Allegheny College Study Abroad Spring 2009

One can type in "England" and "culture" into Google and come up with thousands of websites. I'm not certain, however, if that was the type of culture I wanted to read about. Fortunately, I have a few helpful contacts that have given me some information that will be useful in my home away from home. For one, according to a professor at the University (who shall not be named for his own safety, of course) English students at Lancaster University do not study. Well, at least will never admit to studying. Yet, magically perhaps, they pass their exams and manage to graduate despite their clear reluctance to read and study their books. Of course they must study, but I find this information rather telling for understanding the English culture. Unlike United States students, who talk and complain about their work and how much they studied, wrote, or read (myself included in this number), English students perhaps are not vocal about how much they work because the American idea of working hard equals success isn't as prevalent there. Once again, this might be the professor's opinion rather than what goes on among the students, but I'll have hopefully many opportunities for finding this out for myself.
Another fact came from the "InBritain" magazines that my native-born English pastor let me borrow. While I was flicking through the pictures, I had to wonder at the strange mixture of old and new that clearly is a matter of pride for England. They push their history for tourism and admire their natural beauties (such as the Lake District, close to where I will be going to school). Yet England is a modern nation that takes part in world politics, popular culture, and the arts. This all might sound rather obvious, but coming from a country as young as the United States is in comparison to England, I marvel at the strange contrast between the old and new and how they manage to create both in a modern world. I wonder how this effects college students like myself. Do they realize and appreciate what a rich heritage they have? I suppose what I am struggling with is how England can be both a nation famous for its history and yet heavily involved in the world today. I would like to explore this dichotomy while I travel abroad as well as gather my own interpretations of a place different from my "young" home.

In late February, I'll be boarding a plane and heading off for Israel, for a 4-month experience at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, and I couldn't be more excited. My only real "out of country" experience was a week in Jamaica, and I know that Middle Eastern culture will be different than anything I have ever experienced.

Most of my information regarding Israel and its culture thus far has come from my advisor, Dr. Eric Pallant. He has spent time at Arava and has been to Israel numerous times. I have spoken with him on several occasions regarding the program, and Israel in general.

The first thing he told me is that the Israeli concept of time is very different from our own. I tend to be a very scheduled, time-oriented person, and Eric knows that I tend to worry when things do not go exactly as planned. He warned me in advance that in Israel, very little operates on a strict schedule. He described the atmosphere as very relaxed, not high strung as is found in much of the United States. He told me that this is one of the most difficult aspects of their culture that I will have to get used to, and that I shouldn't expect things to always run smoothly or get upset when they don't.

Another point that he stressed to me was the level of genuine hospitality throughout the Mideast. He pointed out that my classmates at Arava, some of whom will be from neighboring regions and nations, will invite me to their homes for a weekend and will treat me like a member of the immediate family. This is another cultural aspect that I am not accustomed to, as (my home region of) the United States does not tend to be as friendly to complete strangers.

The main point that I learned from what Eric has told me so far is that I will need to slow down and relax when I arrive in Israel. I am so used to being such a busy, scheduled American. If I continue with my expectations when in the Middle East, I will be disappointed when things don't go perfectly according to plan. It's definitely going to take some adjustment, but I feel like I'll be able to manage.

Alright, so my main contact with the British has been being absolutely destroyed by them during rugby practice. Going by that experience I would have to say most people from England are big, insane, and extraordinarily nice. While I certainly wouldn't mind this, I somehow doubt it's true. So I have been checking around to get an idea of the whos I will be meeting with.

The obvious first place I looked to find out something about England was the facebook group, You Know You've Lived in England When... Which has a large list of characteristics unique to England and Englanders. It's an extremely useful resource for info on what to look out for and expect. This site along with my general search of English blogs and English humor have given me a look at one part of the English culture which I may at first find shocking. Namely in England there are still the social stereotypes like emos, goths, and poser gangstas (called chav's there I believe), along with a perhaps more diverse range of racism. As they have everyone so close they can get very specific to the point of even having stereotypes about people from certain parts of England. The thing is, they're also way more laid back about the whole thing. Being politically correct doesn't really apply like it does in America and this means I will have to relax myself to insults on cultures and people, even if those cultures happen to be my own and myself. Murder rates are way down in England, maybe it's the more laid back view on these types of matters, if anything it's worth looking into and I will soon have the chance to be able to.

