Rachel in Tunisia, 2012 Rachel Black is a 2009 graduate of Rutland High School and was co-captain of the 2009 girls’ state champion lacrosse team. She is also a 2013 graduate of American University in Washington D.C. She currently lives in Los Angeles and teaches garden education as a FoodCorps Service Member. Her blog post reflects on her travels of the past four years and how they have changed her view on the world. She has been fortunate to travel through Asia, North Africa, the Caribbean, South America, and the Middle East and each has provided her with deeper cultural understanding , imbedded in her the importance of communication, and opened her eyes to the fact that some countries do ‘it’ better.
In the Fall of 2011, I studied abroad in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). I chose to study abroad in the UAE when I realized that the Arab World was a whole region that I knew nothing about besides what I was taught by the media and the few books that I had read. In 2001, I was 10 so I had pretty much grown up under this culture of fear, mistrust and hatred for the Middle East. I was influenced to believe that these people hated me and my culture. But, I wanted to find out more. So, I put in my application for the UAE and to this day, I think it was one of the best choices that I have ever made. Throughout the semester, I was continually bombarded with excited, friendly questions and eager friendship. Everyone was so happy to have American exchange students who wanted to come to their country. They were so happy to hear that we did not think they were all terrorists and that we were open to hear them talk about Islam and how it had been misrepresented by the events of 9/11, extremist groups, and the media. They could not believe that we were interested and open minded because they thought everyone in the U.S. hated them. I remember leaving that semester with such a great appreciation for first hand cultural experiences because I saw so much similarity in what both of us assumed. We both assumed hatred by the others, we trusted what the media told us about each other (I saw some pretty interesting ‘American actor’ portrayals), and I knew that if everyone could have similar experiences there would be so much more cultural understanding, appreciation, and hopefully, peace.
In the Fall of 2011, I studied abroad in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). I chose to study abroad in the UAE when I realized that the Arab World was a whole region that I knew nothing about besides what I was taught by the media and the few books that I had read. In 2001, I was 10 so I had pretty much grown up under this culture of fear, mistrust and hatred for the Middle East. I was influenced to believe that these people hated me and my culture. But, I wanted to find out more. So, I put in my application for the UAE and to this day, I think it was one of the best choices that I have ever made. Throughout the semester, I was continually bombarded with excited, friendly questions and eager friendship. Everyone was so happy to have American exchange students who wanted to come to their country. They were so happy to hear that we did not think they were all terrorists and that we were open to hear them talk about Islam and how it had been misrepresented by the events of 9/11, extremist groups, and the media. They could not believe that we were interested and open minded because they thought everyone in the U.S. hated them. I remember leaving that semester with such a great appreciation for first hand cultural experiences because I saw so much similarity in what both of us assumed. We both assumed hatred by the others, we trusted what the media told us about each other (I saw some pretty interesting ‘American actor’ portrayals), and I knew that if everyone could have similar experiences there would be so much more cultural understanding, appreciation, and hopefully, peace.
Egypt, 2011
In the Summer of 2012, I was a participant in the State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship Program in Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia where I took intensive formal Arabic and Tunisian dialect. This was probably one of the most brain exhausting experiences of my life, but also one of the most rewarding. The most important thing I took out of this summer was how much more than just communication that language gives you. Language allows you access to people and through them, you are allowed access to situations and cultural insights that you would not have had as an outsider. That summer because of my language skills, I was able to create a wonderful bond with my host mother, I was able to travel independently of the program seeing and experiencing places that I would have missed otherwise, and I built life lasting friendships with locals. All of these experiences allowed for a deeper cultural understanding and appreciation for Tunisia and its people. So whenever you travel, even if for only a few days, try to learn a few words and use them as much as possible. People will be extremely grateful and it humbles you immensely.
In the Summer of 2013, I moved to Dongbaek, South Korea where I taught English for a year. When Korea comes up in conversations, the first thing I say is that it is the easiest place to live as a foreigner. It is modern, a multilingual country, and Seoul is what every big city should be. By this I mean the metro system was widely used (there is very little traffic in Seoul) and fantastic- clean, organized, labeled in different languages and it even has an offline app which made traveling amazingly easy-, clean green space was built into the city, cultural and historic landmarks were well preserved and provided a great juxtaposition between old and new, wifi was everywhere, built the city with exercise and health in mind (there were prevalent running, walking and biking paths, the many mountains in the city were covered with hiking paths, and public exercise machines were everywhere), and the city was safe. Korea, and Seoul especially, knew how to make a city of 10 million seem like an inviting and wonderful place to live. Even after significant traveling, I was still under the impression that is berated into our minds that the U.S. does ‘it’ best. After Korea, I realized that that isn’t necessarily true and this forced me out of a mindset I had carried since childhood.
Angkor Wat in Cambodia, 2014
Traveling abroad provided me with some of the greatest memories, most fun adventures and craziest stories. I think any chance to leave the country is an opportunity to learn, create relationships and to be a representative of the U.S. I can’t tell you how many times I have traveled abroad and groaned when hearing a loud American voice complaining about something or telling others that ‘this would never happen in the U.S.’ and if you hear yourself starting to say that, remember that you’re not in the U.S. and that is what is important. Instead, change your state of mind and be the person who listens to what others have to say in order to learn about cultures with an open mind, who learns the language (even if just a few words) in order to connect to the people, and who accepts the idea that the U.S. isn’t the best at everything in order to have a better understanding of the world. And travel, travel, travel!
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