There are limitations to hearing the world through a set of Internet downloads.

Sure, the user is able to decide what to import and what to ignore. The world you create exists in the palm of your hand with no interruptions, simply an environment of one’s making and choosing.

Great walls built by technology supposedly keep intruders out.

Having spent two weeks in China and Korea, the contrast between an American focus on self and the Asian push to expand outside cultural boundaries is apparent.

In Korea, the world is wired wirelessly. The cell phone is the device of choice on the most advanced network. On the Seoul subway system, passengers watch television shows, listen to music, access Internet news sites and have conversations. E-mail is an added expense.

But the technology does not deter a desire to achieve more.

Education is the line of demarcation between Korea and China and the United States. There is a hunger to learn in Asia.

Students in high schools, particularly those in their senior year, live in an educational environment seven days a week. Six days is more formal training and the seventh day is reading or research. Entrance to college is competitive and the right to attend a college abroad highly competitive.

Being able to converse in their own language is expected but the challenge is to learn English.

Korea, for example, focuses on hiring English-speaking teachers to teach the language to students and adults. The field is fertile for teachers with college degrees from accredited universities and accredited programs.

But for all that is happening in Korea, China is moving forward at light speed.

Pre-kindergarten is when the first English lessons begin.

When you realize that China’s Cultural Revolution in the 1970s eliminated college entrance exams and that other so-called educational “reforms” were implemented, the number and skill of English-speaking Chinese is impressive.

The use of English names by Chinese and Korean people is another step in recognizing and adapting to the universality of the English language. Tourist guides, for example, display and share their English names, but the tourist has to ask for their Chinese names.

Do Americans adopt names from other languages when hosting foreigners here? No, we expect foreign visitors to adapt.

While English may be recognized as the international language, that is not a reason to expect that the rest of the world will conform to our way of doing things.

Another Great Wall was built centuries ago to keep people out, but it achieved limited success, allowing invaders to capture the capital.

Americans need to remove barriers that shield them from experiences and invest time to learn other languages, delve into other cultures and experience other ways of life.

Real diversity in a changing world.

Getting out of a comfort zone is risky, but keeping pace with a global society requires more than downloading a self-selected world on a handheld device.

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