I also checked out projectbritain.com to check out all those dos and don'ts of the society. Overall it looks like their do's and don'ts are just like ours. The only difference I can see is that in America I know most of these rules can be broken around peers as long as you do it right. I know, because it's my tendency to do so. But after reading through the social manners I think I will play it safe and see how others act first. The tone of the list saying what the social customs are was one which made it sound like they were not often transcended. This will mess with my own feeling of individuality and I think I'll have an interesting time making sure I am myself, while still doing my best to fit in to the British way of life. There was one thing I found on projectbritain that was just useful in itself though, apparently how do you do is a greeting like hello and should be responded with how do you do. That I did not see coming.

"Beware of what you eat!" seems to be a common warning I have been receiving about China, especially in the wake of the current milk scandal. In Taiwan, China has a dark reputation when it comes to production and manufacturing. Horror stories of tea and tofu being fermented in toilets or with feces are often told, along with stories of blankets being made with dirty diapers, or hair ties made with condoms. Some if not most of these stories seem to be fictional stories passed around on the internet or gossip. While one or two of the rumors may have proved to be true some still seem to be rather far fetched. As I will be in the Beijing, I can only assume industry will be more tightly regulated. I am sure I will be partaking in the wonderful food that my stomach is already anticipating.
As an ABC (American Born Chinese), growing up in a Chinese household, in a predominately Chinese neighborhood for the most part prepared me for my trip to China in the ways of language, tradition, and culture. Through talking with the international students, I have picked up some of the current slang. Through this I have learned a few more curse words as well as slang. One example of this is the term "shooting(hitting) airplanes", which took me a second or two to realize that it was a slang term for masturbation. Luckily for me, most of the commonly used slang can be found in televised drama, and thus watching dramas can now be considered as a sort of homework!
Although my Chinese is accented with a Taiwan / Fujian accent, it will be interesting to see if I will be labeled in China as American, Chinese, or Taiwanese. The last time I was in China I was part of a guided tour group, and was thus labeled as Taiwanese. However, through talking with the international students, and the exchange students last semester, I have been told to try to slip under the radar and see if I can pull off blending in. Perhaps with the help of the former exchange students I may be able to fool a few, however with my own experience of differentiating Chinese / Taiwanese, American born / recently immigrated, I can only assume I will still stand out.

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Being International, I always knew that Meadville did a bad job at defining the true America experience but I wasn’t so sure about New York City. However, researching on Washington DC proved me wrong, in fact, New York only gave me the materialistic side of America, and American History. Washington DC is know for its famous historic museums, which house most of America’s history and to some extent, its future. You will agree with my last comment, if you have taken American Political Thoughts in college. I feel like I do not know America like I am supposed to. This feeling I think is good because I actually get the chance to re-learn American history again, not because I want to, but because I happen to find myself in a place surrounded by history, starting from the time this land was founded, to the revolutionary war and then to the civil war. No place tells these stories better than DC. With national museums such as the Library of congress, the Smithsonian, National Museum of Women in Arts and the National Gallery of Arts, where else can one go to learn about America’s history?
Another interesting fact I just found about DC is its music Genre, which is known as go-go. I find this very shocking mainly because I thought Jazz was the only music that originated from DC. This music, go-go music is a mixture of both funk and R and B, these two music genres blend together to add rhythmic beats to form go-go. This I heard is very popular amongst the youth and it’s no surprise to walk down the streets and find a group of kids gathered around and dancing to go- go beats. At last, I know why I find it difficult to answer the question, what were the cultural shocks you experienced when you first got here? I really haven’t experienced America, in terms of its culture and history. I think I will probably give my parents a call and tell them I am finally going to experience the real America.

