Why am I here?

Studying in England is pretty much like studying in America. I never had to learn a new language to understand what was going on. I didn't stick out like a sore thumb until I opened my mouth to speak. The article "American Students Abroad Can't Be 'Global Citizens'" is written by a student who was transplanted into a vastly different culture and way of life. I, on the other hand, had to adjust to only a new timezone. (Granted, there were a few differences such as slang and Lancaster University did things differently in way of education than Allegheny.) With that said, it is a bit difficult to answer the prompt. So I am hoping to modify it a bit to fit my experiences. I have decided I shall tell a story about my flatmates.

I suffer from migraines. I have since I was a small child. In eleventh grade I had to start everyday medication for them as I had a severe migraine for three months straight. We discovered that the migraines and a few other issues I have stem from a hypersensitive nervous system. That basically means changes in temperature, barometric pressure, stress levels, and sleep/schedule patterns can cause me to get a migraine. Today I have things pretty much under control, as long as I try to stick to a schedule. One of the times I wound up having a migraine was one afternoon. I do the same thing each time I get a migraine, I take my meds, stick my head under a pillow, and sleep it off. I'm almost asleep when I hear one of my flatmates start blasting dance music. At like 3 in the afternoon. I hoped that it would get turned down a bit. I also hoped I could just block it out with a pillow. Nope. It just seemed to get louder. I actually had to get up, still in my migraine stupor, and knock on his door. I asked him if he could turn it down, to which he replied "Sorry, I was just trying to annoy (insert flatmate next door's name)." Now, you must be wondering what this has to do with the prompt. I'm about to tell you. Cut to a month after that. The day before the time I am about to describe, I had gone to Liverpool with two friends. We got back late that night (a Saturday). So my schedule was slightly off, as I went to bed about an hour and a half after what I would normally. To adjust for that, I was planning on sleeping in. Being a Sunday, I figured that would not be a problem. I wake up a one point  to music BLARING down the hall. Honestly, I never heard this loud of music being played at any point in a dormitory in my nearly three years of college up to that day. I think to myself, it's probably like one in the afternoon. I glance at my phone. It was SEVEN FREAKING THIRTY on a Sunday morning. Why on earth was club music playing at such an hour?!?!?! Well, like the time where I had a migraine, I had to stumble over and knock on my flatmate's door. This time in my pajamas. My flatmate opened his door and I see he has at least six people in his tiny room and they're all dressed for the club. I politely ask him to turn it off and he looked shocked that I would request such a thing. It was clear to me that they were still awake from going out the previous night. This experience caused me to think about things at Lancaster compared to things at Allegheny:

1. The first thing it made me consider (at a more reasonable time, after several more hours of sleep) was the difference in going out/partying at Allegheny compared to Lancaster. One of the biggest differences is the fact that in the UK, and much of Europe, people are legally allowed to drink at 18, meaning first year uni students are able to purchase and consume alcohol. In America, the drinking age is 21, which means college students cannot (legally) drink until around their third year of school. This completely changes partying. At Lancaster, there are nine bars on campus. Plus two stores that sell alcohol. So people start drinking on campus and by midnight they move onto the clubs, which don't close until six or seven in the morning. One could party every night of the week. At Allegheny, the people who go out to the (off-campus) bars are usually of legal drinking age. And most bars close by two or three in the morning. 
2. Another thing I began to muse about is the difference between one's first year at Allegheny compared to a first year at Lancaster. At Lancaster, the first year is basically a blow off year. One could essentially muck about, party every night, never go to lecture, and it means absolutely nothing. This never would fly at Allegheny. I had to study, study, study since my first year. I never really 'partied'.
3. All of my flatmates were first years. They could drink and party every night and then sleep until four in the afternoon. I, however, being caught between second and third year (in the eyes of Lancaster as they only go for three years), couldn't do what they did. (Which isn't something I would want to do anyway.) I felt like a grandma because of my need for consistent schedule and scholastic-goody-two-shoes nature.

After thinking of these things, I began to appreciate the differences. Sure it was kind of awful to be rudely awoken early on a Sunday morning by screeching club music. But was I learning what life was like for natives of my host country. The author of "American Students Abroad Can't Be 'Global Citizens'" write about how she was unable to fully immerse in her host country because of one specific detail. For her, that was the fact that she was treated as an honored guest over a family member. For me, it was that I was unable (medically and personality-wise) to party the same way as my English colleagues. I know it is a slightly odd comparison, but as I said earlier, I was still in a predominately white, English-speaking country not unlike my home country. 

Reading Between the Lines

In "Stumbling Blocks in Intercultural Communication", Laray M. Barna lays out six common types of issues associated with intercultural dealings. On this list are things like differences in body language and differences in outward personality (Assumption of Similarities, Nonverbal Misinterpretations), differences in spoken language and connotation (Language Differences), being caught up in stereotypes (Preconceptions and Stereotypes), misinterpretation of actions and immediate judgement as "wrong" or "abnormal" (Tendency to Evaluate), and stress caused by being in different situations and with different people (High Anxiety).

