Michael Piccione
February 5, 2010
In this day in age, cross-cultural skills, communication, innovation, and critical thinking are becoming increasingly important as the world is made smaller by an increase of international relations, business, and trade. If one has these skills needed to be involved with such interactions, they will be at a great advantage for several careers and opportunities to come. In this consistently changing world, I would like to acquire these skills so that I might open myself up to several career opportunities in the future involving international relations, and so I can approach unfamiliar cultures with an open mind and with awareness and respect for the cultural diversity that exists globally.
Going to China on an international tour for 14,000 minutes will both broaden my horizons and open my mind to new possibilities, and it will give me a taste of just one of many unique cultures that I am completely unfamiliar with. Cross-cultural skills are more and more important with every day that passes. Gone are the days when people live their entire lives in the same place, never leaving the country and all the while having limited interaction with other cultures and people. The more culturally experienced you are today, the better. While I am very familiar with some aspects of Western culture and the culture that I was born into (Italian-American on my father's side of the family and Portuguese-American on my mother's), I still do not even understand the cultural traditions of some parts of my own country. Traveling to China, which is in most respects VERY different than the United States in terms of religion, language, and cultural practices, will expose me to a completely different picture. I will admit now I know little to nothing about China, and I don't know a single word of Chinese. What could possibly improve my cross-cultural skills than dropping me off in a country I know little to nothing about? Nothing, and this is why. Anyone would be uncomfortable at first if they had to adapt to another culture's way of life for a number of days, but in no time that very person will see things they've never seen, taste foods they've never tasted, and see things before their own eyes that may not have any meaning to them but have meaning to someone else, and there is much growth that can result from entering another culture with an open mind. If I do go to China, I will hear words I do not understand, and I will eat foods I cannot name the components of, and I will have to find some way to communicate and to get by every day without resorting back to my American ways. I will have to learn enough Chinese to communicate on a basic level, and since I will not be able to cart my refrigerator all the way across the globe, I will have to eat authentic Chinese food. I can guarantee I will grow tremendously from the experience. I want to go to China not as an American that wants to be spoken to in English by the locals and who will eat at American restaurants, but as someone with an interest in learning about the ways of life of another country. Exposing me to the Chinese culture will improve my cross-cultural skills because by the end of the experience I will have learned how to adapt to a culture that is not my own and embrace the differences and at the same time, notice the similarities that exist between their culture and my own, embracing the similarities as well. This will open MANY doors for me in the future. I want to work for the United Nations and I will need to be as knowledgeable about many cultures and I will need to know how to speak several world languages, including Chinese. Dealing with people of other ethnicities and cultures on a regular basis will be much easier for me if I have the skills needed to understand the background from which they come, and going to China will open my mind and help me to understand the world better as a whole.
In addition, my innovative skills will improve because every day, I would be exposed to something new and unfamiliar. As I stated above I know NOTHING about China other than the fact that it's capital is Beijing, 1/4 of the Earth's population is Chinese, and the Great Wall of China stretches along the northern half of the country. This means that there is just that much more for me to learn while I am there and that much more that I can immerse myself in and expose myself to. Everything will be new to me. I will be trying a new food every day, and I will hopefully learn about daily customs and learn to embrace them while I am there and enjoy the experience. Not only will my communication skills improve because I will need to know enough Chinese to get by, but communication is more than just speaking. Communication also includes etiquette and behavior. Not every culture has the same standards for etiquette and when communicating with someone from another background, it is necessary to be respectful and understand the way in which that culture expresses itself through gestures, motions, and movements as well. It is so easy for me to say that I understand that etiquette and what is considered appropriate behavior differs from one society to the next but having to modify my own behavior to meet another culture's standards will help me understand so much better. First-hand experience is ALWAYS better for learning.
Traveling thousands of miles away from home without my family and in an unfamiliar culture will also help to build character and to improve my survival skills. Not too far in the future, I will be going off to college, and I will be with completely different people than the ones I know now, in a completely different environment. Going to China for a number of days, far away from home or anything/anyone I know, will make me a more independent person and I will learn to adapt to change. When I actually DO go to college, my comfort level will be much higher and I will be less afraid of being far from home. If I do end up working for the United Nations, I will likely have to travel far and wide. I won't have my family to fall back on every time something may go wrong and I will need to learn to survive in another culture and get around on my own. Communication skills, cross cultural skills, and innovation will help me in EVERY aspect of my life in the future, whether studying abroad, in college, or at a job. The skills I could learn in China could help me anywhere else because once I can be comfortable in unfamiliar surroundings, I will be able to approach so many more situations with an open mind, free of the anxiety that often comes with unfamiliar territory, both figuratively and metaphorically. My interactions with people in China will benefit me because regardless of our cultural, linguistic, or ethnic background, people deep down are very similar, and people are capable of feeling the same emotions.
If I do get to go on this trip, it will probably be one of the scariest experiences of my life, due to my unfamiliarity with the Chinese culture and my uncertainty about what lies ahead. I have so many questions; What would I eat? What would I do if I didn't like the food? What if I am not received well by the locals because I am a foreigner? What if there are creepy bugs and scary animals? At the same time, even with my doubts, it will be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life because I will find the answers to my questions, and I will need to learn to find a way to overcome my uncertainties and use critical thinking to solve any problems that arise. I will realize firsthand that the whole world is not like the town where I have lived most of my life, and I will see that everyone is a foreigner somewhere else. I will better understand the struggles and concerns of foreigners in the United States. I will build the courage and the strength to get on the plane to fly there, and will do everything I can to make the most of the experience, by embracing the local customs, learning as much as I can about one of the Earth's most populated countries, and I will build the skills needed to make my future what I want it to be. And when I return and come back to my rather isolated peninsula of Cape Cod, I will have so much more insight and self-awareness and will know where my strengths and weaknesses lie, and I will be able to say, I took a risk, and I grew as a result.
I wrote this essay because I want to win the trip to China this summer, and when I was told that an essay needed to be written and that one student from Sturgis is a guaranteed winner, I thought I would give the essay a try. Travel is important to me for a number of reasons that I explained in the essay; I find world cultures and the study of different languages very interesting, and one of my dream jobs is with the United Nations or to be involved in foreign business/trade or foreign relations, so as much worldly experience as I can get while still in high school, the better. I feel like if I get to go to China, it will open my mind and help me to see the world on a larger scale and its diversity. I chose learning outcome 6 (issues of global importance) because I will be traveling to somewhere unfamiliar and if I increase my own understanding of the world, it will help me to make the world a better place by being one more understanding and open-minded person who is open to other people from different places and backgrounds, and by doing this I will have done my part to make the world even a little bit more cooperative. Even if I don't win the trip, I still will have gained the knowledge of my own goals in terms of increasing my understanding of the world, so I will be able to fulfill these goals whether I travel or not. I chose learning outcome 8 (developing new skills) as well, because the traveling will be a new experience for me in which I will seek the skills I outlined in my essay, and I will do my best to come home with as many new skills as possible, that I can apply every day in my life. Whether I win or not, other opportunities will hopefully come my way to see the world, but if I do win, this will be a very beneficial experience for me that I will embrace wholeheartedly.
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