Sources: The public historian
University of California press
Volume 25, spring 2003

Go-Go Live; Washington, DC’s cultural information
Network, Drumming the News, Knitting communities, and guarding a black public sphere.
By Hopkinson , Natalie Adele.

In a few short months, my journey to Australia and my semester at James Cook University will finally begin and I will come face to face with a new and different culture. In preparation for my semester abroad, I have spent some time researching the unique Australian culture that I will be immersed in and have stumbled upon a few facts that stick out to me as a future international student and that have influenced my expectations of my Australian experience.

The first cultural fact I have come across is that of language in Australia. Although I am well aware that the main language spoken in Australia is English and this is one of the reasons I chose to study here in the first place, online research, including previous Study Abroad student blogs, as well as exposure to a New Zealand professor have brought my attention to the difference in accent and dialect of English in Australia. Prior to my research, I took comfort in the fact that I would be studying in a culture that speaks English and expected that this would help me adjust to my new surroundings and lessen the culture shock that I would surely experience. Having read various sources and having been exposed to a professor with a similar accent, however, I expect my experience with language in Australia will not be as simple as I anticipated. It is through this research that I have become aware of how different the same language can be in various cultures and that a language barrier exists between the US and Australia, making communication and simply understanding what others say very challenging components of this new culture.

Through reading the blogs of previous Allegheny Study Abroad students, I have learned another cultural fact, that Australians have a much more relaxed and laid back attitude. Living in a culture that is very fast paced and tense, I have come to reflect these characteristics myself and am always very stressed out and worried about the million things I have to do on a daily basis. Because I have discovered this “no worries” societal value, I now expect that Australia will provide a less stressful environment than I am used to, one that will be perfect for me to grow and experience new things in. I hope that this attitude will rub off on me and not only help me make the most of my time in Australia but also carry over into my American life after study abroad.

In reading about Spain in my student handbook, I have learned a little about how their eating habits differ from ours in the United States. Unlike the United States, where dinner is usually between 5:00 and 7:00pm and is our largest, most important meal of the day, in Spain, their dinner is much later and much less significant. In Spain, they do not eat dinner until around 10:00pm, and it is usually a small meal. Instead, lunch is their most important, largest meal and is usually served around 3:00pm. This is going to be an adjustment for me mostly because our bodies become accustomed to eating a certain amount at certain times of the day. Therefore, this is a change I am expecting to have to adjust to during my first few weeks abroad.
Another thing I have learned from reading my student handbook is that in Spain, the people are much more thrifty with electricity than we tend to be in the United States. Even if you leave the room for one minute, the light is expected to be shut off. Also, the people try and minimize their use of hair products that use electricity, like blow dryers and hair straighteners. This is going to be a big adjustment too just because of formed habits. I will admit, I blow dry and straighten my hair every day. It will be hard to try and change that. I want to make a conscious effort to be as thrifty with the electricity as they are and be respectful of this cultural rule. I would hate to anger or frustrate my host family in any way for something so simple as turning a light off when I leave a room. This is another cultural rule I am expecting to adjust to as quickly and easy as possible upon my arrival to Spain.

My study abroad journey will be short. Overall, it will only take me from PA to D.C. Yet, despite the fact that I will not be leaving the continental United States, I feel extremely blessed. Yes, my experiences will be immensely different from those of other students in the program. I am studying off-campus at American University. I am not going to England. I will not get to see the Eiffel Tower or the Great wall of China, but I will be able to see President-elect Obama be inaugurated. I will be able to meet US Senators and Representatives. This experience is more than I ever imagined for myself.

While other students are preparing for their trips by reading up on their countries' histories and societal norms, I am preparing by reading about D.C.'s history as a political powerhouse. I am researching navigation routes and preparing myself for the excitement of meeting political leaders. The more I think about my trip, the more excited I get. I am ready for the fast pace of the city and for the educational opportunities that I can only get at American University.