Elayna Dyke

In August 2016, I traveled to Bucaramanga, Colombia. In Colombia, I was able to use my knowledge of global citizenship to initiate and continue seeking interactions with others. It was easy to see that I was different from others, but it took more thought to determine exactly how we were different, and what this meant for me and others. The Spanish that is present in Colombia is different than Spanish from other countries, so I was able to observe verbal and nonverbal differences in the language, and I was also able to use them in different contexts. I was able to suspend my judgement when people would comment on the US so that I could learn more about their opinions, as well as ask complex questions about their culture and how they see the culture of the US. I developed more self-awareness through being in a different place, because the differences were so apparent, and I could easily see how my culture shaped how I saw Colombia and different aspects of the culture in Colombia, as well as how the culture differed from smaller to larger cities.

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I experienced shopping in Colombia, ordering food, attending parties, and going to tourist areas as well as non-tourist areas. I visited a more modern city area and smaller, more traditional town. I was also able to attend a Catholic mass in Colombia, which I was able to compare and contrast to mass services in the United States. I was also interested in seeing the expression of religion in Colombia because the catholic population is the majority, and there are different customs than in the United States. Throughout my stay in Colombia, I learned about how my personal biases and prejudices that I have developed as being a member of my own culture started to impede my understanding, my interactions, and my experiences.

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While shopping in a mainstream mall, a sales associate at a clothing store smiled when she saw me, and she started speaking English. It turns out that she attended a school with both English and Spanish curriculum, and she was very excited to speak in English. I understood how she felt, because I know that I certainly feel that way when I meet someone with whom I communicate with a language other than English (my first language), and it was great to see such a human experience between two people from different cultures and countries. She actively sought an interaction with me, and I saw exactly what I am aiming to do as a global citizen in the honors program.

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Buying food in the market and shopping in the plaza were experiences that I had never experienced in the United States. I certainly looked and sounded like an outsider, so as a result there were people asking me where I was from and offering me different fruits and goods to try. When I tried to explain what I did in the United States, such as the fact that I studied speech-language pathology and American Sign Language, I encountered challenges in negotiating meanings in Spanish, which was embarrassing. It was both overwhelming and exciting, and I loved experiencing something that was so different, that I don’t even know what I could compare it to in the United States. That welcoming nature is what I want to display to others in the United States with my global citizenship competency.

 

I had a lovely time experiencing the bright culture of Colombia, and I cherish the interactions that I had there. The welcoming nature of the people there helped me to evaluate how I wanted to act as a citizen of my country. I felt comfortable and welcome, and I think of how there are so many people, who are from worse situations than I was, who feel so unwelcome due to the attitudes of the citizens in the United States. I had a great experience that gave me motivation to become more culturally competent in order to serve others who are less fortunate.