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- An experience where I was confused by or had to adjust to an aspect of London, England culture was taking the tube daily. The tube was a mode of transportation that I took multiple times a day to get to my internship, classes, grocery stores, shops, restaurants, and so on. Although there were maps of where each train was headed and a digital schedule of when each train would arrive, I found the maps confusing to read because of the numerous colored lines. I often had to ask for assistance until I memorized the routes I needed to take.
- I never lived in a big city where a subway, train, or tube was needed to get around to different places. I felt dumb when I would get on the wrong train and end up going in the opposite direction of where I was supposed to be headed. I was even late to one class on the first day of school because of this mistake. I had to ask the kind people who worked at the tube stations for assistance in guiding me in the right direction once or twice. This was pretty embarrassing and made me feel like a tourist but I just kept telling myself that it was all part of the experience and I’m sure others have had trouble navigating the tube before as well. On the night before my first day of my internship, I made sure to figure out what tube I would need to get on to go to the office. I also allotted extra time that morning before work just in case there were any mishaps. Luckily, I only took the wrong tube once and quickly figured it out.
- Someone from my host culture would view my experience abroad positively. I fostered a lot of great relationships abroad with my professors, flatmates, friends, and the people I worked with. I also traveled to many different places both in the United Kingdom and outside, like Scotland, Barcelona, and Paris, just to name a few. I also increased my knowledge about British history and improved upon my cultural intelligence skills. Overall, it was clear to those around me that I had an enriching experience abroad and learned a lot about myself and others throughout this journey.
- Reflecting upon my brief time spent in London, England, I feel as if I have gained more cultural intelligence. In my Global Internship class, our professor showed us a TED Talk called The Danger Of A Single Story. In this video, a woman describes how important it is to not let prejudices and stereotypes get in the way of getting to know someone. In other words, not judging someone based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, social class, and so on, just because one time you heard a story that may have not been in their favor. While this is a life lesson that has been instilled in me from a young age, it brought this topic of cultural intelligence to the forefront of my mind again. When responding to cultural misunderstandings and conflicts that may arise in the future, I will remember to keep an open mind, listen and process information given before I speak, be flexible, be kind, and take responsibility for mistakes or failures I have made.
