With only about a week left until I will be on a plane arriving in London, I am incredibly excited. Having studied abroad in South Korea my previous semester, the feeling is all too familiar, as are my thoughts as I prepare for my time there. My main worry going to Korea, and consequently a worry I hold now, revolves mainly around cultural competence. Culture is an easy thing to talk about, but a hard thing to understand without substantial immersion within it.
In America, the culture of individualism and independence is strong. Unlike collectivist cultures, Americans view ourselves as separate people and individuals who lead our own lives. We are separate units rather than simply part of a whole such as family or other defining groups. We also tend to value privacy, think for ourselves, and pursue personal fulfillment. We put our interests above those of the group.
To me, both individualist and collectivist cultures have their benefits and their drawbacks. Being able to see ourselves as individuals means we can take care of our needs and wants without being incredibly hindered by what we see as duties to others. We can pursue what we want in life. Of course, this varies by person, but for the most part is socially acceptable and practiced. But it also means we can tend to focus too heavily on ourselves without realizing the impact our actions have on others around us as well as the community at large. The ingrained individualism within myself and commonly displayed collectivism in Korea often had me off-balance in the culture. Of course, over time and with lots of conscious practice, I was able to adapt and live well within the culture.
As the UK is also a heavily individualist society, they would probably view this aspect – as well as much of American culture – as normal. However, London is a multicultural, global city. There will be people living and visiting from all over the world and keeping this in mind will help when preparing for my own time there. I may run into people who see me as pursuing my own goals, while others could view it as not caring for the greater community or those around me or other instances with such contending ideals. Although the UK is very culturally similar to America, there will be differences such as these within the country and between its people. Knowing this ahead of time and preparing for that will allow me to develop a deeper cultural fluency and have an easier adjustment to life and culture abroad, much like I did during my time in Korea.
I hope my time in London will be as fruitful an experience as my time in Korea was. Learning how to understand and adapt to different cultures and countries is a critical skill for students like myself these days as global citizens. Here’s to hoping London becomes a great addition to my repertoire of countries and cultures I have had the opportunity to immerse myself in!