Hello everyone, here is the first of my last two posts that I will be doing for this blog. It will be basically an overview of my experience, including what I have learned, how I have grown, and whether I would do it again.
When I stepped off the plane on September 28 in England, I had absolutely no idea what I was in for. The fall term was a crazy yet enjoyable one. While I was in England, I visited Oxford, Coventry, Birmingham, London, and Lemington spa. For the most part though I stayed on campus and though that may sound boring, I had adventures there that I will not soon forget. Assassins guild, karate, late night walks and talks, watching youtube videos, listening to crazy songs, dancing around the dorm, having unforgettable nights at the SU, a huge Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas socials, meeting new people, attack yogurts, modules, and class work all made up my time while I was at Warwick. There were times when I was home sick and longed for the States. There times when I wished for familiarity and a school system I was used to, but all in all, this was one of the best experiences I have ever had. Through the late nights, tears, laughter, and craziness, I had an awesome term and one of the reasons I am now glad I did this blog is that I now have documentation I can look back on to remind of everything that I went through there.
I have learned so many things and grown in so many ways by going to Warwick. I learned that one can make friends anywhere, and now I have made so many promises to go back and see everyone that I hope I can somehow keep them all. I have learned a great deal from my modules, which is to be expected. I have grown by being exposed to a different culture and what it is like to live in a different country. I am more open-minded now and hold more diverse views. My friends there taught me to think in a different way and see things in a different light, as well as look at myself differently and to first look at my own actions and myself when a problem occurs. I learned quite a bit in Karate and am resolved to continue with it at Cornell and beyond. I learned how to cook Thanksgiving dinner successfully for 19 people, and how being with friends on a holiday can make things a lot brighter when all you want is to be at home. I learned that I am great at keeping myself alive in the assassin's guild long game, but that I am a horrible assassin. I learned how to improvise on ingredients to make recipes I made in the States, and that my mom's cheesecake recipe is extremely popular. I grew as a person, a student, and a professional, and I learned that late night laundry runs and walks are great ways to get to know people better.
If someone were to ask me right now, would I do it over again? My answer would be yes, definitely. I had so much fun, learned so much, met so many great people, and made so many wonderful friends who I know I will keep in touch with for years to come. I know this experience will benefit me as a student, a soon-to-be graduate, and in my future career. I am certainly open minded now when it comes to the idea of relocation, and though I would rather stay in the States, the idea of living in a state other than NC is not such a scary idea now. If you have read this blog and have the chance to go study at Warwick Business School or in England in general, do it, go for it, you will not be disappointed. The people there are amazing and though it takes getting used to, England is a great place to live and it will not be long until you begin using British words like cheers or rubbish. My experience has been awesome and I am so glad that I went, even if I was a tad intimidated at the idea of going.
There will be one more post discussing my transition back to American society and being home, which I will be posting tomorrow. To summarize my experience in one sentence though, it was awesome. Like I said, if you get the chance to do an exchange or study abroad, do it. If you have any questions that were not answered in this blog, whether they be direct related to the exchange program, my personal experience, or anything else, please feel free to email me at Njw48@cornell.edu. I will be happy to answer and all questions. Thank you, cheers, and happy holidays!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
brief synopsis of London, Candy Corn, Thanksgiving dinner, and 8am fire alarms
Hey everyone! Since my previous strategy of writing several posts and then posting daily as failed, I will now attempt a different strategy. I am instead going to write one rather long post on several topics every few days, hopefully more frequently than I have been since the term is very quickly drawing to a close. Moving on......
A brief synopsis of my trip to London...
While I would like to go over everything I saw and did in London, I have come to the realization that it still would not portray what it is like to actually be there. So I will briefly mention what I did and my opinion about whether or not it was worth spending the very little time seeing the attraction. Before I begin though, let me take a moment to mention that everything in London is arguably worth seeing since not many of us have the luxury of getting to spend a lot of time there. Either way is it definitely worth going to London. So if you come to England, try to spend some time there. One more thing, do not be disappointed if you cannot make it to every attraction/building/restaurant you wanted to see. London is quite big so really the only thing you can do is try to manage your time efficiently. However do not over schedule so that you are running from place to place and not giving yourself anytime to enjoy anything. Otherwise what was the point of going since you will then be more likely to remember running from place to place then anything you actually saw.
On to the first place...
