Study Abroad - Lessons Learned & Final Thoughts
Now, having put some time behind me - and with the day-to-day of being back squarely surrounding me...what did I really come away with? What could've been better? Worse? What could I have handled better? What did I really learn? Hm...I mean, I am a bad bytch, but other than that....
C.R.E.A.M. This I could definitely have handled better, but I know better next time. Traveling doesn't have to be super-expensive, but it does come with a price. Today's price...and it behooves one to find out what today's price is. Our student advisor suggested $XXX dollars would suffice for the entire trip, and I spent 3X that. Google is a tool, and I could've easily done my due diligence to find out how much money I really needed to take with me. The other thing is that I needed to have fund a-v-a-i-l-a-b-l-e, meaning if I didn't have cash: ATM, Credit Cards, a family member, good friend, supportive husband or financier would've sufficed. But I seem to have burned a lot of those bridges (for better, no doubt) in the last few months. I know better next time.
Speaken ze Portuguese? We were advised that fluency in foreign languages (or even a baseline of "how do I get to the bathroom?") isn't necessary for foreign travel. No, it's not necessary. But imagine being in the US, and trying, in broken Spanish, to ask the clerk making minimum wage at Mickey D's how to get to the bathroom - and their response. Psssht. Extend that to shopping malls, street vendors, policemen, cab drivers and the average person that bumps into you on the street. They were considerably more gracious in Argentina and Brazil than I imagine any US citizen would be. My advice: try to learn at least a little of the native language wherever you travel.
theREALRealWorld:: I could easily regale you with gossip...drunken nights, partying, drunken hookups, drunken clumsiness and injuries, folks getting pissed off and verbally berating each other - but then what would we learn? We've seen all this stuff often enough on TV, so there's no need** to recount the glory gossip details here. Suffice it to say that although the parties on reality shows always say "it's the editing", the producers can't edit in what didn't happen.
Hows-n-ever, I have to add that we (American people) are sorely lacking in communal spirits, and even in close quarters/circumstances such as these - it shows. I love my country, and it's people, but we are rather intolerant. Myself included. It's funny, because even 5000 miles away, racial/cultural lines/boundaries were drawn rather quickly. I'd like to try to do better in the future.
oh, and about that cultural sensitivity Opinions, views, perspective, behavior, frame of reference - they're all build upon a foundation of values, which are squarely subjective based on culture. This is not just International Business 101, but should be Human Rationale 101. We're all guilty of it, and subject to it. So given that, when encountering or engaging or a guest of someone from another country, in trying to communicate, get a point across, argue with, sway, convince, question, etc. - it's crucial to be culturally sensitive, and to keep the other person's viewpoint in mind. Our hosts were incredibly gracious in the face of comments, questions or behaviors that were very Western-centric and either (at least) vaguely annoying or (at worst) offensive. It's best to err on the side of cultural conservatism, and try very hard not to offend your audience/hosts.
Grace is a Virtue:: I *get* where the image of the angry, obnoxious, ignorant American comes from. I observed some of my colleagues, at one point or another:
- getting frustrated that no one:
- spoke English
- would accept US dollars
- spoke English
- mocking some local custom / practice
- ignoring the advice of our advisors about cultural differences
- trying to enforce parallels between the US and our destinations
- being loud and obnoxious, i.e. "woo-hoo"-ing at a cultural event that didn't involve cowboys
- asking blatantly dumb questions about our host countries, companies, economies, or business in general
Grace : the quality or state of being considerate or thoughtful; a charming or attractive trait or characteristic; a pleasing appearance or effect; CHARM; ease and suppleness of movement or bearing.Gracious (ness): marked by kindness and courtesy; marked by tact and delicacy; URBANE; characterized by charm, good taste, generosity of spirit, and the tasteful leisure of wealth and good breeding.
You see the difference? Grace implies attractiveness. Resilience (in this instance) implies unattractiveness. Grace, gracefulness, graciousness, quietness, tact, charm, flexibility, courteousness, delicacy, consideration, thoughtfulness - would all be attractive, Virtuous qualities in this instance.
aside: as I live and breathe, being classified as Urbane will make me eternally grateful ;-)
capitalism Can have a conscience, and a cultural identitiy:: one of the things I noticed in both Argentina and Brazil was their communal spirit eeking out of the country's very pores. While in Rio, I noticed that identification with Rio, and the "Rio way of life" branded everything, and this colors the collective social conscious. There's no Ferreria Lexus, or de Souza Ford in Rio - its Toyota Rio, or Rio Mercedes, or McDonald's of Buenos Aires. It's all indicative of the companies' adapting to the local environment, not forcing customer to adapt to the company.
And on that note, I have to touch on the mom & pop-ness of a lot of South America's stores, shops and businesses. From massive companies like YPF/Repsol and TV Globo, to the leather "factories" on the Avenue Florida, to the street vendors in marketplaces, to the Regional Manager at Sendas... you got the distinct feeling that this business was also about family. The employees, owners, managers - all family. The took care of one another. And they took care of their customers. Profits are good, common good is better. It seems that's where their collective spirit comes from. I didn't know I missed this about the US, until I traveled.
It is a small world:: and humans are not all that different. From Rio to Buenos Aires, to the US to Colonia, to NY to Boston, To TX, to Venezuela, to California...we all love to love, to laugh, to enjoy life. It sounds really cliche, but it's true. So, sitting on Copacabana beach, or watching Brazilians toss a beach ball around on Copacabana beach in a Pepsi commercial - we're all connected, intertwined - and we should all treat each other accordingly. And I should be more tolerant of those who don't get that.
Other lessons:
I am a bad bytch, but that's a useful thing.
Traveling internationally is a strong possibility that can be a probability - this is completely within your grasp.
Every American should visit another country, and get some perspective on their own. That would definitely color your feelings about our foreign policies, and affect your vote accordingly.
The US could definitely stand to import some collective spirit and cultural values from its trading partners and its "immigrant populations", into its social conscience/conscious.
One other thing I learned: trying to keep a blog up to date while busy is pretty challenging. I want to thank you, kind readers, for bearing with me while I finished documenting this, and for your patience in allowing me to ramble on. I hope you enjoy reading these posts, as much as I enjoyed writing them. So now - back to my regularly, infrequent ramblings...lol.
**I could be persuaded to gossip at little - but you have to email me to persuade me. And send chocolate...lol.