“We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful
mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different
hopes, different dreams.”
Jimmy
Carter
Coming to United States for an
academic exchange from a completely different culture was not an easy transition.
When I reflect upon it right now, it doesn’t seem that hard- since I was little
I was exposed to Western culture, and I learned quite quickly the American way
of living. American University and DC generally, is definitely really diverse
place, but travelling across country I was able to encounter with some typical
stereotypes in this culture. When people ask me what hav I been doing all year
long I tend to make a joke “trying to convince people that I am not from Africa”.
Geographical ignorance is wide spread. And I see that as a result of different
educational systems. When I would say to the people that I am from Montenegro,
I would get questions “Is that in Africa? Asia? Latin America?” Sometimes,
conversation would go to too far way and even I would get question about Europe
being a country, etc.. I am not judging anyone, and I understand geography is
not everyone`s concern. But as long as you know 7 continents we can start from
somewhere J
It is really interesting to compare
educational systems in this context. In the biggest part of Europe schools are
not privatized, when it comes to elementary education. Not as nearly as in the
USA, where public school work quite differently. I went to public school for 12
years, and I think I got a great education- 3 foreign language classes, math,
chemistry, literature, physics, history and geography, etc.. Year after year.
We are forced to learn facts about every worlds region- yet you come to “the
greatest country in the world” and find people who don’t even know about their
own country.. But again, I AM NOT JUDGING. Ignorant people are everywhere.
Still, I really like American educational
system. First of all- YOU CAN EAT IN THE CLASSROOM! You can bring food and drinks. People bring
it, teachers make food and we share. That was dream coming true for me, biggest
food lover in the world. During my education in Montenegro I was always
penalized for eating in class, or even kicked out for just bringing food. Here
it is different. And I love it. Other awesome thing about this educational
system is that encourages people to speak in class. Which often was not the
case, and it is still not today. Classes are based on discussion, whereas in
the traditional school system- you sit, listen, write down notes and memorize
everything. I also love the fact that college life offers a lot of engagement throughout
clubs, internships, student organizations, etc.. It is not perfect system. But
it gives you a lot in practice. Not just endless theory, which was my education
back home. I love being in class, discussing and listening to different
perspectives. Sometimes I was looked down at, because I am international (“If
you are from Europe, how can you speak American?”) In one of my classes, at the
beginning of the year, I asked “Does anyone has a rubber?”, and got the
weirdest looks ever.. Learnt quickly couple more differences between British and
American English. I also learnt the time is money is this country, and people
are just always too busy, or at least they pretend to be. Do I even have to
mention that no one cares when they ask how are you?
Interacting with Americans and
creating friendships was a quite easy for me, because I appear to be really
friendly and outgoing. And I used an opportunity with my floormates,
classmates, teachers, people I worked with and that I met to be a true cultural
ambassador. Studying abroad is not just about learning about different
culture(s). It is about presenting your own, breaking the stereotypes..
Teaching people that Montenegro is not in Africa, that story of Yugoslavia is
so much more than the bombings in the 90s.. Talking about the dance, food, tourism
, Eurovision- all of my floormates know a bunch of cheezy and catchy Euro songs
by now J
And after all this, all the cultural
effort and my good adaptation to American culture I still get questions like “OMG,
you know for Justin Timberlake?” “You`ve seen Mean Girls?” “It is so cool and unbelievable you watched Power Poof Girls
when you were a kid!” Makes me laugh every single time.. Guess cultural learning
and teaching never ends!:
Overall ,this whole cultural and
academic exchange was quite awesome. And I think I took most of it. It was
great being a part of this melting pot.
No comments:
Post a Comment