1) The National Gallery. Located in Traflagar square, it is a collection of portraits and paintings done over the centuries by many different artists. I enjoy galleries so I did really enjoy this attraction. The paintings were interesting and the location is nice, not to mention admission is free. Even if you do not actually go into the gallery, I still suggest seeing the sculptures and works of art in Traflagar square. We saw huge lions, Nelson's column, and a big "ship in a bottle". Also there were many street performers doing tricks there, including a living statute.
2) China Town. Located in Soho, it is mainly a collection of Asian shops, restaurants, and the occasional work of art. I enjoyed this part of the day mostly because I walked in a shop and saw that they had A&W root beer which, after not being able to have some since I left the States, was lovely. It is definitely an interesting place to see but I felt quite happy basically rushing through it since it really did not appeal much to me.
3) Big Ben and the London Eye. Big Ben is of course the iconic clock tower which everyone now thinks of when they think of England. The London eye is the largest Ferris wheel in the world which takes you on a 30 minute trip in what is basically a giant glass ball. Both are a must see but because of their size, you do not need to be close to see them. There were several times just walking around when we saw them in the distance. I did not actually go on the London eye. I am rather terrified of heights so the idea of being rather high of the ground for a half hour where I can still see the ground in a structure I would not feel comfortable in just did not appeal to me. The other reason I did not go was because of the price. When my roommate and I went it would have cost us 18 pounds to go on, which would have been around $27 and we were both on a budget so we had to pass on it. However, if you do not mind heights and can afford it, I highly suggest going.
4) Buckingham palace, where the queen lives. It is a massive but impressive building surrounded by plenty of gates and security. It is quite lovely to see especially at night. I would definitely suggest seeing it and maybe getting a chance to see the changing of the guards. Unfortunately we were unable to go until night so were unable to see any guards at the palace. We did see guards elsewhere and my roommate tried to coax me into getting a picture with them but I blatantly refused since to me it would have been using them as a prop. Although other people evidently did not care and gladly used the guards as props, I felt sorry for them and possibly surprised one when I gave them a rather sympathetic look.
5) The Museum of Natural History. It is exactly what the name implies. It has been made famous by many movies, most notably "Night at the Museum". I absolutely loved going here. I found the exhibits extremely fascinating. The only thing that I wish was that I could have spent more time there. I could probably spend two whole days there and not get bored. It is highly educational, well organized, and a great place for kids. This is definitely a must see, even if you do not like museums.
Those were the main places I traveled to/saw while I was in London. I did see several minor places, but these are the ones that stood out to me. The other places are of course worth seeing but if you can fit the ones above in your itinerary you should be in good shape. The pictures of these places can be seen through the link in the first London post. Moving on to the next topic....
Candy Corn
I am aware that this is an odd topic considering that they do not even sell Candy Corn in the UK, but it has been a topic that has been brought up frequently in my dorm. Why is this? Well it started because one of my dearest friends here mentioned that she had never had any so I asked my dad to send me some and Donna to bring some which she came to England. This lead to vast amounts of candy corn being given to her and people around my dorm and no one can seem to get enough of it. They are all rather addicted to it. This leads to an interesting suggestion if you come to study here. Bring or have sent food from home. I know bringing may not be practical with packing space and customs but if nothing else, have someone ship some snacks or candy that you cannot find here over. Along with the candy corn my dad send some Frittos and some mix for Country Style gravy. The Frittos were a big hit and the gravy had some interesting reactions. I enjoyed doing it though so that they can get a taste of some of the food you can get in the States, even if you can only show them junk food. Most are eager to try foods new to them and it is nice to finally have something I can reference food wise from the States and they know what I am talking about.
Thanksgiving Dinner
Thanksgiving is not a British Holiday. This made it weird for me to have to actually go to class on Thanksgiving, but I did find that it made it less hard for me to not be home that day. I believe its because I did not have much time to think about it and since there were few that were even aware of it being that day, I was not reminded of it often. Thankfully I still got to celebrate it this year though. A few weeks ago, I began mentioning Thanksgiving to my dorm mates and they got curious and asked if I would organize a Thanksgiving dinner for them. After much planning, shopping, and cooking, the day before Thanksgiving I successfully served a Thanksgiving meal to 19 people. I believe I spent 6 hours in the kitchen that day cooking and it was completely worth it. I had a wonderful time and I feel I was able to convey the meaning of Thanksgiving to my dorm mates. One of the best things about it was before the meal I had everyone eating name something(s) they were thankful for. It was a hectic, tiring, but awesome experience so if you do not mind the pressure, time, and effort that goes into it, I highly suggest doing it. I can even help but telling you where and when to shop, as well as how much food to buy. Either way I had a wonderful Thanksgiving and it made being away from home that day not so bad.
