Reflecting on Experience

"What does it mean to be an American student?" Since I'm not an American citizen, I'm going to reflect my experience, not as an American student, but as an international student. Therefore, my reflections are from a different point-of-view.

In term of obstacles, I have been through a longer process of visa application. I got approved to study abroad at James Cook University, Australia at the same time as my fellow American students from our home school, Allegheny College. Due to my Vietnamese nationality, however, the border protection website of the Australian government instructed me to complete a paper visa application, instead of a quick online visa application like the other American students. It took the American students a maximum of one month to get their approval, and it took me two months to hear back from the Australian embassy. Moreover, I had to do a health examination before I officially received my visa, which I'm quite certain that other American fellows were not asked to do. Hence, I did not have my visa approval until ten days before my semester abroad started. That was a real inconvenience when I had to book my airline ticket so close to the time of departure since it was more expensive than if I had been able to make my reservations earlier.

To be Americans means to be able to travel to other countries without experiencing much of border limitations.

Another barrier I have experienced was two weeks ago. I read on my FaceBook newsfeed that an American friend had finally booked her ticket to New Zealand for the semester break and was excitedly sharing how much she was looking forward to her upcoming adventure. I thought that going to New Zealand for the break was a very good idea, so I went on the country's government website to look for visa information. Once again this proved not to be so easy for me. The website indicated a list of countries whose citizens do not need to apply for any visa to visit New Zealand and this included the United States. However, my country was not on the list. I gave up my idea of traveling to New Zealand after that.

In addition, through my general observation at the James  Cook University dining hall, white privilege was quite salient, from my perspective. The Americans (majority of them white) tend to to share the same table or sit with the white Australians at the tables. The clearly 'foreign' international students tended to sit together, and the non-white Australians also sat with one another or with other white looking Australians. I did not see American students hang out much with the non-white international students or the non-white Australians. I cannot provide any rationale to explain this fact, because many factors could have contributed to this phenomenon including cultural differences, so that people may have grouped with those who were familiar to avoid language barriers, etc. However, I feel it's safe to say this fact also has something to do with the privilege that is subconsciously embedded in any majority group. As Peggy McIntosh (1988) states: "I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial," and perhaps being white American students allow these American students to confidently sit and hang out with the other white Australians (the racial majority on campus) without having to negotiate any difference (e.g. physical, cultural or psychological).

A portrayed photo at the residential dining hall

In short, my mentioned observations were all based on what I experienced since the first day of starting my study abroad process. During my undergraduate student life experience as an international student at an American college, I have experienced a lot more of this "white privilege". However, the awareness of American white privilege differs from person to person in America. This sometimes can make people who are from minority groups like mine experience the feeling of being marginalized, and we also have to face more obstacles in the culture than our white peers. Other times, such concepts of privilege, oppression, discrimination, etc. has enriched the American educational system by raising awareness of inequalities within the American society. I am also observing how Australia copes with the issues related to its multiculturalism that is very different from America's. This has been an interesting education about how countries such as America and Australia struggle with multiculturalism.


References:
McIntosh, Peggy. “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” In Ed. Paula S. Rothenberg, Race Class and Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study 4, 1988. 165–169.