Since I was a little girl, I've always been fascinated with people and what made them who they are today. Growing up, I first was embraced by other peoples' cultures through food -- from slowly being embraced with the occasional non-traditional Chinese food from Mr.Lee, to eating out at Greek, Italian, Thai food restaurants, and so forth. This allowed me to experience the love of their culture through their different cuisines. Food helped me appreciate their culture more since I experienced happiness with one of my five senses -- taste. Later on, as I grew, I learned to love them for more than just their food, but as people, too. Seeing different kinds of people in either my classrooms, playgrounds, or other areas that I was around them most, truly did make an impact on how I interact with people today. It allowed me to be more open, not just to people who looked like me, but to those who don't.
Now, as part of the college scene, I tend to see even more people from other countries and get the chance to grasp what a lot of cultures are like by talking and sharing different beliefs. Through many of my interactions and living situations (dorming), I got to see what it's like to be foreign, to a foreigner. A lot of what I do as an African-American is totally different than that of a native African. Many of my beliefs may be similar to a native Asian's, but I would never know without opening myself up and starting a conversation.
I believe many opportunities are through the exchange of words. For example, my first roommate was Hispanic, from the Dominican Republic. With my first experience of living with someone not essentially from America, I picked up on not only her language but also many different mannerisms that I don't traditionally do with my friends and family -- like kissing people on the cheek when we greet each other. After her, I've had many different experiences with my four other roomies that I've had throughout my time in college.
One experience where I was immersed in a more diverse set of international students was during my Disney College Program. By working along side people from Korea, Morocco, Colombia, etc., I saw how their work style differed from mine, or how we may complete the same task differently. I made a lot of friends from all over the world and it feels good to know more about the world than I did before and it feels good to know we are all similar in some ways while going through this rocky thing called life.
I say, go out there and make friends with the person who has been having a hard time learning English. Join an Indian dance team. Make your life more culturally diverse so you can develop a better outlook on how the world is, and when you can travel because there is more than just the U.S.A.