8am Fire alarms
The last thing I will talk about today is the fire alarm that happened at 8am on a Saturday morning at my dorm. The vast majority of people at my dorm were sleeping at this time but with the loudness and annoyingness of the fire alarm that did not last. Someone standing outside would have then seen a bunch of groggy and grumpy college kids coming out into the freshly fallen 1cm worth of snow cursing about the idiot of had evidently set the toaster on fire. Oh and did I mention most of us were in pajamas. This led to discussions of how we were grateful that we had decided to wear this pair of pajamas last night and how cold we were in our slippers or thing pajama pants. One poor guy had to go out in shorts and a t-shirt with no socks or shoes. Anyway do not be surprised if this happens at least once. Accommodation in Rootes is notorious to having this occur, but thankfully this was only the second fire alarm that has happened at Benefactors.
This is set to be one of my final posts to this blog. There are only two weeks left till I come home, so I will try to talk about anything I may have forgot to mention and then I will have a blog posting reflecting on my time here and one final one about transitioning back to the States. Things are currently going really well here, even though I am starting to feel depressed about how my final undergrad semester is almost upon me. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you never forget all that you have to be thankful for. Have a wonderful week and I will try to post again soon. Cheers!
A brief synopsis of my trip to London...
While I would like to go over everything I saw and did in London, I have come to the realization that it still would not portray what it is like to actually be there. So I will briefly mention what I did and my opinion about whether or not it was worth spending the very little time seeing the attraction. Before I begin though, let me take a moment to mention that everything in London is arguably worth seeing since not many of us have the luxury of getting to spend a lot of time there. Either way is it definitely worth going to London. So if you come to England, try to spend some time there. One more thing, do not be disappointed if you cannot make it to every attraction/building/restaurant you wanted to see. London is quite big so really the only thing you can do is try to manage your time efficiently. However do not over schedule so that you are running from place to place and not giving yourself anytime to enjoy anything. Otherwise what was the point of going since you will then be more likely to remember running from place to place then anything you actually saw.
On to the first place...
1) The National Gallery. Located in Traflagar square, it is a collection of portraits and paintings done over the centuries by many different artists. I enjoy galleries so I did really enjoy this attraction. The paintings were interesting and the location is nice, not to mention admission is free. Even if you do not actually go into the gallery, I still suggest seeing the sculptures and works of art in Traflagar square. We saw huge lions, Nelson's column, and a big "ship in a bottle". Also there were many street performers doing tricks there, including a living statute.
2) China Town. Located in Soho, it is mainly a collection of Asian shops, restaurants, and the occasional work of art. I enjoyed this part of the day mostly because I walked in a shop and saw that they had A&W root beer which, after not being able to have some since I left the States, was lovely. It is definitely an interesting place to see but I felt quite happy basically rushing through it since it really did not appeal much to me.
3) Big Ben and the London Eye. Big Ben is of course the iconic clock tower which everyone now thinks of when they think of England. The London eye is the largest Ferris wheel in the world which takes you on a 30 minute trip in what is basically a giant glass ball. Both are a must see but because of their size, you do not need to be close to see them. There were several times just walking around when we saw them in the distance. I did not actually go on the London eye. I am rather terrified of heights so the idea of being rather high of the ground for a half hour where I can still see the ground in a structure I would not feel comfortable in just did not appeal to me. The other reason I did not go was because of the price. When my roommate and I went it would have cost us 18 pounds to go on, which would have been around $27 and we were both on a budget so we had to pass on it. However, if you do not mind heights and can afford it, I highly suggest going.
4) Buckingham palace, where the queen lives. It is a massive but impressive building surrounded by plenty of gates and security. It is quite lovely to see especially at night. I would definitely suggest seeing it and maybe getting a chance to see the changing of the guards. Unfortunately we were unable to go until night so were unable to see any guards at the palace. We did see guards elsewhere and my roommate tried to coax me into getting a picture with them but I blatantly refused since to me it would have been using them as a prop. Although other people evidently did not care and gladly used the guards as props, I felt sorry for them and possibly surprised one when I gave them a rather sympathetic look.
