A Cultural Reset – Spring 22

Before departing for study abroad, I decided that I wanted to take every opportunity to educate myself on new cultures, and foreign experiences, and engage in a different way of life. This was not an easy challenge, but as I reflect on the past few months, I see more than several instances in which my time here has changed or challenged the perspectives I’ve had for years.

Though I stayed in England for the majority of my time abroad, I also was blessed to have the opportunity to visit Italy, France, Croatia, and Scotland during our approved travel weekends. These experiences were formative in contributing to my education abroad, as I was able to familiarize me with cultures, languages, and ideas that were once abstract in their foreignness. In exploring these places, I became content with being uncomfortable for the sake of growing and experiencing life from the unique perspective of a foreigner.

One of my most memorable experiences took place in Croatia, whose culture was different from most places I’d visited in Europe before. My friends and I took an authentic Croatian cooking class where we spent hours cutting fresh vegetables, rolling handmade pasta, sampling appetizers, and making a very popular meat stew called Fusi. Our chef explained to us that Fusi was the dish that Croats would make when they had guests over, or when a friend or family member was ill. I was particularly touched by the idea that every place I’d been to had its own way of showing love through the food they shared with one another, and that I got to partake in that experience with my own friends. For me personally, food has been one of the best ways to immerse myself in a new environment, simply because there is so much history and cultural influence behind the decisions made in a certain country’s cooking. As our chef taught us more about Croatian cuisine, he also explained Croatian culture, government, history, and its place in the world today, which is what made the experience that much more special. This is only one instance in which my time abroad helped shape my view of the world, in a manner that my American education simply would not be able to.

Though my international travels were incredible, some of my best and most memorable experiences took place in the smaller, seemingly ‘mundane’ elements of Oxford. The walks I often took through the city, especially in the springtime when the daffodils were in full bloom, were always a source of great joy for me, as I was able to explore and appreciate Oxford’s history and people up close. It’s not every day that you get to stroll past an architecturally-magnificent building that’s at least a few hundred years old. The day-to-day life in Oxford was in many ways the most incredible part of my study abroad experience, because I finally understood, to a very small degree, what it means to be an outsider in a place. I was able to experience life in a way that I hadn’t before and thus was exposed to entirely new perspectives, ideas, and beliefs that changed how I think. The past few months living in Oxford are ones I will not quickly forget, but it’s everything I’ve learned and experienced that has truly left a lasting mark on me.