Travel is good for brain development!!
When I was in 4th grade, my family spent a year in England. We rented a local house, attended the public school, shopped at the corner greengrocer, and "went native" as much as possible. Short though it was, I always felt the experience opened my mind in ways nobody in my midwest hometown could understand, and in ways that were stunningly important to my understanding of ... well ... everything. And now here's proof!
http://community.todaymoms.com/_news/2010/07/07/4633077-want-a-kid-whos-more-creative-get-packing
I think it's time to head home for some chana masala and vino rosa ;-)