5) The Museum of Natural History. It is exactly what the name implies. It has been made famous by many movies, most notably "Night at the Museum". I absolutely loved going here. I found the exhibits extremely fascinating. The only thing that I wish was that I could have spent more time there. I could probably spend two whole days there and not get bored. It is highly educational, well organized, and a great place for kids. This is definitely a must see, even if you do not like museums.
Those were the main places I traveled to/saw while I was in London. I did see several minor places, but these are the ones that stood out to me. The other places are of course worth seeing but if you can fit the ones above in your itinerary you should be in good shape. The pictures of these places can be seen through the link in the first London post. Moving on to the next topic....
Candy Corn
I am aware that this is an odd topic considering that they do not even sell Candy Corn in the UK, but it has been a topic that has been brought up frequently in my dorm. Why is this? Well it started because one of my dearest friends here mentioned that she had never had any so I asked my dad to send me some and Donna to bring some which she came to England. This lead to vast amounts of candy corn being given to her and people around my dorm and no one can seem to get enough of it. They are all rather addicted to it. This leads to an interesting suggestion if you come to study here. Bring or have sent food from home. I know bringing may not be practical with packing space and customs but if nothing else, have someone ship some snacks or candy that you cannot find here over. Along with the candy corn my dad send some Frittos and some mix for Country Style gravy. The Frittos were a big hit and the gravy had some interesting reactions. I enjoyed doing it though so that they can get a taste of some of the food you can get in the States, even if you can only show them junk food. Most are eager to try foods new to them and it is nice to finally have something I can reference food wise from the States and they know what I am talking about.
Thanksgiving Dinner
Thanksgiving is not a British Holiday. This made it weird for me to have to actually go to class on Thanksgiving, but I did find that it made it less hard for me to not be home that day. I believe its because I did not have much time to think about it and since there were few that were even aware of it being that day, I was not reminded of it often. Thankfully I still got to celebrate it this year though. A few weeks ago, I began mentioning Thanksgiving to my dorm mates and they got curious and asked if I would organize a Thanksgiving dinner for them. After much planning, shopping, and cooking, the day before Thanksgiving I successfully served a Thanksgiving meal to 19 people. I believe I spent 6 hours in the kitchen that day cooking and it was completely worth it. I had a wonderful time and I feel I was able to convey the meaning of Thanksgiving to my dorm mates. One of the best things about it was before the meal I had everyone eating name something(s) they were thankful for. It was a hectic, tiring, but awesome experience so if you do not mind the pressure, time, and effort that goes into it, I highly suggest doing it. I can even help but telling you where and when to shop, as well as how much food to buy. Either way I had a wonderful Thanksgiving and it made being away from home that day not so bad.
8am Fire alarms
The last thing I will talk about today is the fire alarm that happened at 8am on a Saturday morning at my dorm. The vast majority of people at my dorm were sleeping at this time but with the loudness and annoyingness of the fire alarm that did not last. Someone standing outside would have then seen a bunch of groggy and grumpy college kids coming out into the freshly fallen 1cm worth of snow cursing about the idiot of had evidently set the toaster on fire. Oh and did I mention most of us were in pajamas. This led to discussions of how we were grateful that we had decided to wear this pair of pajamas last night and how cold we were in our slippers or thing pajama pants. One poor guy had to go out in shorts and a t-shirt with no socks or shoes. Anyway do not be surprised if this happens at least once. Accommodation in Rootes is notorious to having this occur, but thankfully this was only the second fire alarm that has happened at Benefactors.
This is set to be one of my final posts to this blog. There are only two weeks left till I come home, so I will try to talk about anything I may have forgot to mention and then I will have a blog posting reflecting on my time here and one final one about transitioning back to the States. Things are currently going really well here, even though I am starting to feel depressed about how my final undergrad semester is almost upon me. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you never forget all that you have to be thankful for. Have a wonderful week and I will try to post again soon. Cheers!
Monday, November 22, 2010
The London underground
Hello again and may I say Happy Thanksgiving! Although I guess it is a bit early. I am actually making Thanksgiving for my kitchen at my dorm, which means I am making enough food for 18 people! I will have help though so it will not be too bad. Anyway on to the topic of the day....
