While studying in Paris, I encountered many cultural differences. The main cultural difference that I encountered was the French attitude toward lifestyle and how they balance their lives. I noticed that the French tend to move at a slower pace. Overall, they have more leisure. At first, I was a bit shocked because I liked…
Final Blog Post: I Love a Good Queue!
The British have mastered the art of queuing! It’s practically a national pastime for them. Brits will, without fail, flawlessly form a perfect queue no matter the occasion. I had observed this level of discipline around queuing very quickly into my study abroad in London. From the very first day I arrived, it became clear…
Final Blog Prompt
A cultural observation I made during my time in Australia that was more complicated than I initially thought was Australian attitudes towards their Aboriginal population. Before every class lecture and in most places I visited or ate there was an acknowledgment of the country and the traditional owners of the land. This acknowledgment talked about…
Final Blog Post
One day when I was waiting for the bus, a man heard my American accent and started asking me a lot of questions about American politics. He was ranting for about 15-20 minutes about how bad things are in America and what not. It was very interesting to me because this is very different from…
Minding the (Cultural) Gap: Transit Culture in Japan
This past week, I traveled down to New York City to visit a friend. A good majority of this trip was spent riding on trains—from the Amtrak Empire Line that I rode into the city to the L train I took to grab noodles for lunch. Ask any United States American and they’ll tell you…
Final Blog Post
My time abroad in Newcastle, Australia I experienced a cultural experience of a welcome or bark burning ceremony which first welcomed us into the area where we had our orientation in being Cairns, and I thought it was exciting and informative about the culture and generations of storytelling that has carried this knowledge to me….
Post-Australia
The cultural value of mateship was prevalent throughout my time in Australia. This value is based on a sense of unity and companionship among Australian people. I saw it to be reflected by personal relationships as well as by community interactions. I noticed this in many public spaces, such as restaurants and shops, as servers…
London Spring Semester 2024
Studying abroad in London was the best decision and experience of my life. One cultural observation that I made while I was abroad in London was that people in general are a lot more respectful of other people’s time. One example of this that I experienced everyday while there was that on escalators or moving…
It has come to an end :(
During my study abroad at the University of Newcastle, I participated in a course focused on Aboriginal Studies, which included a field trip to a local Aboriginal community. The trip involved spending a weekend with the community, learning about their traditions, history, and contemporary challenges. We attended storytelling sessions and engaged in discussions about land…
Final Blog Post — ISA Rome
Before I began my journey to Italy, I was a bit worried about how I would adjust to speaking a new language, and how easy it would be for me to communicate with others/get around. These concerns were easily mediated as I soon realized that many Italians also speak English and if you have difficulty…