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Survey of International Expertise

Album S-Z    A-H  I-R 

Vivian Sansour, international student from Palestine; France (fall 2003)

Samuel Simmons, Costa Rica (summer 1998)

Matilde Suarez, Organization of the American States (spring 2004): "My internship with the Organization of American States] was a life changing event for me. This opportunity gave me the chance to apply what I learned in the MA in International Studies Program, as well as learn new things about myself and my culture. The most significant outcome from this internship were the bandages that were removed from my eyes. The person that I was before this experience was a person that judged Colombians based on their pride of their ethnicity. Now I am a person that understands that each individual person, regardless of their pride for their ethnicity, has their own culture. Their own culture is influenced by the environment where they were brought up. … No longer do I need to put emphasis on the necessity to distinguish whether I am a true Colombian. I have learned to accept that have one unique culture, a hybridization of Colombian and American culture." photos

Chengxiu Sun, international student from China (2004-2005):  "To further my studies in the United States is a big dream for me, because I want to experience its most advanced system of higher education and the variety of its culture. I know that every year hundreds of thousands of Chinese students will apply to American universities, but the reality is very few of them will succeed in getting into them or receive offers of financial aid. I really thank East Carolina University for providing me with the precious opportunity to experience American life and culture in person.

For almost everyone, adjusting to a new society is an exciting, but sometimes difficult process. It is not surprising that I also experienced excitements and difficulties in my studies and life in America considering the vast cultural differences between China and the United States. After arriving at East Carolina University, I found that a lot of things in the United States differ significantly from what I have been used to in China, including the language, climate, food, religion, dress, family life, sexual and social values, the way of living and the educational system. […]

Although I have lived in America for nearly one and half years, its is hard for me to give you a satisfactory answer to "what is America". But I do know something about America and its culture. For example, I know that American society is highly individualistic with strong values on freedom and democracy. It is socially informal for the most part. In many ways America is a political, economic, and social society which permit’s a great deal more social mobility than many other countries such as China.  […]

Generally, you may find life in America more stressful than other places you have lived before. We are a diverse society, so it is important to know that there are good and bad aspects of every society and its culture. What I need to do is to make up my own mind about which aspects of American culture I can accept and which aspects are unacceptable for me. […]

Born, brought up and educated in China, a country that is so different from the United States in culture, political system, language, and so on, I took a long time and overcame numerous difficulties to accustom myself to the new life in the United States. However, such efforts are definitely worthwhile. I strongly believe that my student experiences at East Carolina University are very valuable for me, because I have been enriched by American culture, and by the people I have met and known. Such experiences also left me with broader perspectives, deeper insights into myself and a wider tolerance of other people and cultures. I am on the way to becoming a bicultural individual, a citizen of the world, and in the process of striking a balance between the different cultural aspects of China and the United States. Such experiences will exert an important and far-reaching impact on my future life." photos

Serhiy Sybirtsev, international student from Ukraine (2005-2007)  photos

Kensuke Takeuchi, international student from Japan (2000-2002): "What I learned most from my cultural adjustment is that we need to shift our way of thinking and change our behavior [to make them] appropriate to a new culture. In addition, it is important to know that cultural adjustment is not a drastic change, but a process. We need first to understand consciously our own culture and then to compare it to a new culture…By comparing the two cultures, we can grasp what we need to do in order to adjust to a new culture…Through this process, we will figure out the extent to which we are influenced by our own culture… It is also important to transform our identity to behave appropriately in a different culture. As long as we insist upon our native culture, it may be impossible for us to take appropriate action and continual failure of adjustment may frustrate us to some extent. However, once we succeed in grasping ourselves in the different manner used by others in a different culture, we can behave as others do. ... Japanese [people] and Americans have distinctive ways of viewing themselves in order to survive in a society. [At the beginning of] my cultural adjustment in the US, I had difficulty perceiving myself as an independent individual. After I reconsidered my identity and started to regard myself as an individual, I could overcome the difficulty derived from Japanese group-oriented culture. It may be helpful for Americans and Japanese to know that they can adjust to each other's culture by changing their understand of self and others in a different culture."

Karen Thomas, Mexico (spring 2000)

Jim Tomtania, international student from Togo (1998-2004)

Annette Uhlenberg, Senegal (fall 1999)

Marina Viscun, international student from Moldova (1998-2006)

“When I went to Moldova after having lived one year in the United States, my friends told me that I was an American. It sounded so funny to me – me, an American! That is not possible, a person does not change in one year. A person does not change, period. I was wrong. Living somewhere changes the person and that person never comes back to what he or she was before leaving. The experience of being far away from home change all of us, for better or for worse. The imprint of other cultures always remains in the subconscious, even if one tries to hide it.

        Thinking this way means I am an American. But what does it mean to be an American? Does a person have to live in the United States for a certain period of time to feel like an American or can just eating at McDonalds somewhere far away from the American continent do the trick? To be an American means to be open to other cultures that can be experienced on a daily basis at work, at school and even at home by watching television or chatting with a neighbor. Being an American means not to be afraid to speak out without being worried that tomorrow will bring some jail time. Being an American means making choices and having opportunities that are not based, on average, on the color of the skin, on religious practices or on the native language. Being an American means being a person, just like anybody else.