The London Underground
As I have already posted on here, I went to London the weekend before last. During this trip, my roommate and I used the London Underground frequently to get around well...London. Basically the London underground is a series of train routes under London. These routes are very convenient (especially for the tourist who does not want to walk everywhere or does not have the time to). For 5 pounds you can get an all day pass which very quickly pays for itself, especially for my roommate and I who probably took the trains around 10 times.
The only downside that I found to traveling using the Underground was that it is noisy and usually extremely crowded. There were times when I got squeezed into a train with very little personal space and I had to make sure to hold on to my roommates are when we were traveling through. It does take you all over London though and although at first it seems quite a bit confusing, with the assistance of a map, it really is not that bad. Taking a train on the Underground is definitely a must-do part of the experience of going to London.
Two more side notes, not exclusive to the London Underground, but I experienced because of the various train rides. First off a Boxing Day Pasty is the best Pasty ever! It has ham, potatoes, gravy, chicken, cranberries, and turkey. I got one at the train station and it was absolutely delicious. Second, Kings Cross was remodeling when I went through, but it is still a very nice station. Plus, for all the Harry Potter fans, it has platform 9 and 3/4 with half of a luggage trolley sticking out of the wall! That is it for this post. Enjoy time with the family this week and of course Thanksgiving! Cheers!
The London Underground
As I have already posted on here, I went to London the weekend before last. During this trip, my roommate and I used the London Underground frequently to get around well...London. Basically the London underground is a series of train routes under London. These routes are very convenient (especially for the tourist who does not want to walk everywhere or does not have the time to). For 5 pounds you can get an all day pass which very quickly pays for itself, especially for my roommate and I who probably took the trains around 10 times.
The only downside that I found to traveling using the Underground was that it is noisy and usually extremely crowded. There were times when I got squeezed into a train with very little personal space and I had to make sure to hold on to my roommates are when we were traveling through. It does take you all over London though and although at first it seems quite a bit confusing, with the assistance of a map, it really is not that bad. Taking a train on the Underground is definitely a must-do part of the experience of going to London.
Two more side notes, not exclusive to the London Underground, but I experienced because of the various train rides. First off a Boxing Day Pasty is the best Pasty ever! It has ham, potatoes, gravy, chicken, cranberries, and turkey. I got one at the train station and it was absolutely delicious. Second, Kings Cross was remodeling when I went through, but it is still a very nice station. Plus, for all the Harry Potter fans, it has platform 9 and 3/4 with half of a luggage trolley sticking out of the wall! That is it for this post. Enjoy time with the family this week and of course Thanksgiving! Cheers!
Friday, November 19, 2010
An interesting train experience
I apologize for this post coming a few days after I said it would, the week has been busier than I anticipated. The train system in the EU is rather well....fantastic. I do not live near anywhere in the States where I could take the train so when my roommate and I decided to take a train and visit London last Saturday, I was really excited. Train rides are nice because they tend to be priced pretty cheap, well if you go during an off peak time. Do not, unless you want to shell out about 20 or 30 pounds more, try to take a train to London on a Monday. I got a round trip ticket to London for same day travel and spent the whole day there and it only cost me around 23 pounds which is roughly $37.
Anyway the main train that goes to London and most other places around Coventry is by Virgin Trains. If you can book a trip on Virgin Train lines, which you can do easily through the Coventry train station, do it. The trains are very nice, clean, and comfortable. The ride to London is very smooth and if you go during the day, you get see a lot of lovely scenery. Although it was a bit intimidating for me at first. The timetables and train platforms can have a very intimidating feel if you do not know what is going on, but once you ride on it, you tend to realize it was silly to have that feeling.
I also got the opportunity on this trip to experience a unique panic that you only tend to get from trains...well I suppose you could also get this from the bus or subway if they were comfortable enough for you to fall asleep. Either way, on the way back from London I was extremely tired, and in being so tired, I fell asleep. When I woke up, the panic came. Did I miss my stop? Where are we? It is dark so I cannot get a visual of where we are? What if I missed it, how am I getting home? Would the train company help me? It was a very scary feeling, and upon reflection, part of the reason I prefer to fly. If you fall asleep on a plane, they would wake you up and even if they did not wake you, the noise from the other passengers getting off or the landing would wake you up and ensure that you got off at the right stop. On a train, they do not know where you are getting off so they cannot just check that you are off and often the people around you are not getting off at the right stop so they are not of my assistance. Thankfully, I did not miss my stop but I made a mental note of never falling asleep on an hour train ride again.
