Trevor Noah, former host of *The Daily Show*, recently shared some candid and interesting insights about America that he learned after leaving the country. As a South African who grew up in the complex context of apartheid and experienced many different cultures, Trevor is no stranger to looking at things from an international perspective. However, his experiences leaving the United States have given him deeper and more surprising insights.

Trevor realized that, for many people around the world, America is not just a country, but an “idea”. “Americans don’t realize how special they are,” he shared. “They don’t understand that everything they do, from their politics, to their culture, to the way they talk about freedom, affects the whole world.”

Trevor discovered that, contrary to what Americans often think, in many other countries, work-life balance is much more important. “Americans think it’s a proud thing to work all the time, but in Europe, you can be considered crazy if you don’t take time off.”

In conversations with international friends, Trevor was surprised to find that most developed countries consider free healthcare a basic right. “When I talk about medical bills in the US, people look at me like I’m joking.”

Trevor found that in many parts of the world, carrying a gun is not a right, but a fear. “Foreigners always ask, ‘Why do Americans want to carry guns around like that?’ And I don’t have an answer.”

Trevor admits that he began to see America differently after leaving. “I love America, but there’s no denying that this country has a lot of internal contradictions,” he says. “From race to politics, everything in America is more extreme than most other countries.”

Trevor Noah credits leaving the US for giving him more freedom in his thinking. “When you live in one place for so long, you start to think that everything is the norm. But when you go out, you realize the world is a lot bigger and different.”

Even though he has left *The Daily Show* and no longer lives in the US regularly, Trevor Noah continues to captivate audiences around the world with his sharp and humorous views. “The world is a giant classroom, and I will never stop learning from it,” he stresses.