1. Comments are working again. I'm not sure what went wrong, but the problem's been fixed. Now it seems like I owe someone a potato.
2. My old jade-colored world traveling guitar was put out to pasture. I picked up a new one for dimes on the dollar. It is auburn brown, and handmade right here in Saigon.
3. Held a lesson Saturday. It was great. Got another lesson lined up for Wednesday.
Today, I'm just gonna finish up a blog entry I started two years ago. Better late than never, I hope. The subject addresses the question: what kinds of people should study abroad?
I met a lot of international exchange students during my year abroad--mostly from India and Europe, also Australia and Japan. In my entire program in Asia, spanning three universities, I met a whopping grand total of only three U.S. citizens. We tend to be predisposed to stay at home, to which I say, phui. Anyway, certain people seem to "get more" out of a cultural immersion. Study abroad programs are excellent opportunities for the following sorts of folks:
1. People who like to try new kinds of food.
This is the one that practically started this list. If you want amazing Chinese food, what better place to go to than China? There'll be primo pasta waiting for you to mangia if you study in Italy, I imagine. Crêpes et café? You'll always have Paris. A study abroad experience is great for people who want to eat and maybe learn to cook the foods of that culture. I was delighted to discover that the hot and sour soup I've loved since I was a kid is a Taiwanese recipe--I found it there, and it was superb. And sometimes, the foreign interpretation of a familiar dish is a nice surprise, like a cheeseburger patty sandwiched between ricecakes. Just do yourself a favor. Don't fall for the temptation to eat at a fast food chain (unless you're just interested in seeing the differences between the overseas chains and the ones back home). The worst food mistake I ever made was to follow hungry yet gastronomically timid exchange classmates into a western sandwich shop, where we stood online for 40 minutes to buy food that I could have gotten back in the states.
2. People who like shopping.
In another country, there are all kinds of incredible stores. You can spend ages browsing through products you won't believe. Some have familiar labels, but there's just something different about the brand and you can't put your finger on it (perhaps because it's written in another language). Finding a thing you want can be hard, especially if you want a specialty product that has to be imported. But if you know what to look for in terms of local products, you'll find deals that can't be beat.
3. People who want to learn history.
Nothing that ever happened ever occurred in isolation. Like the butterfly chaos theory applied to ethnohistography, the effects of conflicts in one part of the world had, and have, effects on the other side. Study abroad opportunites offer explanation for cultural exchanges, migration patterns, and economic fluctuations. Going somewhere else in the world to study allows you to see how small the world really is.
4. People who want to experience new cultures.
Find yourself enamored with the travel channel? Do you look at guys like Anthony Bourdain and Rick Steves and think to yourself, I'd give an arm and a leg to do what they do for a living? Do you own a dog-eared and tattered copy of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die? Then studying abroad is a perfect opportunity. The country you study in can be your launching platform from which you travel to adjacent countries on the long weekends and holidays. The world is your oyster.
5. People who want to learn another language.
What can I say? Practice makes perfect. And when you're in another country, you'll have plenty of opportunities to practice. And invariably, local students would love to make a deal. You teach them English, and they'll teach you the language you want to learn. Learning a language makes you more marketable as an employee, so studying abroad and honing your verbal skills as a polyglot is just the thing to turn a "we'll call you" into a "welcome aboard."
Happy trails to you.
Provender
- breakfast: thanh long, măng cụt
- lunch: bánh cuốn
2 comments:
Excellent points, all. The food one especially. After travels to Asia, I have a hard time stomaching Americanized "Chinese-food". One odd exception: During a weekend in Italy, I found the pizza there not nearly as good as US pizza. But I did find excellent Italian food north of the border in the Austrian Alps.
Language-learning can be a bit difficult for Americans - so many people in international locations speak English, that it can be difficult to immerse oneself at times. Six weeks in and around Austria did not substantially improve my German (although copious amounts of beer at the local Carnival night certainly did!).
You're the second person who's told me that Italian pizza is not amore. The best in the region is supposedly Greek, so I've heard.
Here's a cool origin story: the first pizza was invented by soldiers of the Roman Empire stationed in the middle east. They invented it to spice up the commonly available carbohydrate, matzo bread. The belief is, the Romans took the unleavened bread and slathered it in hard cheese and olive compote. The Italians would still have to wait more than 1500 years for the trademark pizza ingredient, the tomato, to be introduced from the new world.
Great to hear from you Mike! I'm so glad you've been able to travel so much. Hope new opportunities present themselves often. It can be hard for us to practice our second language when so many people are capable in ours, or just really excited to practice their second language on us.
Thanks for sharing! I'll see you in NY in January! Let's catch up soon.
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