That was my experience with trains. If you make it here and have never been on one before, I suggest doing it and I am sure you will find it to be a lovely experience...well hopefully. Cheers!
Anyway the main train that goes to London and most other places around Coventry is by Virgin Trains. If you can book a trip on Virgin Train lines, which you can do easily through the Coventry train station, do it. The trains are very nice, clean, and comfortable. The ride to London is very smooth and if you go during the day, you get see a lot of lovely scenery. Although it was a bit intimidating for me at first. The timetables and train platforms can have a very intimidating feel if you do not know what is going on, but once you ride on it, you tend to realize it was silly to have that feeling.
I also got the opportunity on this trip to experience a unique panic that you only tend to get from trains...well I suppose you could also get this from the bus or subway if they were comfortable enough for you to fall asleep. Either way, on the way back from London I was extremely tired, and in being so tired, I fell asleep. When I woke up, the panic came. Did I miss my stop? Where are we? It is dark so I cannot get a visual of where we are? What if I missed it, how am I getting home? Would the train company help me? It was a very scary feeling, and upon reflection, part of the reason I prefer to fly. If you fall asleep on a plane, they would wake you up and even if they did not wake you, the noise from the other passengers getting off or the landing would wake you up and ensure that you got off at the right stop. On a train, they do not know where you are getting off so they cannot just check that you are off and often the people around you are not getting off at the right stop so they are not of my assistance. Thankfully, I did not miss my stop but I made a mental note of never falling asleep on an hour train ride again.
That was my experience with trains. If you make it here and have never been on one before, I suggest doing it and I am sure you will find it to be a lovely experience...well hopefully. Cheers!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
London
Hey Everyone! As most of my fellow students know, I am heading toward the end of and by far the busiest part of the semester but the good news is that, since I went to London yesterday, I will be updating frequently over the next few days going over the various things I was able to see and do. My first post on it will be tomorrow when I go over the train system and the underground. For now, here is a link to the pictures I took while I was there: London Album. I am a tad disappointed that a few of the pictures are blurry but hopefully I will be able to go back before I leave in December.
In other news, everything is going great here in Coventry. I have now settled in completely and now even have a daily routine. Classes are going well and I am now starting on my essays that are due in January since I doubt I will have the motivation to do them when I get back home. I just last week actually started going to archery and I love that it is rather independent so it is mostly focused on individual improvement with coaching given when asked. I must say I will miss England when I come back to the States and I have already told my friends here that I have to come back and they have to come to America. I am having a fantastic time and I highly recommend coming here to anyone interested. Enjoy the album and I will begin a long series of posts tomorrow. Cheers!
In other news, everything is going great here in Coventry. I have now settled in completely and now even have a daily routine. Classes are going well and I am now starting on my essays that are due in January since I doubt I will have the motivation to do them when I get back home. I just last week actually started going to archery and I love that it is rather independent so it is mostly focused on individual improvement with coaching given when asked. I must say I will miss England when I come back to the States and I have already told my friends here that I have to come back and they have to come to America. I am having a fantastic time and I highly recommend coming here to anyone interested. Enjoy the album and I will begin a long series of posts tomorrow. Cheers!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
How to deal with general assumptions, falsehoods, and stereotypes about Americans
I am finally better and I did not get mono so I am having a fantastic week! On an a note unrelated to the title, this week is reading week for most students...well students of certain majors. At Warwick Business School, there are not many teachers who give this kind of break. I actually only have one class in which I am off for the week. This led to worries about whether the students who have reading week would be loud and obnoxious while I am trying to work. Thankfully, this is so far unfound as most have either gone home or are actually being very productive. Moving on to today's topic......
First let it be known to anyone reading this that I have not faced any discrimination by local citizens/students/professors or any Europeans while I have been here at Warwick University. 98% of the time it has even come up, it has been either a joking way by my friends or some of my curious fellow students have asked me about them.