I found that I experienced three of these during my time in England: Assumption of Similarities, Nonverbal Misinterpretations, and Language Differences. The biggest difference I noticed was the difference between the American form of politeness and the English form. In America, as noted in Barna's article, we are friendly in our politeness, perhaps overly. We smile and wave. We say 'bless you' when someone sneezes in public. We are vocally thankful more more loudly than our English cousins. When someone asks how we are, we respond with how we are actually feeling. People in England usually give a nod when they run into someone they know when they're out, if they do respond at all. Sitting in class, I noticed that my English peers don't say 'bless you' when someone sneezes, when I feel automatically compelled to say it. (Much to the chagrin of Professor Bulman back at Allegheny) In England, the automatic thankful remark is 'cheers'.  You say 'cheers' when a server brings food, as you disembark a bus, as you collect your groceries to depart. It's rather informal. Another thing that people in England do is ask "you-all-right". This, I have learned, is almost rhetorical. Once, in the hallway of my flat, my flatmate said this to me. I responded with how I was feeling (good but a bit stressed) and she looked a bit thrown off. I asked her how she was and she just said fine and continued on her way.

There are small language differences that exist between American English and British English. For instance, what is featured in the picture below:

I would call this a faucet. People in England call it a tap. I confused the porter when I spoke about the separate faucets in my bathroom sink. 

I confused lots of people by asking where the restroom was. Many just gave me a weird look and I had to clarify. My English friends say toilet or loo over bathroom or restroom. As an American, I find toilet a bit.

Finally, now that I know what "Tendency to Evaluate" is, I can hold back on judging others for things like this. Now I know that every action, every word, is defined by culture. And I must pause and reflect on what I mean and what I present and also on what others mean and present. 

Resetting Our Goals?

The term “developed” seems to be this era’s version of “civilized”. The Ancient Greeks called anyone who was not a part of civilized Greek society “barbarians” (barbaros), yet they also used the term derogatorily between their own city states. Gilbert Rist’s article “Development as a buzzword” lays out the multifaceted but entirely vague concept we have come to know as “being developed”. This idea of development is somewhat difficult to discuss in the context of my study abroad experiences in England. England was the original modern super power. It was the seat of western civilization after the Renaissance and only gave up the title last century. It has been a developed nation for hundreds of years. But there was a time it was not developed.

On my sixth day in England, Lancaster University had arranged a trip to Chester, one of the best examples of a walled city in the UK, for the Study Abroad students. Chester also has Roman ruins. The Romans came to England around 55 B.C.E. The Romans, believing themselves to be the more civilized people, seized the lands from the Celtic peoples. With the Romans came Roman ideals of development. Amphitheaters were created. Baths were built. Gladiatorial combat was ordered. All the things the Romans believed to be the epitomes of western civilization were brought to the barbaric Celts.

Keeping this in mind, we can now, as Rist writes, "debunk the 'development' buzzword." Rist also writes: 
To do so [debunk 'development'] means that we must define it properly – relying on actual social practices, rather than wishful thinking. We must be aware of its inclusion in a corpus of beliefs that are difficult to shatter, expose its mischievous uses, and denounce its consequences. The most important thing, however, is to make it plain that there is life after ‘development’ – certainly a different one from what we in the privileged regions are used to, but there is no evidence to suggest that we would lose on such a deal.

 
Romans forced their beliefs on the Celts. They used these beliefs to hold themselves above the 'lesser' Celts. But this was not the end of the so called development. Today, England has developed past the Romans, past the Normans. But this doesn't mean that it is done developing. There is no ultimate utopia that marks the supposed end of development as things are constantly changing, constantly in flux.

Amphitheater in Chester

Roman Baths

Coming Home

One of Lancaster’s main selling points is the amount of international students it attracts. In my flat of 8 people including myself, not one person was English. Students from Italy, Greece, Hong Kong and Cyprus shared the flat with me, and all of us had different ideas and experiences of what it meant to be a foreign student. Not only were there students from Allegheny, but a large group of other Americans were visiting this semester as well. Someone who turned out to be largely invaluable as a friend and study partner was a foreign student as well. The university prides itself on the ability to bring in and retain students from across the globe. From that viewpoint, and that understanding, my understanding of my place in a global education is infinitesimal. After these experiences it is easy to think that my contribution or my ideas are nearly irrelevant among the sea of voices who also have a similar perspective, or tackle the same question uniquely. It doesn’t matter what my thoughts are because the thoughts of others are “better” or “more interesting” or a myriad of value judgements that make my experiences lesser. I came to Lancaster thinking I would be educated and my modest opinions would be afterthoughts.

