CAPS #4- Kim Boyer

While reading chapter 8 it really opened my eyes to the experiences, adaptations and challenges that people go through when traveling, immigrating or moving to a new country experience. It also was interesting to hear from experiences first hand in some of the stories that were shared throughout the reading. I will mainly write in this blog post about how reading this chapter has influenced my possible decision to study abroad and how I now understand more about what the exchange students went through or continue to go through as they study here in the United States.

I was really good friends with a foreign exchange student, my senior year of high school. She was from  Bosnia and many of the challenges she faced shared many of the same similarities as the ones shared throughout the reading. Jazz (her nickname here in America) had trouble adjusting to some of our American ways like how we as American's spent a lot of time watching television at night, which she did with her host family, or how we were involved highly in sports, where in her country academics were first and sports where on the side and not so competitive. It made sense for her to see some of theses differences but after reading chapter 8 I also realized she experienced the U curve. She returned home to Bosnia over our Christmas break and when she returned back to the U.S to finish out the school year she told us about how different home was now. She loved her friends and family back home but she was beginning to feel like her new life and friends and host family here were more her style. After finishing her last year of high school in Bosnia, she returned to America to receive her college education, where she remains. I still talk to her whenever I get the chance and she seems to love college in America, as much as she loved high school. Best of wishes to her for her future!

Jazz 

This reading assignment also opened my eyes to the possibility of my potential trip to study abroad. I have been debating this for some time but I hope if all is right then one of these semesters I might just take the plunge and study in Australia for a semester. I think it would be an amazing experience, but after reading about culture shock and the U curve and W curve my apprehension gets a little deeper. I fear that if I go, I might never feel the same about the U.S which is scary, shouldn't you love where you came from? I also think that since Australia speaks English that the transition to their specific culture would indeed be easier than if I went to France or Russia, since I am not fluent or familiar with any of their languages, customs or cultures. Reading about the past experiences of other exchanged students, immigrants, migrates and refugees it makes the thought a little easier knowing I wouldn't be the only one who would be going through this process.

Works Cited

Martin, Judith N., and Thomas K. Nakayama. Intercultural Communication in Contexts. Boston, Mass: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Print.
"10 Culture Shocks for Chinese Students in America 中国学生在美国的10个文化震撼."YouTube. YouTube, 06 Sept. 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.

And a big thanks to Jazz for letting me use one of her pictures and her story!