Sadly, my experience abroad wasn’t abroad due to Covid-19, but I still got to meet interesting individuals from across the globe. My class was held by HAN University which is in the Netherlands, and they were teaching us cultural sensitivity over a two-week time period. The discussions were eye-opening and whatnot, but I really enjoyed the moments when I got to talk with my foreign classmates. The individuals that were in my group were from Britain, Germany, and Africa. Hearing their perspectives about everyday occurrences, such as commercials and stereotypes, shined new light and clarified the misinformation that I had about that culture.
One of the exercises the class had to do when starting the experience was to share three images you thought of when you thought of your country. Above are the three images I chose for this little assignment. When describing America, the ideas I decided to emphasize were liberty, sports, and fast food. I feel these ideas are extremely American because of how much our culture surrounds these concepts. As America was built on the idea of liberty for everyone, sports practically have holidays, and greasy food is a staple here in the states.