I could not have been more wrong. While it is true, my experiences is one in a large amount of other foreign students at the university, and while yes, I was humbled by my education I received, it was met with equal teaching. I was able to teach and to learn in tandem, and become more adept at both understanding differences and working with them more cohesively. My experiences with my peers and friends here were eye opening not just for me as I had expected but for them too. I was fortunate in my ability to be a resource as well as a recipient of information and understanding. I was humbled by the questions I was asked, and understand that it reflected very heavily on cross-cultural understanding how I answered those questions.

My understanding of global education agrees with the article. I think that I would add to it however. The experiences Lancaster provided me are both teaching and learning experiences. While learning was the primary goal, teaching became a side effect of interacting with people who did not know much about the United States, just as I knew little about England. There was a movement of give and take, a shared understanding that grew from my time with people I would not have otherwise encountered, and this is the reason global education is important. Not only does the person traveling learn in abundance, but they teach the people they encounter abroad. It is important for any study away student to know that their interactions are just as unique to the people they interact with as the encounters are to themselves. My role in global education expanded to include being a teacher as well as a student, and for that I am grateful. I was expecting to be bombarded with information, and I was right on the nose with that prediction. My surprise came from sending just as much information back to the people I was interacting with. The true mission of global education is not one sided, and I learned this first hand.

Lessons from Study Away

Will Buxton says

“The weekend after the deadline for a piece of coursework for the class I met Michael in, him & I went out for a few of drinks. After having a couple in the bar we’d agreed to meet in, Michael suggested going to another place in town where he’d really liked the music on his previous visit. To me, the bar in question had a less-than-favourable reputation I’d tried to avoid during my three years in Lancaster. A chain associated in my mind with ultra-cheap drinks rowdy clientele, it was good for large groups making use of the student-friendly prices but seemed an odd choice for two people. But Michael insisted that the music was good and I eventually agreed.

We arrived and, lo and behold, it was precisely as I had recalled – a “quality” establishment with generic pop playing (the prices can’t be complained about, mind you…). I expected disappointment from Michael, but instead he had that attitude he’s known for: “We’re here – it’s not what we came for but they’ve got music and there’s an atmosphere, let’s have a good time”. He seems to always want to make the best of a situation – even one you wouldn’t normally go for isn’t just salvageable, but can be made a good one.”

The social calls of my experience turned out to be as equally eye opening as classes

Jeriel Bacani says

“All exchange students from America I've encountered here at Lancaster are always super friendly and jolly, despite the gloomy and bipolar British weather that they are graced with upon their arrival. Michael especially, has been one of the most memorable exchange students I have met. Being one of the only three people in my External Intervention seminar who turned up at the end of term, I was really enlightened by his perception of the UK in comparison to the US, challenging the view on race and culture by our very flamboyant and fabulous lecturer. It intrigued me to experience someone who had a high degree of awareness with regards to the privileges enjoyed by Caucasians in the US and it certainly highlighted for me, the context of the recent events that one was only able to read about and hear about on the television. Michael's ability to share his own juxtaposition of British and American perceptions towards minorities gave us all a different viewpoint, which in my opinion was not only enlightening but embodied an encounter that I feel British students should be doing more of, which is engaging and learning more from the exchange students who pass through our university as often I feel that they are overlooked just because of their temporary stay here.

Getting to know Michael better was even more enlightening, during revision sessions I was able to not only get to know more about how the US has it much easier in terms of assessment breakdowns, but also at how much our perceived "crippling student debt" here, is nothing compared to our American counterparts. In terms of what defines Michael, from the aforementioned encounters would have to be his ability to cast his own outlook and enlighten those around him, sparking debate and thought that others may have otherwise have overlooked.”

Both of these stories are reflective of their authors. While Will and I really only socialized, and were more friends than just classmates by the end of our time together, Jeriel and I were academic peers. I learned a lot from the both of them. Both of these people I have written about in previous entries, which is why they are the two people I chose for this assessment. It was with Will that I made a faux pas of engaging too much in public, and Jeriel was present when I was speaking with my lecturer about race relations in England versus the US. Will’s story further highlights how I was different from the average British perception by smiling more, being more “positive” and generally not complaining as much as he deemed normal. An important caveat he didn’t mention is that the music playing at that establishment that night was not the same as the music playing there other times I had been there, and I was equally upset with the music choice of the evening. And while I may not be doing the very “British” thing of finding fault in the situation, I was glad for Will’s company on that occasion. Will has proven a valuable comrade, both in friendship and enlightening me on how to navigate the subtleties of British culture. Jeriel is another exchange student, and her insight is invaluable, and I was grateful to meet her. Her assessment of me as a thoughtful person came as a surprise, as I perceive myself as often quite absent minded and bumbling, and ill equipped for the complexities of British culture. Her support of my thoughts is high praise for me, and not taken for granted. Just as I learned from the professor we reference, I learn from her about how to listen more than speak, and to take new angles on situations. I do believe revising with her was a highlight of my academic experience in Lancaster, and Will’s social calls were just some of the off-hours highlights.

