Essay time!
So, the challenge was to write a statement between 150-500 words that would "give an example of a significant experience that illustrates your ability to adapt cross-culturally. You may draw from experiences in your work, school, or community in the U.S. or abroad. Please include the circumstances of the experience and dates."
Here is the response I submitted:
Walking along the busy Nevsky Prospect one Sunday morning this past June, Natalia glanced sideways at me and commented in English “you look like a Russian girl.” Dressed as I was in my ‘best’ clothes—a black skirt, some flat black dress shoes, a blouse and wearing the obligatory head covering needed for women to enter a Russian Orthodox church, I could almost see why she had made such a remark. But deep inside, I knew that I was lacking the stereotypical angular features, slim build, ice-cool eyes and blonde hair that so many women I saw on the streets on St. Petersburg had. I was still genuinely touched with her observation and believed that what she saw was my attempt to fit in, adapt and adopt the culture that was now surrounding me.
Despite my inability to quickly pick up the Russian language within the five weeks I studied in St. Petersburg this summer, I felt that I acclimated myself rather quickly to the culture and society around me. I easily learned to appreciate the fresh food, herbs and spices and volunteered to make the salads every day for my host family and eagerly added a dollop of sour cream onto each entree. I quickly noted that smiling while walking was not something done and that I should not be dismayed when babushkas forcefully pushed me both onto and off of the subway cars in a mad dash to beat the swarms of morning commuters that swallowed you up with every coming train as everyone crammed like livestock to get onto the escalators. While the other American students would complain about all of these things, I learned to just take it in stride. None of these differences—the behavior of people in public, the presence of sour cream in all dinner items, or the apparent lack of social graces—dampened my spirits or desire to learn and understand more about Russian culture.
During dinner one evening early in my stay, my host mother, Natalia, asked me why I came to Russia. I responded that to be able to come to a country that as I child I had been taught to fear was an opportunity that I did not want to pass up. I told her that I traveled thousands of miles to find out that while there may be cultural differences, we are all inherently the same: we all desire to have a loving family, shelter, full bellies, and to laugh and enjoy life to the best of our ability. This was what I had come to see, appreciate, and more importantly, to take home and share.
***If you want to see photos from my trip to Russia, I encourage you to go to my friend's website and look under the "Molly" file, but also feel free to take a look at my friend Gwen's photos too, as we travelled to Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Norway together this summer. Unfortunately, all of my photos were packed up to be mailed home, but never arrived. The link is http://www.gwendolynsgateway.com/photos
Here is the response I submitted:
Walking along the busy Nevsky Prospect one Sunday morning this past June, Natalia glanced sideways at me and commented in English “you look like a Russian girl.” Dressed as I was in my ‘best’ clothes—a black skirt, some flat black dress shoes, a blouse and wearing the obligatory head covering needed for women to enter a Russian Orthodox church, I could almost see why she had made such a remark. But deep inside, I knew that I was lacking the stereotypical angular features, slim build, ice-cool eyes and blonde hair that so many women I saw on the streets on St. Petersburg had. I was still genuinely touched with her observation and believed that what she saw was my attempt to fit in, adapt and adopt the culture that was now surrounding me.
Despite my inability to quickly pick up the Russian language within the five weeks I studied in St. Petersburg this summer, I felt that I acclimated myself rather quickly to the culture and society around me. I easily learned to appreciate the fresh food, herbs and spices and volunteered to make the salads every day for my host family and eagerly added a dollop of sour cream onto each entree. I quickly noted that smiling while walking was not something done and that I should not be dismayed when babushkas forcefully pushed me both onto and off of the subway cars in a mad dash to beat the swarms of morning commuters that swallowed you up with every coming train as everyone crammed like livestock to get onto the escalators. While the other American students would complain about all of these things, I learned to just take it in stride. None of these differences—the behavior of people in public, the presence of sour cream in all dinner items, or the apparent lack of social graces—dampened my spirits or desire to learn and understand more about Russian culture.
During dinner one evening early in my stay, my host mother, Natalia, asked me why I came to Russia. I responded that to be able to come to a country that as I child I had been taught to fear was an opportunity that I did not want to pass up. I told her that I traveled thousands of miles to find out that while there may be cultural differences, we are all inherently the same: we all desire to have a loving family, shelter, full bellies, and to laugh and enjoy life to the best of our ability. This was what I had come to see, appreciate, and more importantly, to take home and share.
***If you want to see photos from my trip to Russia, I encourage you to go to my friend's website and look under the "Molly" file, but also feel free to take a look at my friend Gwen's photos too, as we travelled to Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Norway together this summer. Unfortunately, all of my photos were packed up to be mailed home, but never arrived. The link is http://www.gwendolynsgateway.com/photos
posted by Molly | 7:45 PM
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