In an effort to bring about peace, diplomacy, nuclear disarmament, and civility, it behooves me and others amongst society epitomizing agape behavior patterns to fabricate a better world by attaining a vast amount of diverse cultural knowledge. People tend to respect cultural differences from their own once they gain understanding regarding varying others; this leans towards fabricating a harmonious planet. A chance to travel aboard will afford me an opportunity of expounding my personal knowledge about other counties’ cultures. A trip such as the one offered via Edgecombe Community College Travel Abroad Scholarship (ECCTAS) is certainly an enriching, lifetime opportunity. The stage of development that comprises my age group is classified as young adult, as my present age is twenty-two. Most individuals amongst this age group are seeking their niche in life; this travel abroad experience abets me discovering mine. A travel escapade of this magnitude will prove beneficial towards my chosen field of study i.e. Anthropology academic goal, and it abets fashioning a pleasurable society in the country recognized around the world as the Great Melting Pot. This essay presents its readers with information pertaining to the importance of taking advantage of traveling abroad which boosts cultural knowledge, and how this trip abets me doing my part towards creating a better world.
First of all, traveling abroad as the Edgecombe Community College Travel Abroad (ECCTA) Scholarship recipient shall prove advantageous when it comes to examining my own professional and academic aspirations. Most individuals within my age group are seeking to discover their niche in life. This travel abroad opportunity is a great way for me to accomplish p...
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...ountry/countries ways of life. This experience wills truly catapult me towards progressing towards my next juncture. As a result of residing in the country identified as the Great Melting Pot, this experience shall positioning me to acquire a better understanding about other nationalities unlike my own, and it leans towards building a tolerable, cohesive society in America. This trip will afford me the opportunity to visualize this world beyond textbooks used at Edgecombe Community College. In addition, it produces a viable scholar who possesses aspirations of enrolling into a graduate program designed to yield future leaders of tomorrow. I aim to take full advantage of this opportunity by utilizing newfound cultural knowledge during this trip to create a better society here in America whilst establishing a more tolerable environment at Edgecombe Community College.
Even a student that has been educated for only four weeks in anthropology can admit that their viewpoint has changed since acquiring their knowledge. Studying a foreign way of life and unfamiliar customs sheds light on the impact that one’s own culture has on their thoughts. Anthropology is valuable because has the ability to remove the shock and misunderstanding that occurs when examining an alien worldview. The value of cultural relativism, the principle that one culture should not be judged by the standard of another culture, is illustrated in the comparison of Peace Corp volunteer Floyd Sandford’s African Odyssey and anthropologist Richard Lee’s Dobe Ju/’hoansi. A trained anthropologist speaks primarily in the voices of the people and quantitative data, while a relatively untrained Peace Corp worker enters a new culture and colors his account with his own emotional reactions and voice.
The Irish American Scholar Program will significantly enhance my educational goals for school as well as my life experiences. The unique opportunity this program offers coincides with a family value of expanding one’s knowledge beyond the small bubble of the everyday and exploring the world. The value of embracing new opportunities started with my grandfather when he broke away from the norm of his family and expanded his boundaries. His family, traditionally, lived and moved together, but when his family moved to Michigan, my grandfather decided to remain in Arkansas and join the Air Force, allowing him to travel not only in the United States but abroad to England. Similarly, my father decided to go to college several hours away from his family at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. This decision led him to a career with the government where he was able to experience several different cultures in the workplace and abroad. Being surrounded by inspirational family members has inspired me to pursue my own unique experience.
In addition, I would like to share some quote from one of MSU faculty that I heard on my orientation 3 years ago. “ Do you think how many time you will have an opportunity to be in a society that you can meet a person from around the world”. Indeed, what he said is true. My friends are Chinese, Japanese, American, African American, Taiwanese, and even African. It was an amazing right; I can make my friend around the world in one place. I don’t think many people have a chance like me to interact with people from around the world by not visiting their countries. In addition, interact with people that have a different background than you can lead you to a new perspective, these people make you look the world from a different
In Joel L. Swerdlow’s 2001 essay, “Changing America,” he writes about the current cultural differences among kids in high school. He goes on to talk about how you can gather a large variety of kids, coming from all over the world, yet they still somehow manage to develop the same “American Teenager” attitude toward life. The essay talks about how people used to view America as a “melting pot” of nations, and how over time that view is starting to change.
...iance, readers are capable of seeing how citizens in the world today try to be independent of others and sustain their personal beliefs and philosophy. Individuals have to put an end to conformity and trying to be a duplication of everyone else because they will never achieve success if they never decide for themselves. A person must not rely on the judgment and minds of others and learn to think for him or herself since depending on others only exhibits a person’s inferiority to larger institutions. People must stop using travel as an excuse to evade personal problems because if they do not have a direct confrontation with the dilemma, trying to escape will only lengthen it. People in today’s society must appreciate this work so they will approve of their individuality and be stronger in fighting against everyone else that disagrees with their personal philosophy.
