Slimbach's idea of study abroad being just as much for the world as for the individual coincides with Dolby's idea of establishing an "American Identity" because it allows the opportunity for individuals of different cultures, nationalities, beliefs, and environments to come in close proximity to one another. This is different from simply reading of a place in a textbook. By placing ourselves in new environments, we are alotted the experience of challenges that we might otherwise not consider. By literally walking as they walk, we might develop a greater understanding and insight into the beliefs of their culture and their people. It also offers the opportunity to have intimate conversations so that we can truly come to a greater understanding of ourselves and how we relate and are connected with one another. 

Yet it also conflicts with Dolby's idea, because rather than experiencing it as a culture separate or different from our own, we might begin to see study abroad as more of a way that we can feel at home all over the world. We might see our own national identity become a more global identity instead.