So since Im' a double major in Civil Engineering and Global Studies (I mean IDEAS is different but double major is just an easier way of explaining it so i just say double major), while here in Cairo i am of course fulfilling mostly my studies in Global Studies. Like my adviser said, "engineering is engineering everywhere, whether you went to Germany or New Zealand or Egypt i would still suggest taking courses that were not engineering based." So im taking anthropology courses, poltical science, language, and globalization courses which all fall under the broad category of Global Studies.
On class i really enjoy is my anthropology course People and Cultures of the Middle East and North Africa. It is great to really talk about these issues in a classroom setting with students who really come form all over the world. I mean not only im I the American but we also have people from Europe, Egypt, Asia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, just a general mix of people. The more time i spend in that class the more I'm convinced that everywhere people act the same way. More and more I am beginning to think there is no such thing as culture. There are traditions, like yes we eat these things in this country and eat these other things in the country. We pray like this in one country and like this somewhere else. But in essence we all want those same simple things. What really separates people and their thinking is mostly just economical standing. Study abroad and all the packets i got from AUC kept talking about a culture shock that eventually i would feel. Yes i occasionally get frustrated that i have difficulty speaking with people but culture shock? I dont think yet there has been something that someone has done here that i just find unacceptable and i hope that i have not done something unacceptable to the people here.
I dont know how to explain it but sometimes i forget that im halfway across the world. Sometimes i look around and here what may or may not be Spanish i get confused and say wait no im not in Mexico. This idea that people are just inherently different and this will always cause a break, is just a lame excuse to not try and understand someone's motives. I have been watching the news from the New York times or Wall street journal or cnn and actually it just makes me angry hearing what thew news has to say about things going on here in Egypt or the Middle East. It is as if when i hear about the Middle East from people outside of it its like a whole different world with strange beliefs, ancient statues, and backward thinking people. Even when people talk about the US here (although i feel as if you get a much better discussion about US foreign politics here than even back in the US because people are not afraid to say hey thats wrong but that other thing was right).
Sorry for this sappy reflection but i was talking to some friends who were home sick and maybe its just because i am always away from home when im at school anyway, but i dont wake up thinking this is Egypt everything is different, I get to class and when the janitor says good morning to me by saying Sabah al-Kheer thats when i remember oh ya im in a different country.
On class i really enjoy is my anthropology course People and Cultures of the Middle East and North Africa. It is great to really talk about these issues in a classroom setting with students who really come form all over the world. I mean not only im I the American but we also have people from Europe, Egypt, Asia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, just a general mix of people. The more time i spend in that class the more I'm convinced that everywhere people act the same way. More and more I am beginning to think there is no such thing as culture. There are traditions, like yes we eat these things in this country and eat these other things in the country. We pray like this in one country and like this somewhere else. But in essence we all want those same simple things. What really separates people and their thinking is mostly just economical standing. Study abroad and all the packets i got from AUC kept talking about a culture shock that eventually i would feel. Yes i occasionally get frustrated that i have difficulty speaking with people but culture shock? I dont think yet there has been something that someone has done here that i just find unacceptable and i hope that i have not done something unacceptable to the people here.
I dont know how to explain it but sometimes i forget that im halfway across the world. Sometimes i look around and here what may or may not be Spanish i get confused and say wait no im not in Mexico. This idea that people are just inherently different and this will always cause a break, is just a lame excuse to not try and understand someone's motives. I have been watching the news from the New York times or Wall street journal or cnn and actually it just makes me angry hearing what thew news has to say about things going on here in Egypt or the Middle East. It is as if when i hear about the Middle East from people outside of it its like a whole different world with strange beliefs, ancient statues, and backward thinking people. Even when people talk about the US here (although i feel as if you get a much better discussion about US foreign politics here than even back in the US because people are not afraid to say hey thats wrong but that other thing was right).
Sorry for this sappy reflection but i was talking to some friends who were home sick and maybe its just because i am always away from home when im at school anyway, but i dont wake up thinking this is Egypt everything is different, I get to class and when the janitor says good morning to me by saying Sabah al-Kheer thats when i remember oh ya im in a different country.
Dude just the other day I was thinking the same thing. People that I meet here in Korea are just like the people I know back in the States. We're not different at all, it's just people here eat different things and have more influence from Confucian thinking. They speak a different language too, but once you dissolve that major barrier you begin to see we are all incredibly similar. I have yet to experience culture shock too lol I've been here almost a month and the only thing I ever had trouble adjusting to was recycling drink cups and lids and straws. The world is a pretty strange place.
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