This week was the last week of AP testing which was pretty tough, so I had been looking forward to this event since Monday. But I'm finally done with AP testing!
I woke up at 7:00 AM today (a Saturday morning) to get ready for the pre-pre orientation session for all Youth For Understanding students going on summer exchanges. (I say pre-pre orientation because our pre-orientation will be in Washington D.C. from June 4th-6th, and our actual orientation will take place in either Turku or Helsinki.) We left the house at 8 A.M. because the session (9 AM to 3:30 PM) was located in San Francisco, and it would take about an hour to drive up.
Despite some mishaps along the way, I finally made it to Fort Mason!
Fort Mason sign
The buildings where our orientation took place in!
At the beginning of the orientation, we introduced ourselves to the 18 other students from California and Nevada who would be going on a YFU exchange. I met another girl, Ivy, who was also selected as a 2014 Finland U.S. Senate Youth Exchange scholar! She's from Nevada and seems very nice. There were also students going to Japan, South Korea, Hungary, and Argentina. Leo, one of the 2013 Finland-U.S. Senate Youth Exchange Scholars, was also there! He told me all about his exchange experience last year and how much he loved it and grew as an individual; I almost could not contain my exuberance!
I love that we (the 18 of us) will all be able to share the experience of a cultural immersion and come back with enriched perspectives. I'm so excited for everyone!
After the big group meeting, we split up into 3 groups of 6 people each. In the smaller groups, we learned about the "iceberg model" of culture- like an iceberg that only has its tip exposed in the air, when we arrive in our host countries, we will only be exposed to the "tip" of the culture, such as outward behavior, food, language, dress, which are observable components that don't require much reflecting. However, the bottom of the iceberg, the most immense portion, contains the underlying ideologies, perspectives, and beliefs that the culture encompasses, and require some more contemplating and careful observing in order to discern.
Our orientation leaders also told us the story of the yellow sunglasses: In country A, all people are born with two legs, two eyes, two ears, two arms, one mouth, one nose, and a pair of sunglasses with yellow lens. In country B, all people are born with two legs, two eyes, two ears, two arms, one mouth, one nose, but a pair of sunglasses with blue lens. A student from country A visits country B, and buys a pair of blue sunglasses. Upon coming home, she tells all of her family and friends that in country B, people see things through green lenses!
The moral of the story is that the student forgot to remove her own sunglasses before putting on the sunglasses of the new culture! The various lens represent the filter with which we see the world through, and when traveling to a new country, it is important to try and see the world through the context and lens of natives in that country.
I love that we (the 18 of us) will all be able to share the experience of a cultural immersion and come back with enriched perspectives. I'm so excited for everyone!
After the big group meeting, we split up into 3 groups of 6 people each. In the smaller groups, we learned about the "iceberg model" of culture- like an iceberg that only has its tip exposed in the air, when we arrive in our host countries, we will only be exposed to the "tip" of the culture, such as outward behavior, food, language, dress, which are observable components that don't require much reflecting. However, the bottom of the iceberg, the most immense portion, contains the underlying ideologies, perspectives, and beliefs that the culture encompasses, and require some more contemplating and careful observing in order to discern.
Our orientation leaders also told us the story of the yellow sunglasses: In country A, all people are born with two legs, two eyes, two ears, two arms, one mouth, one nose, and a pair of sunglasses with yellow lens. In country B, all people are born with two legs, two eyes, two ears, two arms, one mouth, one nose, but a pair of sunglasses with blue lens. A student from country A visits country B, and buys a pair of blue sunglasses. Upon coming home, she tells all of her family and friends that in country B, people see things through green lenses!
The moral of the story is that the student forgot to remove her own sunglasses before putting on the sunglasses of the new culture! The various lens represent the filter with which we see the world through, and when traveling to a new country, it is important to try and see the world through the context and lens of natives in that country.
A lovely view of the San Francisco Bay!
As a group, we played more interactive games, such as acting out uncomfortable situations we might encounter (wanting more privacy and alone time, disliking a certain food, getting annoyed at siblings) while with our host families, and some solutions to deal with the issue.
One of the most important things that I took away from the orientation was that fact that there are dangers to both 100% adaptation/assimilation and 100% resistance to a culture.
Full assimilation into a certain culture is detrimental because that would mean abandoning your own personal values and experiences for the sake of adapting to your host country. Your individual perspectives add richness and depth to your own experience in the host country, and you shouldn't completely relinquish everything that has shaped you into a unique individual! Full resistance, however, will be an impediment to truly immersing yourself in the culture of the host country.
I am so so delighted that the pre-pre orientation went wonderfully; it only makes me more enthusiastic to embark on my journey!
Full assimilation into a certain culture is detrimental because that would mean abandoning your own personal values and experiences for the sake of adapting to your host country. Your individual perspectives add richness and depth to your own experience in the host country, and you shouldn't completely relinquish everything that has shaped you into a unique individual! Full resistance, however, will be an impediment to truly immersing yourself in the culture of the host country.
I am so so delighted that the pre-pre orientation went wonderfully; it only makes me more enthusiastic to embark on my journey!
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