An American Abroad

I've always been interested in learning about other countries' cultures, and now I'm finally going to be able to experience it first-hand for an extended period of time!  I can't wait to see how life is different (and similar!) in an other English-speaking country.  The UK can be very similar to the United States in terms of culture, but also quite different.  I don't think adapting for me will be overly difficult, and I embrace the learning experience.  I scored fairly high on the "Independence" section of the self-audit; the low scores in that section were about asking others for help and meeting new people and initiating conversation.  Since I am happy and comfortable travelling alone, this shouldn't pose much of an issue for me.  I scored on the higher end of the "openness" section as well, so really getting to experience the culture won't be as much of a challenge.  Something I discovered while completing the Cultural-Context Inventory is that I am a low-context person, which I was surprised to find out was typical of the U.S.  I was also surprised about how many generalities are believed about the U.S., such as the people being fast-paced, busy, blunt, etc.  Coming from the Northeast, I can see this more commonly, but since moving to the South it seems almost the complete opposite!  That has made me realize that even though there are probably just as many assumptions about the UK, it could easily differ by location.

Something I will probably struggle a little with would be meeting new people and talking to other students.  As I said, I am comfortable travelling alone, so it won't be as big of a deal as it would be to other people perhaps, but since I will be living there for a few months, it would be a good idea to get to know some people!

One aspect of British culture I am particularly interested in learning about is their way of living.  That may sound extremely broad, but what I mean is the feel of the country.  How fast do people walk? Do people way to each other on the street or make conversation with grocers?  Are people more relaxed and laid back or are they tense?  Many of these things you can get a feel for as soon as you get to an area.  Just walking around in New York City makes me walk faster and feel like I'm on a schedule, whereas visiting family in a tiny rural town in Illinois makes for a leisurely stroll and greeting every person you pass.  These are the sort of things I want to see and compare to life here.  It is difficult to say what I want to teach about my own culture, as I'm not sure what they already think of it.  It will be interesting to answer their questions as best I can, and see what they're surprised about.

Study Abroad Blog #1

I love traveling.  Always have, probably always will.  Short distances, long distances, I was always excited to hop in the car and go somewhere different.  Growing up, I have dreamed about studying abroad since I learned of my cousin studying in Italy back when I was in elementary school.  Since then, it has been an ambition of mine.  I went on many vacations as a kid, mostly to places in the Caribbean while on cruises, and I have loved getting a taste of the different cultures and ways of life.  It always frustrated me, though, that I had to leave before I could really experience it!  While studying abroad, I'm excited to be able to be fully immersed in another country's culture.  I want to really experience life in that area--to see the hidden gems that only locals know about, to learn the stories and traditions inherent to the land.  Sure, I'll spend a few days doing all the tourist attractions and typical traveler agendas, but what I really want to do is just live there.  It may sound simple, but I can get so much more of out of just living there than I could touring and sightseeing.
It still does not seem quite realistic that I will be studying abroad soon, so I don't have much in the way of feelings towards the journey yet.  I know I will be excited, but also very nervous about forgetting things--I always seem to forget something!  There also seems to be a lot to do in the way of paperwork, so I am a little concerned about that.  At this stage, I'm also curious as to where I'll be going!  I'm still unsure, so there's excitement and perhaps a little apprehension for that.
One thing I want to do while studying abroad is find a favorite local little place to eat.  I want to find the places that most tourists and travelers miss!  It would be neat to have a favorite little spot to eat that I can show to other people *when* I go back.  It might be a little hard to do that, as I believe I will have campus meal plans, but I am going to try.
Another thing I want to do while abroad is look at the biodiversity and how it's different from here.  This depends on the place, as I feel like I'd be less in national parks and outdoors in England than say, Australia, but I guess I'll have to wait and see.  If it is a location with much different wildlife, I want to experience that in parks or some other outdoor activities.
A third thing I want to do abroad is to join some clubs on campus!  Most of the places I am applying to have interesting clubs that might be neat to join.  It would be a good way to meet people with common interests and maybe form some long-term friendships!