What are the stories that you want to tell? What are the stories that reveal your growth in your own intercultural competencies? What are the stories that were most meaningful for you about your time abroad? In a blog post recount your conversation. What advice were you given during your meeting? How you are thinking about continuing the growth you had during your study abroad semester now that you are back on campus?
Two themes arise for me when I reflect on my time in Copenhagen, and I want my stories to demonstrate those. The first is the fact that my goal for my semester abroad was different than most people. I didn’t want to travel around Europe. I didn’t even travel around all of Copenhagen. I didn’t seek to make a lot of new friends. Instead, my goal was to connect with and invest in a relationship with my host family. And I completely accomplished that. But I don’t want to just say that. I definitely want to communicate that with photos and stories that show that. The moments that I remember most vividly were finishing the half marathon with my host dad, or late night conversations with my host mom about faith, or playing Fifa with my host siblings. Inherently, there wasn’t anything special about the moments, but it was the accumulation of them that made the experience so special.
The second theme has to do with my growth in my intercultural competencies. The underlying approach during my entire time abroad was flexibility, and I intentionally leaned into being flexible. Six hours after landing in Copenhagen, I found myself locked in the bathroom, sitting on the ground, on the verge of tears because I was overwhelmed with the fact that I was so far from my family, and I was already experiencing culture shock. But I recognized the moment as a deciding one that would define my attitude for the rest of my four months in Copenhagen, and I chose to lean in. Flexibility is not my main mode of operation, but with each passing day in Copenhagen, I sought to be a little more flexible and step a little further out of my comfort zone by testing the new language, seeking new cross cultural experiences, or simply saying yes to whatever new adventure my host family had planned for that day.
These are the things that I want my collection of stories to communicate about my time abroad.
In response to my stories, and when I was being more honest about my re-entry experience, my mentor instantly asked if I was taking enough time to process the experience. I sheepishly explained that I probably wasn’t taking quite enough time. He recommended that I really lean into this experience, especially the final project, because he said that often the reflection on the experience can be just as powerful as the experience itself. It can sharpen the lessons, and help to re-live and re-love the experiences that I had!
Going forward, I want to continue this theme of flexibility. Even back at Tulane, and in my life post grad, I want to be a little more flexible and step a little further out of my comfort zone each day. I want to seek new cross cultural experience. And I definitely want to say yes to whatever new adventure my life throws my way.
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