By Kiana Duncan
The writer is a senior journalism student who has had the benefit of the CCI Semester in Florence (fall 2016) and is now studying abroad on her own in Prague as part of the CCI-Anglo American University partnership. She will blog periodically from Prague for CCI Global.
I was on the metro in Prague riding back from a class when I started eavesdropping on a group of American students talking behind me. The more I listened, the more I could hear all the hallmarks of a student鈥檚 first time abroad:
鈥淚 can鈥檛 decide between Barcelona or Paris for this weekend.鈥
鈥淚t is just me, or is everyone here rude?鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 so annoyed that I can鈥檛 find almond butter anywhere.鈥
They were students from Anglo-American University, part of the massive CEA (Cultural Experiences Abroad) cohort that arrives every semester. These groups are Americans who live in the same building and attend the same field trips, much like Kent State鈥檚 Florence program, the key difference being these CEA students come from all over the United States.
I鈥檝e blogged before about my thoughts on cohorts, but it鈥檚 interesting to be on the outside looking in. From this side, it鈥檚 easy to observe the behavior -- the good and the bad. Americans have a tendency to cling to each other when studying abroad, and understandably so. However, this sometimes encourages a rocky adjustment or even lack of adjustment to the host country. We tend to approach situations, whether we realize it or not, with a sense of entitlement. It takes a while to identify and rein in that tendency, but it鈥檚 one of the best things we can do as Americans to appreciate other cultures and mind our boundaries.
What can we do better?
Unlike my first time abroad with a cohort, I don鈥檛 feel the urgency to squeeze in a new country every single weekend. Whether this is because it鈥檚 my third time abroad and I know if I really want to come back, I can, or because I鈥檓 a little older and wiser, I don鈥檛 know. But staying here and not feeling the need to jump on every $10 Ryanair ticket has a lot of benefits, and are a sure sign that I鈥檝e grown more comfortable living in a new country.
There鈥檚 nothing wrong with wanting to travel while you鈥檙e in Europe, especially if it鈥檚 your first time here. However, the problem comes when we start treating every country as if the people, culture, and experiences are exactly the same. It鈥檚 when we treat the small but important details of each culture as trivial because we won鈥檛 be in that country for long; it bleeds into life in our host country. When we dismiss the necessity of being intentional and aware of our actions, there鈥檚 nothing to stop us from doing it anywhere else, especially where we鈥檙e more comfortable. We get lazy, and while it is exhausting to always be aware of your actions and how they fit into the cultural norms, it matters. The problem occurs when we act like tourists. This includes speaking the wrong language in a country, showing up knowing absolutely none of the language (I鈥檝e been guilty of this) with no desire to learn it, or when we treat the entire country as if its only purpose is to give us a good experience. This problem occurs especially when we make light of the culture because we鈥檙e either uncomfortable, ignorant, or unfamiliar. Remember, no one owes it to us to make us comfortable. It鈥檚 their home before it鈥檚 our vacation.
Some American students reject the host cultures in another way: By using their time in a new country as an excuse to drink. While this topic has been beaten to death in every presentation on studying abroad ever, the lifestyle many Americans lead when studying abroad is unstable at best. Going out in an international community certainly has its appeal, but the consequences of clubbing every other night are serious. If drinking is your main focus, you鈥檙e going to end the semester most likely very disappointed and full of regrets. When you go out the night before, you鈥檙e missing that festival in the morning, or the conversation you could have had over traditional native food with a classmate. Drinking and clubbing can be fun in moderation, but these things can also prevent us from truly experiencing the culture. Americans and Europeans have vastly different drinking styles, and ignoring a casual night out sampling the local beer for shots at the craziest club could mean you鈥檙e missing out on a cultural experience.
Another part of rejecting the culture is making broad generalizations based on a few bad experiences, or taking offense because people do things in the Czech Republic a bit differently. Europeans tend to be more reserved than Americans, and Czech people tend to fall at the extreme end of this. While it鈥檚 common in American to be in a constant stream of thank you, please, endless hugs, and smiles, you would be very unlikely to experience any of those things on an average day in Prague. It does take a while to adjust, and it鈥檚 even harder not to get offended when your waiter makes an adverse comment in your direction (speaking one鈥檚 mind and being very direct, good or bad, is very Czech), it is part of the culture the same way Americans say 鈥渢hank you鈥 after everything. Many Americans here have taken extreme offense, when the key is to assimilate. This doesn鈥檛 mean we have to stop being polite, but just understand no one may smile back to you on the street, or when you thank someone for the millionth time, it might start to make them uncomfortable.
Ignorance is Bliss?
It鈥檚 true that we all do things that we might not mean to do, and often times, mistakes are accidents and never ill-intentioned. I鈥檝e accidentally been rude to an Italian by messing up a phrase, or had awkward shopping encounters because I didn鈥檛 give the cashier the right amount. However, it is our job to be as informed as possible when approaching the unfamiliar. Not knowing really isn鈥檛 an excuse. We study abroad to learn, and that includes intercultural learning.
I cringe at so many memories of making a scene in a restaurant to get the perfect picture.
If you notice that posing with your giant margarita and taking 20 pictures with flash is annoying the couple next to you, that鈥檚 your cue to stop. If you鈥檙e receiving glances from people on the street because you鈥檙e not wearing the right shoes for public transportation, rethink your choice next time. (Flip flops in Eastern Europe are a massive no-no; I was, of course, devastated to learn this.) Be sure that what you think is appropriate in a new culture isn鈥檛 actually appropriating their culture.
It鈥檚 easy to become indignant and defensive, because no one likes to be corrected or embarrassed, but swallow your pride and laugh it off (in the privacy of your room, not to the locals, please). You鈥檒l know better next time.
While rejecting the culture might seem like a silly concept, I鈥檝e overheard an American student walking into an ITALIAN class, greeted by an ITALIAN woman, in ITALY asking: 鈥淲hy can鈥檛 she just speak English to me?鈥 (*Cue eye roll.*)
Sure, there might not be peanut butter in Italy, but when you complain religiously about what you鈥檙e missing out on from home, you鈥檙e missing out on a different experience in that new country. It鈥檚 different, and you probably chose to go to this new country for a new experience.
When someone speaks Czech to us, we need to attempt to speak it back to the best of our ability. When a store doesn鈥檛 have what we wanted, we need to open ourselves up to new experiences. When we aren鈥檛 comfortable, we need to embrace that feeling and do our best.
The key to preventing any of these 鈥淎merican-isms鈥 is to approach every situation with humility. We don鈥檛 know everything about the culture, and that鈥檚 OK. Be willing to be embarrassed for a second. Approach these times with sincerity and kindness. People sense that, no matter what language you speak. But try to speak the language, no matter how silly you think you sound. We are so comfortable in our culture that we never have to imagine what it鈥檚 like to be the outsider, and I think that鈥檚 what makes us so resistant to change. But it鈥檚 not only important, it鈥檚 necessary if we want to be global citizens.