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Jennifer Stevenson
Jennifer Stevenson is an Ambassador who studied abroad in India.
Briefly describe a specific cultural experience you had on your trip that made a lasting impression.
One day, as I tutored a child at the Loreto Day School, we came across the prompt "Cows like to eat _____." The book expected her to answer grass, but she confidently completed the sentence with, "Garbage!" This experience encouraged me to reevaluate my assumptions. I used to assume that grass was the only correct answer to that question, but garbage is more accurate if the cows referenced are those in Kolkata. Likewise, it never occurred to me that eating rice with fingers rather than silverware might be considered appropriate anywhere in the world, as it is in Bengal. As small as that one word "garbage" was, it opened my eyes to the validity of other perspectives. I grew up with a set of assumptions and beliefs about how the world works, but contrasting assumptions based on different experiences may be just as correct.
Why did you choose the program in which you participated?
I wanted to study abroad to learn about the world outside of Minnesota and to truly live inside a culture different from my own. The India program allowed me to integrate myself in a culture very different from what I knew by placing us with host families for the duration of the trip and allowing us to enroll in a class with Indian students at St. Xavier's College. As a future social studies teacher, the lessons I learned will help me to understand my students and to more effectively share the history and cultures of America.
Describe your overall study abroad experience.
My entire experience in India was unbelievable. Not everything was perfect, but even the struggles helped me to grow. We travelled around India to learn about the country's diversity and the truth of the statement that there are no absolute truths about India. In Kolkata, we lived with host families and studied at St. Xavier's College. The study abroad group became a family to me, and I made friends with classmates at St. Xavier's. If you want to study abroad, in India or elsewhere, do not hesitate to go.
How has the trip affected you? How are you different for having completed the experience?
This trip has taught me to love another culture and be aware of common and different experiences around the world. More importantly, it taught me to appreciate people for the human beings they are rather than thinking of foreigners as representatives of their communities. Throughout the trip, I was a white person and a foreigner, attracting stares for my unusual (in India) complexion. People asked me to share opinions about the Western world and India as a representative of Westerners. Back in America, I find myself more easily avoiding such conversations when interacting with people from outside of America and Americans with different life experiences from my own. It is far easier to recognize that, regardless of past experiences, race, or ethnicity, people are people first and foremost
What advice do you have for future Study Abroad Students?
Jump in and make the most of your experience in the moment. If you have an opportunity to experience something new, take it. One of my favorite memories was standing surrounded by Indian people while watching India's cricket team win the ICC Cricket World Cup in Mumbai. The atmosphere was so excited that I knew I was in the middle of a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Yet I could have never predicted when preparing for India that I would be able to experience that kind of an emotional high. So join friends if they want to go shopping or take a trip. Join a club or event on campus given the opportunity. You never know when you might experience an unexpectedly memorable moment.