Notes from Abroad
Realizing Reality
Sunday, November 22, 2009
By Samantha Lemmer
GVL Study Abroad Columnist
I was a victim of the westernized portrayal of Africa. Even referring to such a vast land as one entity, “Africa” makes me cringe.
How is it possible to lump so many different cultures and societies into one? Easy, I suppose. Through splashing our televisions with images of young children with big eyes and frowns on their faces, filling our ears with the pleas of Bono to join the latest celebrity campaign for “Africa," and in general further fueling the false view that the entire continent is a charity case, we are able to believe what we are told, instead of seeing for ourselves.
While it is true there are many areas on the continent experiencing mass hunger, inadequate health and education and high rates of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, there are also many areas thriving and propelling themselves into first world status. One of these areas experiencing success is Ghana.
Ghana, as the first country to obtain independence from colonial rule, has served as a model for other African countries. The promise of such a young state can be seen in visiting its capital, Accra, which my roommates and I had an opportunity to do.
Accra is bustling. Staying in an area called Osu, I could have easily thought I was in Atlanta or Chicago. There were many hip bars and restaurants, large shopping malls and no shortage of traffic- a must-have for any major city.
Having come from Cape Coast just hours before, a small town making up in beauty what it lacks in attractions and nightlife, my roommates and I were a bit culture shocked when we arrived in Accra.
Mamma Mia, the Italian restaurant in Osu and first stop on our list, might as well have been Italy itself!
The menu was extensive and atmosphere was spot-on for an Italian restaurant. These people really knew their stuff!
Venus, the bar and nightclub down the road from our hostel served as a mixing bowl for all different sorts of people. European residents, Ghanaian businessmen and women, grubby backpackers such as ourselves, and any other type of person all intermingled and discussed issues of the world as if we were old friends.
The supermarket, which I stood in the entrance of holding back the temptation to A) faint or B) dance down the aisles, had all sorts of American and European food. As I was marveling at the selection of Lay’s potato chips and cheese at the deli, my mouth hanging slightly open in awe, local shoppers whisked by me, going about their everyday routines.
For them, this was life. Life as a citizen of Accra, is as different as possible from the westernized view of “life as an African.”
Going to Accra taught me a lot. It taught me that so often in life we are misled into believing a biased view on a foreign subject. The trip made me wonder how long I would have gone on simply believing and not finding out for myself.On the tro-tro ride home, I counted my lucky stars that I had this opportunity to come to an area that is often discussed, but rarely discussed accurately. I wish more people had that chance, and I wish that those who do have it, will take it!
My study abroad experience has had an incredibly large effect on everything I previously thought, believed and blindly followed in the past. I am realizing the world is vastly different from what I was shown and told at home. Due to this time spent in Ghana, I am finally realizing reality.
Posted 6:57 PM
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'England ... it's in Europe, right?'
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
By Travis Kovaleinen
GVL Study Abroad Columnist
I think most Americans have a general idea of how others stereotypically view them. Of course there is great variance amongst the attributes pegged to us; sometimes we are said to be generous, other times money hungry.
We have been said to be ignorant of international affairs (true all too often), monolingual (also quite sadly too often accurate) and loud.
Oh yeah, and we‘re supposed to be fat. To make matters worse, the eight years of the Georgre Bush Jr. presidency did not seem to have done much good for our general reputation.
President Obama has definitely helped in improving the way others view Americans as evidenced by international polls often cited in the news.
However, beside the stereotypes already all too prevalent, there is something that can influence others´ perceptions of us even more strongly while abroad: our behavior.
On my daily 30 minute commute to the University of Iceland I take “þrysturinn,” the colloquial term for Bus 3, and usually have a pleasant and silent ride while I admire the scenery.
Recently while Bus 3 was stopped at one of the major stations a pair of obvious tourists entered the bus. Their backpacks bulged to the seams, and they were a bit overweight.
I began to play the game with myself that I think most people residing in an area that gets a lot of visitors inevitably tend to find themselves doing- “guess the nationality!”
It did not take long to discern their country of origin when they quickly broke the silence – which is more or less upheld by nearly all Icelanders while on public transit in the daytime – with their mild southern drawl.
One of the guys sat next to a particularly attractive girl and started up a conversation with her after having been semi-loudly discussing something with his friend.
“England…isn’t that in Europe?” he began.
At first I wasn’t eavesdropping too attentively, but then I couldn’t help myself after having noticed this bit of conversation. My stomach tensed in embarrassment. This is not something an American is supposed to say.
