From an email from the director at DIS:
"Please, be aware that the success of your study abroad experience will be partly determined by your own attitude. Human beings largely comprehend what they expect to comprehend. Your preconceived notions of study abroad will influence your actual experience. It is therefore important that you articulate your expectations. Remember, the ability to adjust your culture-based expectations is the core of intercultural competence.
During the Arrival Workshop in Copenhagen you will kindly be asked to articulate, share and discuss your individual expectations to the semester with DIS in Copenhagen. In a special Articulation Workshop you will do so together with other students and a DIS faculty. Please take notes (and bring them to Copenhagen!) with your answers to the following three important questions:
1. What do you expect of the academics? Does it has to be like at home? Are you prepared to give the different teaching style a fair chance? Are you prepared to do serious academic work, realizing that in study abroad learning is a 24/7 process?"
Wow, talk about a loaded question. It is not like I am going to respond to this 'meh, I am not prepared to work hard AT ALL! PARTY PARTY PARTY THATS WHAT I"M HERE FOR! Everything has to be EXACTLY like it is at home!' But in all seriousness, in academics I am expecting to work hard, but to love my classes. In high school I did very poorly in school, and since coming to college I have revolutionized my attitude towards studying and learning. I am a little bit uptight when it comes to wanting a good GPA, and I know that I can accomplish that at Sonoma. I have been told that in Denmark my professors will not hold my hand like American Universities tend to do. I will have little to no fluff work to help my grades and will probably have less assignments but have to work a lot harder on them. I have also been warned that there is a lot more outside research expected from us in writing papers and being knowledgeable about our subject. However, I am not going to Denmark for a vacation. The reason I was so set on this plan is because the program is academically perfect for me. Every class I am taking is about something that I love and truly want to know more about. On Mondays I have my Children in a Multicultural Context Seminar; Tuesdays and Fridays I have Developmental Disorders, The History of European Ballet, and Danish Language and Culture 1 with Child Development and Diversity focus, and Thursdays I have my Child Development and Diversity Practicum where I will be working in a Danish school with children for 9 hours. And next semester I am having a problem even figuring out what to take because I want to take about 4 more classes then I am allowed! The teaching style will be different, and I know this, but hopefully the subject matter will encourage me to stay focused and keep my drive.
"2. What do you expect of the intercultural immersion? Will you decide to qualify for the DIS Intercultural Leadership Award? Are you prepared to step out of the cozy comfort zone of fellow American students and take advantage of the many intercultural immersion options available to you?"
This is a touchy subject for me since I had hoped for the most Danish interactive housing option, and instead am stuck back into my "cozy comfort zone of fellow American students". Yes, I am still bitter, but I am working through it. I have signed up for a DIS buddy, a visiting family with weekly interaction, and applied to be a weekly volunteer in the Danish community. I have already started contact with my DIS buddy, and she seems great and I am very excited to meet her. I will be interacting with Danish children and adults at my practicum site, so I know I will at least have that. I am also hoping to get into contact with a few of my friends and families connections in Denmark. I want Denmark to feel like a home. Now, about this Intercultural Leadership Award? I had not heard of this until this email was sent to me, and I have searched the website and can find no mention of it except that the "DIS Intercultural Leadership task force gave a presentation"... sketch.
"3. What do you expect of traveling in Europe? You will be offered faculty lead course integrated study tour opportunities and also time for individual traveling. The classic German author Goethe said "You see what you know." Are you prepared to investigate the burning issues of Europe, rather than consume tourist sights?"
It may sound bad, but I kinda want to consume the tourist sights. Not in Denmark, and not on my study tours, but if I go to England for few days I will want to see Stonehenge and the British Museum. I will not want to get wrapped up in the UK's burning issues. I like to be culturally aware and I don't want to be completely ignorant, but I will be in Denmark for a year and expect to do a lot of traveling. Sometimes it is fun to be a tourist. I do want to stay in hostels (obviously as a student) and meet all sorts of different people and exchange views on the world and our home countries, but what can they honestly expect of us? Even when I went to Belfast, Ireland and we learned about the violence in Northern Ireland, the taxi tour that was teaching us about it was designed for tourists! When I go to a country that I have a friend in I will want to meet up with them and learn about that country from the perspective of someone living there. But if we "see what we know" will it do us any good anyways? Won't I just look at their burning issues through the eyes of an American? I really do not like how directed this question is. In Denmark I want to know their burning issues, I want to culturally aware in other places and go into my travels with an open mind, but I am not "prepared to not consume tourist sights" in exchange for a crash course in an issue that is probably way beyond my comprehension anyways.
Maybe I should come up with a different answer for the last question. I am going on 2 vacations before I leave, which leaves a total of 7 days (split up) at home. This is becoming reality and I am thrilled. :)
No, I'm not commenting on everything, I swear.
ReplyDeleteAlso, because everyone loves a good dose of sarcasm (er, don't they?), I've rewritten your survey letter to be a little more straightforward:
"When studying abroad, you'll get out of it what you expect to get out of it. Since you've never studied abroad, I don't think you know what you should expect, so we're going to shape your expectations with the following survey.
Think hard when you answer the following questions, because there will be a short interrogation session when you arrive. Make sure you give the right answers. They're not really questions, but I'm sure you get the idea.
1. It's not going to be like home. It's going to be different, and you're going to have to work hard. Please write this again in your own words.
2. You should try out for this Leadership Award thing, and try to immerse yourself in the local culture. Please write this again in your own words.
3. You should travel a lot and see the sights. But you shouldn't be a tourist. Try and figure that one out."
Okay, but seriously, I'm just being snarky because I'm jealous that you're going to have so much more fun in Denmark than I will here in California. Also because I won't be able to visit like I did when Margie was in Ireland, haha.
Lol Steven, you are totally commenting on everything, but it is okay because it makes me feel popular... I just had my orientation where we discussed these questions and my prof treated them like a total joke and made fun of how pointed they were. You may want to send DIS this template, it is much more straightforward. :)
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