About: corymz

Name:corymz
2008-04-30 19:15:05
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Posts by corymz:

Study abroad and TCKs- my experience (kinda long, but feel free to scan)

So, basically, after 2 years of rote learning among kids who think their crap-hole town is the center of the universe at Spanish uni (I’ll leave my rants about the crappy education system here for another post), I was ready for a change. So I went to the international relations office to see where I could run away, and they tell me that I can go anywhere in Europe (for free!) through the mythical Erasmus exchange program. Those of you who live in the EU probably know all about it.

I asked around and everyone who’d studied abroad coincided: the experience had changed their lives, it was unforgettable, they’d made the best friends of their lives…blah, blah, blah. So I filled out some forms and took a language exam. Soon, I had a spot in Paris confirmed. I was psyched: I had been in love with Paris since I was, like, 13 (still am). My expectations were high, man! Erasmus was going to change my life, just like it had changed everybody else’s.

So I pack my bags ready to make 1,000 friends from all around the world and finally, FINALLYreturn to an environment that ressembles those glorious years of international school where relating to people was something I took for granted. And when I get there, what do I find? Well, for starters, there were 10 other exchange students besides me at the school…I was certainly expecting more, but wait—that wasn’t the worst part. Out the the 10, 7 were Spaniards (all from Madrid)… so that left…uh, 3 Germans. That lived together. That always spoke German among themselves. Great. So much for my crave for cosmopolitanism.

The Spanish girls were, for the most part, well-off people who’d spent summer abroad and such…But my goodness they were still socially retarded. They had a habit of speaking bad about French people in Spanish about a foot away from them (it never crossed their minds that maybe people could understand—and they did, a couple times), talking extremely loud in the Métro (and then wondered why “stuck-up” French people always stared at them), walking around the city in huge groups of only Spaniards, not making the slightest effort to pick up the language, and always bitc***g about the French. They also conceived study abroad as a year where you get hammered every night of the week and then go cry to the teachers to get them to pass you. Although I thought the Spanish girls were funny, I thought their overall attitude was pretty pathetic, so I kinda stayed away from that group.

At the dorm where I stayed there were 3 main groups (more like ghettos): the Koreans (they made up about half of the residents and they did everything together), the Americans (who were supposedly going to become French teachers, but never spoke a word of French in the whole 6 months that they were there), and the French girls. Then there were the minor groups: Germans, Moroccans, Turkish…But outside of common courtesy, they all just stuck to their nationals. I finally found a little group of people who were the only ones from their country and felt sort of left out, and we got along pretty well, thank goodness.

So Erasmus did not live up to my expectations. I was disappointed by the fact that most students who go study abroad don’t make much of an effort to open themselves up to people from other places. They want to be somewhere away from home (because it is oh-so-fashionable to say you’ve lived somewhere else), but surrounded by their countrymen, and never stepping out of their comfort zone. I don’t have that comfort zone, thank goodness, so I’m sort of forced to fend off for myself.

So although I absolutely adored Paris, learned tons of French, and did find some worthwhile people to spend my year with, I can’t really say that this experience changed my life. However, all monocultural people I know seem to think that it did change theirs…So that got me thinking about how being a TCK affects the way we experience the whole study abroad trend…Hmmm…Ok, I will shut up now. I have too much time on my hands during summertime.

This foundation that gives a miserly scholarship to all students from Madrid who study abroad  sent me an e-mail encouraging me to participate in a short-story competition where we are supposed to talk about our year abroad experience…The prize was 600 euros, so I was thinking of submitting a piece, but I think that if I tell the truth, not only will I not win, but they might ask me to return the scholarship money. So I’ll refrain :)

August 11, 2008 | Filed Under General Forum | 6 Comments 

Bilingual or just fluent?

Hi guys,

I’m writing up a resume and I can’t seem to find an appropriate way to describe my level of English. I was born in Venezuela, and moved to the US when I was 11. I lived there until age 16 and then finished school at an American school in Spain. I scored in the top 5% in both the verbal and writing sections of the SAT and got a 6/7 in the IB Higher Level English A1 examination. In many ways, I feel more comfortable using English than Spanish. However, I want to be 100% truthful, and, at least technically, I’m not bilingual because I do have a slight accent when I speak English. On the other hand, I think that if I just say that I’m fluent they’re going to put me on the same level as all those people who have taken a few years of English and spent a summer or two abroad. All I really want is for it to be understood that I can write and work in English on the same level as natives (I’m a soon-to-be Journalism major). Any suggestions?

May 13, 2008 | Filed Under General Forum | 17 Comments 

Bored in non-international settings?

I’m 21 and will finish college within a year. I was born in Latin America, but have lived in the US and Europe the past 11 years of my life. I suffer from all the typical TCK symptoms: lack of  any national identity, inability to fit in 100%, thirst of travel and new experiences. My years at international school were probably the happiest of my life– I made wonderful friends relatively fast, and these friendships have lasted through my university despite the distance. However, university has been a different story. I stayed in Madrid for college, and all my classmates are born-and-raised Spaniards. Though I’ve made friends, I feel like the “connection” with them is not nearly as strong. I feel bad because these people value my friendship, and yet I find them “boring” at times (this sounds terrible, I know!). Can anyone relate or am I just an arrogant biatch?

Also, I’m wondering of anyone knows of any master’s programs (preferably in the Europe) that would be good for launching an international career and that’s popular among multi-cultural students. I’m majoring in Journalism, but I don’t think I want to settle in just one place in the near future…not to mention the fact that I’m craving a university setting that resembles my international school experiences :)

April 30, 2008 | Filed Under General Forum | 15 Comments