I got my notebook out and began transcribing. This appeared to be the realization of American stereotypes I had heard and read of for years unfortunately unfolding before me.
“Ha?” the Icelandic girl blurted. [haː] is the Icelandic way of using an interrogative “what,” though it sounds quite like someone is oddly laughing at you at first.
“England, it’s in Europe, right?” he repeated.
“Yes,” she quipped.
“”Ever been to Europe?” he continued
“Yes.” She said, seeming to be quickly losing her patience after that intellectually-stimulating question about England.
“Ever been ta’ Amsterdam?” he said with an intonation I am sure he meant to be suave.
“Yes,” she said, continuing to display her disinterest by only answering his questions and saying nothing afterward until asked something else.
“They’ve got some cool coffee shops over there I’ve heard,” he said, still using this voice that was an attempt to sound really cool, as if he felt he were sharing some big secret with her about Amsterdam’s infamous – or possibly famous depending on your stance – marijuana cafés.
At any rate, drug usage beyond alcohol is actually quite taboo in Iceland so he was not making a good impression by assuming she liked marijuana and wanted to discuss pot cafés.
Furthermore, she had already traveled there so I think it is likely she already knew about the nature of some of the cafés, but this is beside the point.
He went on to ask her some more questions about Iceland, which were overly general. For example, he asked her what kind of music Icelandic people listen to and if they have “shopping malls, ya´ know, big stores?’’
This is behavior which I hope none of us will repeat.
After all, whenever we leave the country we are essentially ambassadors. It goes without saying that we should always be on good behavior and polite to others, you know, basic pre-school stuff.
I believe we should also have some basic geography skills, don't you? While we are abroad let's try just a bit harder. I think discussions about drugs and assuming developed countries don´t have “big stores” or that everyone in that country, despite age differences for one, listen to the same music and so on should be reconsidered.
Well, I hope this story is at the very least somewhat entertaining and perhaps helps a few people who might otherwise repeat this behavior, though I’d like to think that unlikely.
Oh, and enjoy you the cold weather in Michigan! It’s actually significantly warmer here during the winter due to something called the Gulf Stream. Happy holidays from Iceland!
Posted 9:26 PM
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Tricks and treat on all holidays
Sunday, November 8, 2009
GVL Study Abroad Columnis
I admit that I know little about Memorial Day or Labor Day, but at least I know what to expect (not much). Figuring out the significance of holidays in foreign countries is a lot more complicated.
I spent Halloween in Krakow, Poland. There, locals celebrate All Saints Day and All Souls Day instead.
The city was clearly divided between shops catering to either foreign tourists or to locals.
Many stores sold flowers and glass candles to put on the gravestones of deceased Polish loved ones. A strong minority had Halloween bat posters, pumpkins out front, and masks in the windows.
Unfortunately, I did not feel safe enough to walk alone to the glowing cemeteries at night, and it was a new friend’s 21st birthday, so I joined the group who went looking for Halloween.
As we walked, we saw a few people dressed as vampires and one Superman.
Pumpkins were lit on store doorsteps. One group of people carried their own jack o' lantern, but they were wearing swine flu masks instead of costumes. They also did not speak English.
We finally settled for the Indigo Bar in the tourist center. It was empty except for a few Irishmen and some bachelors in matching “Italian Stallion” T-shirts. There were orange streamers with pumpkins hanging over the bar, and the Rammstein music was eerie.
But even with these usual Halloween symbols, the spirit was missing. A lot of Central Europeans I talked to know something about American holidays but do not understand them.
Similarly, I had only Wikipedia knowledge of All Saints Day, even though my ancestors are Polish Catholics.
Therefore I was not totally surprised by the large crowds of Poles buying grave decorations and lining up by cemeteries outside the tour bus window, but I missed the true experience.
The cultural gap has been even wider with the national political holidays I had never even heard of before.
I still have no idea how most Czechs celebrate Independent Czechoslovak State Day on Oct. 28 because most of them go to the country or stay inside.
I stayed inside, too, after I realized the gathering with a loud-speaker outside my apartment was actually a neo-Nazi demonstration.
When I was in Budapest, there were similar political riots that built on the meaning of their national holiday on the anniversary of political revolution.
I never would have expected these reactions to the dates on the calendars. I could not even tell what the people were rioting about because of the language and context barriers.
I can only expect more surprises from Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day next week in November.
katiebeebooms@yahoo.com
Posted 6:15 PM
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