Why Am I Here?

Socially constructed values for race are not universal. My time in England has proven that to me. While I am aware of the situation in the United States in regards to race, my understanding of the situation in the UK did not measure up. I do know of racial bias existing in the UK climate, I knew that racism towards members of society existed, especially in regards to people who either were immigrants, or children or grandchildren (or even great-grandchildren) of immigrants from the Indian subcontinent, whether they hailed from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, or Sri Lanka. The extent of the discrimination and tension was not immediately clear to me. While hearing the racist comments from British peers, or seeing anonymous posts on Yik Yak were disturbing, they generally came across the same way these comments appeared in an American setting to me at first thought. Without knowing how to intervene or to call the racism, especially as a foreigner, I was unwilling to dive headfirst into the social constructs of my host country, with the American stereotype of uninformed, loud, and meddling firmly imbedded in my mind as something I truly wished to avoid. I didn’t understand (and I still don’t) the extent to which this racism impacts members of the marginalized groups in England until I was talking with a professor, a student from the Philippines, and a student from Pakistan.

The professor asserted that racism in the United States was less impactful than racism in England. I asked him how that could happen. We had been discussing the trend of police brutality towards unarmed black men such as Michael Brown, and their unjustified murders. This professor, despite his knowledge of these events, still felt that America was less racist than England was. I asked him how he came to that conclusion, or to what in his experiences pushed him to that understanding. He told me of how he, his brother, and his father visited the US in previous years, and had vacationed there In his travels, never once was anyone in his family accosted by police, TSA, officials or civilians, and their experiences in the United States, despite being from a foreign country (England) were much smoother than they were at home. All of them citizens of Great Britain faced more harassment and alienation from their own government and peers than the Americans. I wasn’t sure how to handle this new understanding, but from his explanations, the US had a better handle on race relations than England did, despite the blatant murders of black citizens, or the existence of groups like the KKK, facets of American society that would not exist in England. This was an eye-opening experience for me. It made me uncomfortable to think that by largely remaining unaware of the UK’s understanding of race I was unconsciously adding to the stigmatization of British people. That when I am treated better in England than Englishmen are, there is an insidious undertone of discrimination I am actively participating in, when I do not call it out or seek to do what little I can to help. On the same token, as an outsider, I am subject to the same microscope when I make myself known, and may inhibit the social progress necessary if I alienate further myself from the population. While this conversation was not easy for me, it did serve as a clear reminder and lesson in both how I operate in the United States and in Great Britain.

Reading Between the Lines

One of the stumbling blocks that Barna mentions in the article is “Nonverbal Misinterpretations” when communicating with people from different cultures, most notably the American habit of smiling all the time at every one. It took several weeks, but eventually I learned not to smile at every passerby, as that was regarded as weird or uncommon. In the United States, where even passing acquaintances are given the treatment of a hello or a conversation when passing each other in public, it is uncommon to do so in my experience here. There is one instance where this is most apparent for me, involving a person I had classes with.  

In the classroom setting we would chat or occasionally interact in group work, so much that I knew his name, he knew mine, and we would be considered casual acquaintances. To this end, I didn’t realize the etiquette or norms for interacting with people of this status was different in the UK than it was in America, and I committed a faux pas in one of my encounters with him in public. I was out with friends in town, chatting when I saw him. He waved at me and I waved back, and rather than ending the encounter there, as custom would dictate, I beckoned him to our table. We chatted for a while and he mentioned he was with a different person. Without realizing it, I had made the mistake of assuming it was proper to chat with different friends or people you knew in public, without having specifically made the arrangements to see that person.

Socially acceptable socialization creates problems in certain settings

In the US, where chance encounters such as these are seen as an opportunity to become closer to the person you meet, or a chance to introduce that person to other people, in England this is not greeted with the same enthusiasm. It is frowned upon to spend time with people outside your direct party, and it is also rude to intrude on a different person’s day, even if that person is a friend or acquaintance. Waving is seen as acceptable, or a casual hello, but an extended conversation is less than favorable, and the nature of forcing that person to engage to not be seen as rude is off putting and disorienting to the individual, while the offending party (me) is unaware of their offensive behavior. This situation really stands out to me as an example of what Barna is referring to. There was an active disconnect in cultural understanding that lead to one or more parties being hurt or offended unintentionally, but still damaging. This particular situation was resolved without much pain or issue, however other similar faux pas in other situations may not be as readily forgiven. Smiling at the wrong time, especially at strangers, is considered odd, for example. It could mean that unintentionally, offense was given to a passing person who may not understand the meaning behind the action, just as I don’t understand why it was a problem.