By Caroline Zhang

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Europe, Japan, Italy, South America, China and Australia are only six of the places senior Lauren Bangs said she wants to visit in her lifetime. According to Bangs, traveling can greatly add to a student’s educational experience.

 “It gives students the chance to open up their minds and learn about culture in other places. You have to know about the world and history in order to live,” Bangs said.

Bangs, who previously visited Paris and London, may get a warmer welcome in some countries than she would have only one or two years ago. 

According to the survey “Restoring America’s Reputation in the World” published in March of 2010 by Pew Research Center, a non-partisan center providing information on changing trends and attitudes, favorable opinions of Americans, which had declined this past decade, rebounded with the election of President Obama.

While U.S. involvement in the war in the Middle East caused favorable ratings to decline in those countries, the trend was seen elsewhere. In Germany, 78 percent viewed Americans favorably in 2000. 

By 2007, that number had declined to 30 percent, but by 2009, it had increased to 64 percent.  In Spain, U.S. approval declined from 50 percent to 23 percent in the period of 2000 to 2006 before rising to 58 percent in 2009.

World languages teacher Stephanie Stacy attributes these numbers to U.S. foreign relations. “I think politics definitely plays a role,” she said. “The United States is often in the news for political reasons. People think we’re either involved too much or not enough.”

Bangs said she noticed the state of  American-European relations in her travels. “I know when I went to Europe, I didn’t always say I was American because our relationship with Europe wasn’t that good at the time,” she said. “Before we went, my dad told me ‘don’t be the stereotypical American tourist.’  We didn’t want to be viewed differently.”               

Hanna Brehmer, German exchange student and senior, said she thought Obama’s election as president had a positive impact on Germany’s opinion of the United States. “It was a very big thing when Obama became president,” she said. “Personally, I think Germany’s relationship with America is pretty friendly. We like Americans. It’s why I came here.”

According to Stacy, the world language department had planned a trip to Costa Rica for students over the summer. Stacy said U.S. approval in other countries may have influenced her choice to travel to Costa Rica. 

“I think a lot of countries like Costa Rica depend on tourists for economic well-being. They tend to view the U.S. in a good light,” Stacy said.

Bangs said Americans could also change the foreign view of the U.S. on an individual level. “People in other countries hear stuff in their media and they assume,” she said. “I guess (Americans) can prove the stereotypes wrong.”

Bangs said she expects most people will give her the chance to introduce herself as an individual. She said, “If I meet new people (in other countries), I think most people will be patient and first try to get to know me.”