Study Abroad Preparation

• Not really what I had in mind? I am not really that curious – I see the whole thing as a bit of a holiday…
• – Whilst it is safe to say that the objectives of some study abroad students are not always primarily academic, the good sign is that you are here on this website, interested in finding out more!
• I am not sure I like the sound of ‘autonomous’!! If this is what I am supposed to achieve, who is going to help? Or is this saying there is no help?!
• I am only going for 3 months anyway… I can’t really imagine that I will return that different.
• And what does cultural competence mean anyway!?

I am writing this diary to prove to myself that these three months abroad have been successful. My Mum is English and so I thought there wouldn’t be much for me to improve. I was so wrong! For me it wasn’t too hard to adapt, but I have seen my fellow students struggle with culture shock at times. Sometimes it was quite funny, but explaining the reasons to them was complicated.

But I did some reading and that helped us. The process that somebody undergoes in a different culture from his/her own is the so-called U curve of adjustment. It describes the adaptation course as a curve that has its highlight moment on arrival. This phase is called the honeymoon phase. It takes place when all the new things we find in the new culture are amazing and exciting: such as food, people’s habits, architecture, lifestyle etc.

The curve’s decline appears when the excitement of the arrival has worn off and people experience feelings of depression and anxiety. This feeling grows when there are difficulties getting used to and understanding things. For example, a different food timetable, different food, different ways of doing things, or a pace of life that can be too fast or too slow…

The last phase takes place when one gets used to the new culture’s differences and develops routines. At this point, we do not see the new culture as new. The person then considers what was once the new culture as a “second own culture” and he/she becomes comfortable with it, as if they were in their original culture.

My own conclusion is that all of us have gone through these stages to some extent. We are no longer the same people who arrived here in September. I know I have changed, I am someone different. To be honest I have found out that I have a mix of cultures, now I have lived among the societies of both my Mum and Dad’s backgrounds.

I want to improve my fluency and to understand native people when talking and on television. So I watch TV every time that I go to the kitchen. I try to make an effort when listening and talking to people. I think I have mastered some of the typical British words now (‘mate’, ‘cheeky’ and ‘fancy’ are part of my speech now!). I note down the new words I come across and have also learnt certain structures that I can use for my essays. But I have learned most words from the people I have met rather than from books, TV shows or magazines. Chatting to people makes you enrich your vocabulary. The so-called Language Tandems are an ingenious way to improve each student’s second or even third language, and exchange cultures.

My diary may get more emotional towards the end though, but that’s only because I reflect on what I have lived during these three intense months. I have been travelling, studying, truly learning and above all, having fun! Not just in the classroom, but in all the surroundings offered by a new city and country. Coming to the English capital is all about cultural immersion, and although it isn’t always easy or comfortable, it is brilliant! The most valuable things I will take back with me are the memories of all the amazing people and places. I have explored London, conquered public transport, travelled around some cities (Newcastle and Birmingham), and even learned a few things along the way! My advice: “Try everything at least once!”

I have learned about myself too. My diary uses humour at times, and can be a bit too sarcastic or ‘cheeky’, but that’s the way I coped with what I saw happening around me, because most times there was no rational explanation! I attach importance to the smaller incidents that were nevertheless those with monumental effects, which helped me grow as a person. I think that I have changed in a good way. I am more confident, happier even.

That’s why I think that this Estada a L’Estranger is so useful, although a mere ninety days feels such a short time to stay there: it takes a month and a half to get used to everything that surrounds us, and by the time we have made ourselves at home, it’s almost time to leave!

During one lesson we were asked to do an essay about accents and dialects. This was interesting for me because I can’t identify an accent when I hear it. There are people I understand better than others and people that seem to speak a totally different language from English – when they are speaking English!! For example, one of my flat mates is from somewhere outside New York, and I cannot understand anything when she speaks. We say sorry after every sentence. She apologies because she can’t keep speaking slowly all the time and I say sorry because I feel bad when I make her repeat a sentence a million times. And it is so frustrating because Annie is the person I spend most time with.

Anyway, for our essay we had to include some interviews with Northern citizens, asking them to explain their thoughts. That is what I did and the result was surprising for me. The people in my city are known as Mancunians. I find it really difficult to understand some of them. But everyone I asked was absolutely proud of their dialect. Although, I confess that I had to ask some of them to repeat their answers a few times! Young interviewees didn’t notice any discrimination because of their accents but old people told me there had been problems with their language when they were young and sometimes they lost a job because of it. This is progress! As time has gone by and people have become more open-minded, accents have become more acceptable. I can say that nowadays, accents and dialects are not related with social class. But I need to do some more work on my listening skills with different accents!