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Class of 2016
The lady at the cafeteria next door giggles affectionately as we fumble with our chopsticks; we get turned around more than once attempting to navigate our way back to the hotel via Chinese road signs containing Chinese characters; Travis and Connor have an audience each time they play catch on the university green and we are asked to take pictures with complete strangers nearly every place we visit.
As we have been fortunate enough to have Dr. Hua and student guides, who have not only translated, but directed us and gone above and beyond to help us acclimate, many of these instances have been comical rather than uncomfortable.
There are times, however, when being foreign is uncomfortable. Times when we are walking down the street and we are completely unable to understand the language being spoken around us (sans "hello" and "thank you") because it's so unlike our own, or when we are having trouble crossing at the crosswalk because the traffic lights and walk signs sometimes seem like more of a suggestion than law, or when we are stared at because we look so different. We feel vulnerable.
It is in moments like these, when we feel vulnerable, that I think of immigrants' experiences. Specifically those coming to the United States--coming for safety, or for family or simply to pursue the "American Dream." Now, I think it would be utter hypocrisy to try and compare our comfortable study abroad experience to their experience trying to live and thrive in a foreign country, but I do think those brief moments provide something, if only a slight glimpse into the immigrants' experiences. And hopefully with that slight glimpse, we can move to an increased awareness--awareness of the vulnerability, the difficulty, and the determination. And shoot, if anything, this increased awareness allows us to better understand the people around us.
Coming to China I knew we'd be studying Chinese politics and international relations with Chinese students at a local university, and I knew we'd have the incredible opportunity of visiting sites we'd only read about in history books; however, I never thought too much about the experience of being a foreigner, and that is what I believe to be invaluable.
Mary Elizabeth Young, of Louisville, Ky., is a senior McConnell Scholar majoring in English and Spanish.