Can meaningful cultural learning happen without crossing borders? The answer is yes, though not without complexity.
For decades, study abroad has been considered the gold standard of cultural learning. Living in another country, navigating unfamiliar streets and communicating in a different language have been seen as transformative experiences that foster empathy, adaptability and resilience. But when the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly halted global travel, students and educators were forced to ask this uncomfortable question.
When campuses closed and flights were canceled, virtual activities took the spotlight. Virtual exchanges, once considered a poor substitute for real immersion, became the only option for students eager to engage with the world.
What emerged was not a replacement for physical travel, but a redefinition of immersion itself. Students connected with peers across continents, discussed traditions, language and identity, shared stories about daily life under lockdown and reflected deeply on their own cultural assumptions.
These virtual experiences lacked the sensory richness of being physically present. There were no shared meals, no chance encounters and no wandering through unfamiliar cities. Yet they offered something equally powerful: access.
For many students who could never afford to study abroad or whose responsibilities kept them close to home, virtual programs opened doors that had been closed. Cultural learning became less about movement and more about relationships.
At the same time, in-person study abroad remains uniquely impactful. Students often describe forming deep emotional bonds with places and people, learning through moments of misunderstanding, and growing through discomfort.
They do not simply visit another culture. They are changed by it. Physical immersion offers a depth of experience that virtual formats cannot fully replicate.
Rather than choosing one model over the other, global education should embrace both. Virtual and in-person programs can work together to create more equitable and inclusive pathways to intercultural learning. At their core, both remind us of a simple truth from the humanities: We understand others through curiosity, communication and human connection.
In a world increasingly divided by borders, physical and ideological alike, the ability to relate to others across differences is not a luxury, but a necessity.
