authentic, enriching, and learning-oriented.

This book draws on the author’s extensive travel and many years of guiding college students’ global learning. Richard Slimbach offers a comprehensive framework for pre-field preparation that includes, but goes beyond, discussions of packing lists and assorted “do’s and don’ts” to consider the ultimate purposes and practical learning strategies needed to enter deeply into a host culture. It also features an in-depth look at the post-sojourn process, helping the reader integrate the experiences and insights from the field into her or his studies and personal life. This book constitutes a vital road map for anyone intent on having their whole being—body, mind, and heart—stretched through the intercultural experience.

Becoming World Wise offers an integrated approach to cross-cultural learning aimed at transforming our consciousness while also contributing to the flourishing of the communities that host us. While primarily intended for foreign study and service situations, the ideas are just as relevant to intercultural learning within domestic settings. In a “globalized” world, diverse cultures intermingle near and far, at home and abroad.

Table of Contents:

Introduction
A World in Motion
Pathways to Global Learning
Raising the Bar
The Common Good
Mapping the Journey
Gratitudes
1) Wise For The World
A Drowning Creation
A Distant World Only?
Competing Purposes
Millennials Rising
Bridging the World
Rethinking Development
Choosing the High Road
2) The Story We Need
Misadventures Abroad
No Loom to Learn By
The Great Dream
Redemption Story
Awakening from the False Dream
An Alternative Imagination
Finding Our True Self
Embracing the Stranger
Engaging the Powers
Healing the Earth
3) The Mindful Traveler
When Ethics Travel
Travel Worlds
All About Me?
The Journey towards Mindfulness
Economic Mindfulness
Cultural Mindfulness
Social Mindfulness
Ecological Mindfulness
Spiritual Mindfulness
4) Making Preparations
What Type of Program is Best for Me?
Should I Travel Alone or With Companions?
How Do I Obtain a Passport and Any Necessary Visas?
How Should I Prepare for Potential Health Risks?
What Should I Do to Stay Safe and Secure in the Country?
How Do I Go About Making Travel Arrangements?
What’s the Best Way to Handle Mail and Money?
What Personal Details Do I Need to Settle Prior to Departure?
How Do I Decide What and How to Pack?

5) Carrying Knowledge
Cultivating Relationships
Contacting Experts
Reading Ethnographies
Viewing Select Films
Conducting Electronic Searches
6) Living With Paradox
Losing Cultural Footing
The Belly of the Whale
The Path of Transformation
From Travail to Transformation
7) Getting Oriented
The First 48 Hours
Settling In
Wandering About
Crossing Thresholds
Community Reconnaissance
Regions Beyond
8) The Journey Home
“You Can’t Go Home Again”
Over the Rainbow?
Bringing the World Home
“I Didn’t Expect That”
The Ambivalence of Home
Thriving at the Margins
Hidden Within the Linings