I have only felt alienated on two separate occasions. The first was in a class where I am the only American and students there were trying to talk about it as if they knew about it. For example, when a student was asked whether it would be easier to innovate in Europe/the UK or in the States; he stated that it would be easier in the States because the culture and the language is the same everywhere. Evidently he did not realize how exactly diverse and spread out the United States is. Anyway the second occasion occurred just because one of my dorm mates has this tendency to only believe his opinions are correct, not just with me but with everyone, and decided to make a comment about the States that had true origins but was largely untrue. This led to a rather heated argument and now I think we finally gotten to the point where he just keeps quiet.
The truth is though that people are going to make stereotypes, assumptions, and believe certain falsehoods about the States. Why? Because very few have actually ever experienced anything in the United States for themselves and even if they have it is very limited in scope. For example, quite a few have been to New York city which is an American city but anyone who has been to NYC and practically anywhere else in the States knows it has a culture all its own and you can not base your entire opinion of the country on that one place; that is just the beauty of America. For those who have never been there, all these different beliefs come generally from the media, especially American movies, and word of mouth. Makes a lot of sense when you think about how many stereotypes there are about the British, particularly our/there movies, which to my experience are almost completely untrue.
So how should they be dealt with?
Well I believe there are three generally good ways (I am sure there are more, but I am just choosing to focus on the three)
Laugh
-I do not mean like laugh at them for being stupid or something, but laugh at the actual stereotypes. This gives the impression right away that evidently it is wrong but this approach is better when talking to people who actually know you so you can stop laughing and calming explain the stereotype without them thinking you are rude. Examples of this technique: I could not help laughing when somebody said to me....
"Isn't America like what’s on that show...um Jersey Shore?" (The laughing was followed by a rather quick no)
"Isn't it true that it is expected when you go to prom in America that you will sleep with your prom date?"
(After laughing, that was followed by a no and a where in the world did you get that idea)
"Aren't American High Schools like they are depicted in the movies...for example Mean Girls?" (This was laughed at just because in a way yes in many cases certain situations are similar to how they are in real life but as with most movies, the actual happenings of daily life are too boring and therefore amplified to make things more interesting)
Although laughing is great, you should still make sure to explain how you feel it actually is and also explain that it may be true in some places or situations but it is still a stereotype, which is something based on truth but has been blown out of proportion.
Explain it
-This approach works better in an academic setting or with those you do not know very well. I have generally used this when I heard someone make a comment and felt it was far off enough that it needed explaining or when people have politely inquired about American culture and it was in an Academic or non-familiar way. Basically you just calmly reiterate what they are saying so you are sure about what assumption is being made, ask why they have that assumption, and explain your experience with it the best you can. I have had one situation where they named one individual in which it fit, which I could not argue with but I could argue the point that just because it is true with that one person, does not mean it fits all Americans. I mean to be honest the only thing you can definitely say about all Americans is that we are all American.
Ignore it and just walk away
-This approach works best if used in a situation where you are talking to one of the few people here or are absolutely stuck in their way of thinking about the world and therefore will argue with you relentlessly if you try to diffuse what they believe. Thankfully I have only run into this I believe once. Really you just need to decide if whether explaining the truth of the assumption is really worth your time and trouble and if it is not, ignore the person and just walk away. An exception to that would be if you live in the same hall as them. In that case it needs to be explained to them that you do not like those kinds of comments and they need to stop. If they do not stop and they are making you uncomfortable or alienated, then there are plenty of people whom you can talk to on campus and it can get resolved.
I hope this is helpful and as a final bit of advice, DO NOT BE A HYPOCRIT. If you do not want someone to judge you by a stupid American stereotype then do not judge them by one you have of their country or culture. The whole purpose of this exchange is to expose those involved to different viewpoints and cultures. This includes being open about any preexisting beliefs and being willing to get rid of such beliefs if they are not true. Just come to England or any other country you travel to with an open mind and you will have a great time. Cheers!
How to Deal with assumptions, falsehoods, and stereotypes about Americans/American culture you may run into while at Warwick.
I have only felt alienated on two separate occasions. The first was in a class where I am the only American and students there were trying to talk about it as if they knew about it. For example, when a student was asked whether it would be easier to innovate in Europe/the UK or in the States; he stated that it would be easier in the States because the culture and the language is the same everywhere. Evidently he did not realize how exactly diverse and spread out the United States is. Anyway the second occasion occurred just because one of my dorm mates has this tendency to only believe his opinions are correct, not just with me but with everyone, and decided to make a comment about the States that had true origins but was largely untrue. This led to a rather heated argument and now I think we finally gotten to the point where he just keeps quiet.