        This means I am an American. But what happens then to my Moldovan roots? Do they disappear? No. I am also a Moldovan, because I was raised in that country, I was taught its language and its history, and that is the place where all my relatives live and past generations have died. Moldova is a home to which I can always return like to the embrace of my mother. It will always take me in, maybe scold me sometimes, but always be there for me when I am in need.

        I am an American and a Moldovan. I am unique, but I am also just like anybody else in the United States, because all of us came from somewhere else in the past. This variety of cultures, languages and worldviews is exactly what connects us and keeps us close to each other. Even though we are all different, we all are the same – we came to a new country to build a new future and fulfill our dreams, and we all have another home to which we are always welcome to come back.”

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Mann Wang, international student from China (2000-2001)

Katherine Welch, Japan (1996-2002)

Susan Wentzy, France (Summer 2004) photos

Kirk Whittig, Mexico (Spring 2002) photos

Lindsay Wood, France (fall 2002): “Through my stay in France, I was able to learn more about my own culture, which I never would have done without having had the opportunity to see my culture and myself from another viewpoint. … Everyone will experience culture shock and if you are educated on the subject before traveling to another country, you will better understand your feelings. Upon my arrival in France, I was excited to learn and experience everything possible; I had no convictions or fears about my decision to live in Montpellier. … Oddly, I did not experience culture shock until about a month after I had been in Montpellier. … My first reaction was that I became annoyed with the entire culture … This was the beginning of my disintegration phase. I believe that I had more of a delayed reaction than the group because I was the only graduate student on the trip and I had already taken preparatory courses before my arrival and I tried to remind myself that I could handle any situation with which I was faced. I remained in this phase for at least a few weeks, I was frustrated and at times I only wanted to go back to the United States, but I knew that deep down it would be more beneficial for me if I found a solution. I believe that I passed into the reintegration phase once I found a way to solve my language barrier problems. … I felt as though I had accomplished a grand feat and I now felt closer to the French culture, I no longer felt ostracized by the community. And I no longer had the urge to go home, I felt as though I belonged.” photos

Jason Wynn, Costa Rica (fall 2004): "The job that I was assigned to was much more fulfilling than I had originally hoped. In the beginning, the volunteer coordinator originally told me that I would help place volunteers at their appropriate sites around the country. However, after speaking to me for some time the Communications Coordinator took me under his wing and gave me a project that would improve my Spanish, help me understand the workings of the organization, and allow me a very cultural perspective on my experience. I was assigned to travel the country with a volunteer photographer and interview families that were in need of Habitat Housing. These interviews and photographs would be used to solicit sponsorship from North American donors. During the time that I was not traveling, I was allowed to aid in the construction of homes for Habitat families.[…]

I learned much about Costa Rica culture from visiting the families. The family structure is often-times composed of a man who works outside the home and a woman who works within the home. Additionally, the conception of time was very different from ours. Instead of rushing in and rushing out, we were to stay and talk with the families. They would offer us coffee and some type of snack. Many times they often invited us to dinner and one Nicaraguan family was almost brought to tears when we told them we couldn’t stay for grilled corn ( we stayed, realizing the cultural significance of taking what the family had offered). In the end I realized that in a communitarian culture such as that of Costa Rica, one should almost always cater to the harmony of the group over the individualistic need of efficiency. It made me feel that relationships were what is most important, not the work that is to be done.[…]

My experience in Costa Rica could not have been better. My job helped me to understand communitarian culture and multi-active time more fully. It also helped me to improve my Spanish in all areas, from writing to speaking to interpretation. The most important thing that I learned from the experience was the relationship aspect. In Costa Rica relationships preceded everything else. There was almost nothing that could be more important than a family member or fellow-neighbor." photos

My field experience will help me to learn how to be open to learning about other cultures. The most important part of my field experience was my teaching experience in the United States. My future career will be in teaching, either in Japan or in another country. Through my field experience, I reconfirmed that continuous effort is necessary to know other cultures. If a teacher does not know how to interpret actions within another culture, or if a teacher just applies simple dichotomous concepts such as collectivism and individualism, students might acquire the wrong idea of another culture. Indeed they might create their bias toward other culture. To be a role model for students as well as their teacher, teachers need to show students a positive attitude toward differences, and the way to accept others. It is not always easy to accept others, especially in Japan, but I know I can keep learning about others while teaching strategies to understand and accept diversity. My field experience has given me confidence in teaching and learning from other cultures."