Fuller Lois K. Going to the Nations: An introduction to Cross-cultural Missions 3rd Ed. Bukuru: ACTS, 2001.
I built upon my cross-cultural experiences as I befriended exchange students from Belgium, Japan, and Korea. Each time, the friendships enriched my appreciation and understanding of not only my own culture, but the very concept of culture. What falls under the cultural blanket can vary from person to person, and I found it to be very interesting that while one person could claim lan...
There are many differences between a person’s home culture (the main culture of a person) and the local culture (the culture of the person’s destination), whether it is the speaking of a different language, different customs, different social structures, or simply the different way a person says hello. None of these differences are wrong in anyway, however they are different from a person’s home culture and therefore can become hard to accepts and overcome. The differences in cultures, although expected, are some of the hardest challenges a person entering a new culture will ha...
I used to be the person who would stick with a small circle of friends, but after traveling to Europe, I realized that being abroad is a great way to open my mind, to listen to different voices, and to learn from all kinds of interesting ideas. Last summer I spent one month in Europe with other high school students who were from Los Angles, Tennessee, and Guam. From my last travel experience, I learned a lot more about myself and also, more importantly, about friendship and personal connections, because of the unique places in which we spent exploring. That month living abroad was a meaningful experience, because it allowed me to adapt to things that were unfamiliar and unusual. Therefore, now I have a strong desire to explore European counties more and I believe that a study abroad experience could let me acquire greater knowledge and understanding of the foreign cultures.
Starting a new life in a different culture is not easy, but instead, it is very hard to overcome some of the challenges that one may encounter. When visitors first arrive to a striving country, like America, they are excited to live the life they have been dreaming about for years. But after a certain amount of time, they start fee...
The world is full of wonders and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, that we take advantage of. Traveling is the ultimate education and it never fails as a teacher. It teaches you things no class can about the world and yourself. Seeing a historical spot and being in the environment it is in teaches you what no text book can. Most people hear about what is happening in the world through the bias not understanding media. However, if you are a traveler the real world influences you in a way the media will never be able to. We understand how the world works with its many cultures and lifestyles. Being a part of and experiencing different cultures broadens your views of the world and changing’s what you think of the world. Having expanded knowledge and understanding about culture is not the only thing travelers have. Finding your true self and learning about who you are is the best thing about being a traveler. There is no better way to find yourself because when you travel you open yourself up to millions of opportunities. Without travel you may be completely unaware of your true persona. Your limits are tested and you are completely out of your comfort zone when traveling. Getting out of the comfort zone helps you grow as a person and see your potential. I have experienced many different cultures that have personally changed myself and my outlook of the world. Traveling has given me the greatest education I know more about the world, cultures, and myself. Being a traveler is a huge blessing in my life I am so glad I am able to travel and see the world. Nothing can take away the memories that traveling and being a traveler has brought me. Get out there and see this beautiful world for yourself and become a traveler, you will not regret
The credit that I would fulfill doing this abroad program, an advanced Western Tradition, fits perfectly in my schedule and will help me be one step closer to my early graduation. Most obviously, studying abroad will also benefit my education by giving me a wider-range of knowledge. I will get the chance to talk to numerous people of different backgrounds, hearing what they have done in their life and how they got where they are.
The world is a magnificent place that’s full of life and new places. Places that are waiting to be walked upon and viewed by the eye’s of travelers. To make new memories and go places that is beyond the walls of reality and new pathways of life. To truly experience the wonders that the world has to offer can be expressed by the life of one single person, setting off into the world to gain a higher purpose about the world. Traveling individually enables people to broaden their minds and accumulate new ideas and new experiences both nationally and internationally. By setting off into the world a person has the ability to learn so many new things, but also find so much about themselves while in the process of traveling.
The word 'culture' is often described in terms of concrete ideas or social artifacts. Gary R. Weaver describes some common conceptions such as "good taste," "art or music," or "something that people in exotic foreign lands had."1 However, culture in the context of international assignments relates to how people perceive the world and the influence this perception has on their actions. It is culture on the interpersonal level. Different cultures can perceive the same thing differently, which leads to miscommunication and misunderstanding when one crosses into another culture not their own.
I always want to be an international student because I believe that learning in different surroundings will offer me a chance to explore the world. In order to become one, I have been preparing myself for this upcoming challenge. Long years of studying and paying most of my attention to school work made me wonder whether it is worthwhile to spend so much time on textbooks and became curious about what it is like to study in another country. In 2011, I seized the opportunity provided by my senior high school and became an exchange student in the U.S. . I didn’t fit in perfectly in the beginning, but throughout my exchange year, I had learned to adapt m...