The truth is though that people are going to make stereotypes, assumptions, and believe certain falsehoods about the States. Why? Because very few have actually ever experienced anything in the United States for themselves and even if they have it is very limited in scope. For example, quite a few have been to New York city which is an American city but anyone who has been to NYC and practically anywhere else in the States knows it has a culture all its own and you can not base your entire opinion of the country on that one place; that is just the beauty of America. For those who have never been there, all these different beliefs come generally from the media, especially American movies, and word of mouth. Makes a lot of sense when you think about how many stereotypes there are about the British, particularly our/there movies, which to my experience are almost completely untrue.
So how should they be dealt with?
Well I believe there are three generally good ways (I am sure there are more, but I am just choosing to focus on the three)
Laugh
-I do not mean like laugh at them for being stupid or something, but laugh at the actual stereotypes. This gives the impression right away that evidently it is wrong but this approach is better when talking to people who actually know you so you can stop laughing and calming explain the stereotype without them thinking you are rude. Examples of this technique: I could not help laughing when somebody said to me....
"Isn't America like what’s on that show...um Jersey Shore?" (The laughing was followed by a rather quick no)
"Isn't it true that it is expected when you go to prom in America that you will sleep with your prom date?"
(After laughing, that was followed by a no and a where in the world did you get that idea)
"Aren't American High Schools like they are depicted in the movies...for example Mean Girls?" (This was laughed at just because in a way yes in many cases certain situations are similar to how they are in real life but as with most movies, the actual happenings of daily life are too boring and therefore amplified to make things more interesting)
Although laughing is great, you should still make sure to explain how you feel it actually is and also explain that it may be true in some places or situations but it is still a stereotype, which is something based on truth but has been blown out of proportion.
Explain it
-This approach works better in an academic setting or with those you do not know very well. I have generally used this when I heard someone make a comment and felt it was far off enough that it needed explaining or when people have politely inquired about American culture and it was in an Academic or non-familiar way. Basically you just calmly reiterate what they are saying so you are sure about what assumption is being made, ask why they have that assumption, and explain your experience with it the best you can. I have had one situation where they named one individual in which it fit, which I could not argue with but I could argue the point that just because it is true with that one person, does not mean it fits all Americans. I mean to be honest the only thing you can definitely say about all Americans is that we are all American.
Ignore it and just walk away
-This approach works best if used in a situation where you are talking to one of the few people here or are absolutely stuck in their way of thinking about the world and therefore will argue with you relentlessly if you try to diffuse what they believe. Thankfully I have only run into this I believe once. Really you just need to decide if whether explaining the truth of the assumption is really worth your time and trouble and if it is not, ignore the person and just walk away. An exception to that would be if you live in the same hall as them. In that case it needs to be explained to them that you do not like those kinds of comments and they need to stop. If they do not stop and they are making you uncomfortable or alienated, then there are plenty of people whom you can talk to on campus and it can get resolved.
I hope this is helpful and as a final bit of advice, DO NOT BE A HYPOCRIT. If you do not want someone to judge you by a stupid American stereotype then do not judge them by one you have of their country or culture. The whole purpose of this exchange is to expose those involved to different viewpoints and cultures. This includes being open about any preexisting beliefs and being willing to get rid of such beliefs if they are not true. Just come to England or any other country you travel to with an open mind and you will have a great time. Cheers!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Update
Hey everyone,
I am sorry it has been so long since I have posted and I am sorry that this is also going to be a rather short post. It seems I have become quite ill. My sickness began Sunday night and has attacked me vigorously since then, but on the positive side I am showing signs of recovery. I am gradually beginning to get better, but unfortunately being sick has led me to miss my classes this week. My teachers have been rather understanding though and as long as I turn in a form explaining my absence, the next day I attend class, it should be alright. I will post again once I am well, but until then, have a wonderful weekend! Cheers!
I am sorry it has been so long since I have posted and I am sorry that this is also going to be a rather short post. It seems I have become quite ill. My sickness began Sunday night and has attacked me vigorously since then, but on the positive side I am showing signs of recovery. I am gradually beginning to get better, but unfortunately being sick has led me to miss my classes this week. My teachers have been rather understanding though and as long as I turn in a form explaining my absence, the next day I attend class, it should be alright. I will post again once I am well, but until then, have a wonderful weekend! Cheers!
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