Rumiko Yamamoto, international student from Japan (2002-2004): I have longed to deal with foreign aid since I was in high school and I came to the United States in order to further this goal by getting the required degree in international studies. Through communication with classmates or contacts with those working in Japanese foreign aid agencies, NGOs and international organizations, I discovered many approaches to development. Fortunately I have had a chance to distinguish what I can do from what I want to do. Showing what I think entails knowing my roots: my identity. It is especially important in two different level decision-making processes: individual and group. At the same time, through my commitment to the group decision-making, I learned how to reach consensus among those with different preferences. Now I strongly believe that the decision making process can be applied to other situations, regardless of the size of the group. Self-identity, an appreciative attitude toward group members and patience will lead to the appropriate outcome. In terms of my future, I came to focus on microfinance as a means of poverty alleviation. In the process of identifying myself, I chose what I wanted to do and selected what I can do. I wanted to deal with foreign aid for poverty alleviation. Without paying attention to the poorest of the poor, poverty cannot be vanquished forever.

Sijia Yang, international student from China (2006-2008)

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Mianmian Yu, international student from China (2004-2006):  "My two years stay in the United States has given me a better understanding of the American culture as well as of my home culture.  Firstly, I find that American culture does have a lot of characteristics that are the opposite of those of Chinese culture. American culture is interdependent with American society. For instance, with respect to disclosed social information, American culture requires overt and explicit expression in personal interaction. This characteristic greatly helps to avoid interpersonal misunderstanding, and thus promotes the high efficiency and rapid pace of American society. Another big example is the flexible structure of ingroup and outgroup. In this mobile society, personal relationships can be transitory and are often established to meet personal needs in a certain situation. The casualness of friendships allows foreigners like me to easily build up a circle of American friends. More importantly, the flexible group structure allows immigrants to integrate with the mainstream society.

Secondly, the U.S. is a typical country of liberty and individualism. Individual happiness is very important to Americans, and the government seldom requires its people to sacrifice personal interests for those of society unless personal behavior is against the law. People respect personal choices, agree to accept other’s differences, and do not require much conformity from others in most circumstances. This free environment is unprecedented for me, which makes me comfortable as a ‘different’ person from normal Americans. As long as I have met the required responsibilities to others, nobody will blame me even if I do something uncommon. In other words, I can be myself easily.

When engaging in American culture, I also came to understand better Chinese culture. Through seeing how American culture works with U.S. society, I have gradually learned to analyze what components of Chinese culture work for the development of China, while what are causing its social problems. Actually, no culture is perfect. Any culture can bring mindsets, biases, stereotypes, and prejudices to people. Any culture can have side effects on the development of a society. As culture is about shared mindsets and behavior patterns among a certain group of people, it makes the group work as it is. Thus, if one wants to deal with group issues, working on the cultural aspects will be effective way." photos

Peng Yu, international student from China: "When I was in China, I was always curious to learn about Western culture, especially about American culture, because contemporary Chinese history is closely interrelated with Western countries. The United States became the leader of the Western countries in the 20^th century. Now the United States is the only superpower in the world; its powerful political, economic and cultural influence can be felt in every corner around world. However, even though I had gained some knowledge of America though books, magazines, newspapers, school education, television programs, and even through Americans living or working in China, I still lacked the first hand experience of American culture. Therefore, my experience of living in Greenville, North Carolina, especially the experience of studying in the International Studies Program at East Carolina University, was very significant to me.  Not only did I learn a lot through the courses I took, but also I gained great understanding of American culture and Americans through daily contacts and conversations with American professors and students.  American people’s virtues, such as their friendliness, open-mindedness, and thoughtfulness, made a great impression on me and was an inspiration to me.  These virtues helped me to adapt to the American life style.  Since I had very positive and encouraging experiences, I realized that culture differences are not necessarily obstacles or barriers to culture adaptation.  I do not mean that cultural issues are not important, but that cultural differences in certain situations can be  positive stimuli. …

Furthermore, each culture has its own characteristics developed through its unique historic path. Therefore, it is no surprise to find differences among cultures. However, the cultural differences are usually relative rather than absolute. For example, it is usually said that American culture is more individualistic, while Chinese culture is more collectivist. In American culture, self-independence and self-reliance are highly valued, as well as individual freedom. This is reflected in the higher education system of the United States that I have experienced. American college students are free to choose and switch majors, but they are responsible for their own study schedule and registration. A lot of elderly Americans also tend to live by themselves and take care of themselves as much as they can. In China, the collective spirit and group harmony are highly valued. This is reflected in Chinese college students’ classroom behavior, living arrangements, and fixed course schedules during their college years. In American culture, one’s identity is more composed of individual characteristics than through organizational membership or one’s role in a group. In Chinese culture, identity is a function of one’s membership and role in a primary group. In American culture, time is limited, but in Chinese culture time is bent to meet the needs of people; there is always more time. In Chinese culture, people always have time to meet and to chat. These differences and others should be understood when adapting to a different culture. But from my experience of these two cultures, I notice that those differences are usually relative. Many Americans also emphasize the importance of teamwork, group harmony, and family values, even though American culture is usually regarded as individualist. On the contrary, many Chinese today value personal fulfillment more. Therefore, the culture differences should not be absolutely stereotyped. In fact, culture develops, modifies, and evolves through time. The present world culture is quite different from that in the 19th century though there is some continuity. Chinese culture is also different today from what it was one hundred years ago."  photos

Emily Zhang, international student from China (2002-2002)