Kristy Williams Honors 1100 J.

Rohan November 4, 2013 Study Abroad Connections The cultural experiences and knowledge that students gain studying aboard is similar to the ideas and stories that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie discusses in her speech, The danger of a single story. Before students went aboard, they had one-dimensional views of the cultures that they were about to be submerged into. They also had static and, for lack of a better adjective, American thoughts on their own identities. But when they returned from their journeys across the globe, they had adapted their opinions and views to fit the things they discovered in other countries. The one story that stood out to me was that of a young Filipino man. He had lived in the United States his entire life, and had only ever referred to himself as an American. When he traveled to China, he discovered many people associated him with his ethnicity, versus the nation where he actually lived. At first he felt awkward with the association: not because he was ashamed, but because he realized how little he actually knew about his Filipino heritage from the numerous confrontations. Through interactions with another Asian culture, he eventually became aware of his Filipino roots and learned to embrace a side of himself that he had never explored. In the same way, Adichie never considered herself to be African until she interacted with people in the United States. Once there, she began to realize that most people associate Africa with tribal culture and limited access to the modern world of technology. This shocked Adiche, who had spent her life reading books about children in Britain and listening to Western music. After several encounters with people who had narrow views of the continentsuch as thinking of Africa as one stagnate entityshe began examine what her own culture meant to her. As a result, she became more African, as to show others the different aspects of her culture. Both of these stories have just a touch of irony; while the protagonists traveled to learn about a place much different than they had ever known, they found themselves becoming more attached to the things that made their ethnicity unique. It can be said from this that, as a general rule, people tend not to be familiar with other ways of life besides their own. It emphasizes the importance of traveling and seeing the world first; not only will you become a part of the culture, but the experience will show you what makes your own world unique in comparison to others. Even though it can be a scary experience to study abroad, its a once in a life time opportunity to learn about yourself and the world; youll only regret no taking it.