Learning about Other Places through Fiction

I think that it is important to read pieces of literature from writers from all around the world because we can learn about the different cultures in different countries.  In my experience with the American education system, a lot of the readings in my English courses in high school and below were mostly focused on writers from the United States of America.  Even history courses are mostly focused on the United States of America.  Therefore, I do not know much about other countries.  This demonstrates that if we only read from writers from one place in the world, we may have a more narrow view of the world.  I think it is important to expand our views and learn about everywhere in the world so that we can become more aware of what life might be like in other places, not just in one place.  

The difference that reading about other places in fiction makes to me is that I am not only reading an enjoyable story, but I am also immersing myself in the viewpoint of a different country.  I am able to learn about the politics, traditions, or even what a different country might look like through fiction, which are topics that I otherwise would not have known about.  It gives me a deeper understanding of what life is like in other places, and I actually find it really interesting to see other people's ways of life or what they experience due to being in a different place.