Cultural CompetencyAs members of the global community, we are responsible for understanding the cultural diversity present in our world. Encountering a culture in its native environment allows us to reevaluate our own culture and appreciate the common human dignity found in all peoples.
To please see my reflections written while I was abroad, please hit the blog link in the header or click here. |
Pre-Departure |
My Pre-Abroad Reflection written April 2014
Study Abroad Expectations: I am combination of scared and excited for my entire year abroad. The only time I have l left the country is when I was nine years old to the country of Laos with my mother. It is one thing to be gone and away from Providence College from one semester, but the entire academic year in two different countries and continents is an opportunity that I never thought I would endure. For the fall of 2014, I have chosen to study abroad in Cape Town, South Africa with SIT because Cape Town holds a unique history in being a leading African City that has fought for equality and human rights. South Africa also has a very diverse culture in which over 11 national languages are spoken and numerous ethnic groups inhabit the country. SIT’s Multiculturalism and Human Rights program studies the way in which Cape Town’s diverse background plays a part in their struggle and movement to achieve equality and fairness of human rights. Cape Town is also unique in the fact that they have had multiracial elections since 1994 which means the formally oppressed groups in this country have actually only had democratic rights for two decades, to see these groups of people empowered at an earlier stage in their post-struggle would be an enriching learning experience as they work towards creating a better future for future generations. Courses of the SIT program have a mixture of classroom and practicum settings, a course on the language of isiXhosa and an independent study project that addresses some type of need or issue in the community. For the spring of 2015, I have chosen to study abroad in Khon Kaen, Thailand with CIEE’s Development and Globalization program at Khon Kaen University. It is the education and government center of Thailand’s Northeast, as well as the headquarters for many development organizations that are currently working in the region. The program aims to immerse students in Thai culture and language through translated exchanges and community stays. Students of the program will also spend meaningful time with villagers and their residents by staying in their homes and working on their farmlands, in addition to working with non-governmental organizations. The semester culminates in a final project requirement, which includes methodical, field-based research that contributes to the public sphere. I also hope by studying here I can expand on the moderate skills of Thai I already have experience of learning. I hope with the aid of independent research and provided resources that I will learn more about sustainable development to solve certain local issues that surround international poverty. Both of these programs can fulfill all of my academic goals because the majority of my classes in both my major and minor have provided the baseline work and background information that I need to take part in the courses and field work required of these study abroad programs. Global Studies 101 introduces to a new way of seeing and learning in the context of solving large social issues. Communities in Cape Town, South Africa need this understanding of multiculturalism in order to properly and respectfully work on the social issues that they have which may include the many numerous ethnic groups that occupy the area. Thailand is becoming a newly economically developed country that has full potential to compete in the global markets while innovating and creating sustainable agricultural methods. The theoretical approaches I learned from my global studies curriculum have prepared me to put them into practice in both of these programs. I can also utilize my multifaceted prospective in order to foster and mend relationships within these communities that can overall help them and enlighten me. My experience as a community liaison and a service learner at Providence College has also helped learn how to work with diverse communities so I would be able to adapt easily to the new people I will interact with abroad. Before going abroad, I hope to develop beginner language skills in isiXhosa and Thai. In addition, I plan to make strong efforts be informed of current events in those areas so that I can be able to better understand the countries that I will be in while studying the conflicts, stories and life there. Most people view their time abroad as another reason to explore a different part of the world and gain some international experience. Personally, I view my year long study abroad experience as time to not only learn but a time of immersion where I can better understand how to work with different groups of people by learning their languages, culture, stories, their way of life and more. As a global studies major and a public and community service minor, my desire to travel in order to better understand people and their communities will never die. In addition, my passion to help others in other parts of the world through community engagement will only come full circle once I acquire international experience and fully engage myself while I am studying abroad. |
The Return |
“The Semester Back” Reflection October 2015:
It has been over a entire year before I stepped on a plane at Logan Airport to take a flight to Johannesburg, South Africa that would eventually leave me to an incredible four months in the area of Cape Town and into another incredible four months into Thailand. It has been approximately 6 weeks since I have returned to classes on campus after a year and things have very slowly have been “clicking” for me, I am perplexed about the number of people I do not recognize in one passing and am rather confused as to why Aquinas Hall needs a copper roof, but alas, “WE ARE PC”. I would be lying to say the transition back has been easy, it has actually been a tiring journey that is still occurring even after my return in June. It has been hard to process my year broad and the reverse culture shock that just does not seem to end. But while I knew how so much of my life was changing with my immersion and experiences, I did not know that it would also leave me with some continuous heartache mixed with a sense of nostalgia, longing, and frustration as to how I am suppose to process my experience and use it. Since my return, I have secured positions in the Center for International Studies and in the Global Studies department in the hopes that I can try and utilize my experience from abroad further in the community of PC. I have highly enjoyed both positions as ways to process my experience. I have become extremely passionate about international education in a way that I have never before and am seriously considering career path in this field. While being abroad, I did have an overall amazing time, but I was quite actually disturbed with the ways that I as a foreign student was suppose to conduct my studies in areas that I had not business being in. This opened my eyes to the exploitation of locals that countries might experience when foreign and westernized students come to study certain areas of their country. Especially in the case of Thailand, the studies were based in journalism and activism, that I was exploiting the same people whom I also shared ancestors with. It was a hard pill to swallow, and it very often, I refused to swallow such “pills” because how much of the values I developed as a global studies major were being compromised. If returning abroad has helped me with one thing, it has for sure guided me to realize that too many times, American study abroad providers may not be in the right place with the proper ethics to conduct host such programs that are respectful to the culture of the country and it’s people. While it was unfortunate that portion of my academics that I was looking forward to before I left was in some way ruined, I am grateful to have had this one bad experience because it truly gave me sense of the reality globalization consequences. My goals with my study abroad experience, is to make study abroad more accessible to college students in addition to promoting programs that are both ethical and respectful. |