How did you cope considering the social and cultural differences?
Focusing on a target can make a social and cultural integration easier.
Focusing on a target can make a social and cultural integration easier.
Initially locals suspicious of foreigners, later on the foreigners were as many as the locals. Initially, I had to report to police if I changed my address (they were suspicious), but after a while one blends into the society.
I remember at one academic meeting I couldn't speak one word (overcome with emotion?). Eventually, kept working hard to achieve my goals despite the differences.
It is one of the best thing that can happen to someone if you are opportune to learn in more enabling environment than your default.I actually love South African Academic environment.You will be made to know that research is real and your human capital can be improved with ease.
Dear Abiodun,
Did you find it difficult to adjust to such academic environment?
Dear Emmanuel,
It is difficult at the beginning but with the help of the local - often international - community the situation becomes easier and easier. I lived mostly at student hostels and had many friends. We cooked and ate with each other, we learned our culture and recognised that we are the same in most things and relationships. The most important is to be frank and honest.
It is easy to adapt to a lot of changes in customs and traditions, but sometimes, that The others accept the presence of strangers among them is the problem
Living abroad whether for the sake of studying or working can teach us many lessons that can help us in many ways to integrate smoothly in any foreign country.Respecting different cultures and religions can surly help anyone integrate smoothly in any foreign country.
The environment was so challenging. I left Zimbabwe without leaving learnt any word in Dutch (the language used in The Netherlands a.k.a Holland). When I arrived everything was was written in Dutch. We could not read Dutch. Most of the people we met were not cooperative when it came to speaking in English. If you attempted to ask for anything in English they would quickly move away from you. Most could understand English but there was a lot of hesitation and reluctance to converse in English. In supermarkets we used observation of contents or pictures on packaging to know what we were buying before taking them to the till.
At University we were instructed in English but some of the lecturers had very bad English pronunciations so that we had to do a lot of processing before anything made sense. we left Holland having been used to bad English grammar than when we went there. But the content of those lecturers in terms of science was excellent
In a new environment, the open mind is the beginning of a fine international experience, therefore, we should not take anything too seriously.
Emma,
The academic environment was same, that was the purpose of external examinations like O/Level, A/Level, WASCE and so on. You are on same pedestal if you covered the syllabus The social/cultural environments were exciting because much were covered in history and geography. They ran like practical after years of theory. Besides, novelties were learnt also. Note that for young people, these add variety to education and made it less boring. Very exciting indeed.
Obianuju P. Umeji
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