A Honduran Studying in the USA Going Abroad

Going abroad might as well be the very best test to see what your weaknesses and strengths are and what is the best way to apply those in different situations. Having previous abroad experience and currently being in one helps me tremendously since I am familiarized with the situation.  I know what it is to be in a place where everything is different, to not understand what people are saying and having to make friends by myself. Still, the beauty of any abroad experience is that it will ALWAYS be different. There will be certain commonalities but no experience will be the same twice. For the commonalities, I believe my strengths are being able to adapt easily to different scenarios and types of people, observe, and not have expectations. In a sense, all of these are closely tighten up in a bundle. Having no expectations meaning that I try my hardest to not have any preconceived stereotypes of people or things, just common knowledge of the culture, enables me to not judge. By not judging, I can adapt to different scenarios without feeling uncomfortable. Through both processes, observing what people do and trying to understand why they do so, instead of imposing my traditions, helps people feel comfortable when sharing their culture with me. 

Now, since no abroad experience is the same as another, there will still be some cultural shock or my cultural baggage might affect me at some point. I am used to a culture where hugging and kissing is something normal. We are used to proximity. In the USA, personal space is something very important for people. Still, when people feel comfortable with you, they will let you break that personal space barrier. But in Japan, they have a big no touching culture. That might be difficult for me to get used to. Also, the fact that I have traveled before may negatively affect me by believing I already know a lot. Every experience is new and should be seen with fresh and new eyes. I do not want to appear to others as disrespectful or something along those lines. Also, I want to stay away from the "international students' bubble". I don't want to get so comfortable there that I forget about making bonds with Japanese people. 

Lastly, I want to be able to teach others about my culture. I would love to teach them why we are so close to our family or that we are similar in the respect levels towards older people. There will always be things to have in common with other people. I want to use my culture as a tool to connect with others. Find similarities make connections and friendships through them. I am looking forward to the growth this experience will bring for me!