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Kathleen Bauer
Kathleen Bauer is an Ambassador who studied abroad in China.
Briefly describe a specific cultural experience you had on your trip that made a lasting impression.
Every Sunday, a fellow CSB student and I would get together with five Chinese girls and cook, shop, explore, and just talk about our daily lives. One particular Sunday, they rented a little kitchen and each of us cooked our favorite dish from home. We had the opportunity to then try dishes from many of China's provinces and share a bit about our own food. Watching them shriek and giggle as we made special K bars (marshmallows, cereal, and peanut butter combo was a totally new...and sticky idea) was a moment of pure happiness. It's amazing how much we learned from one another just by cooking together!
Why did you choose the program in which you participated?
Frankly, I wanted to go somewhere entirely different. Being that almost 1 in 4 people on this planet is a Chinese citizen, I considered it necessary to better understand their language and culture before calling myself a "citizen of the world." Little did I know how much I would learn!
Describe your overall study abroad experience.
China was a lesson in world perspectives.
China was a lesson in patience.
China was a lesson in adventure.
China was...beyond description, beyond understanding and thus wholly fulfilling.
How has the trip affected you? How are you different for having completed the experience?
I would say that above all else China gave me more self confidence. Not only did I go to China not knowing anyone from our group, but I also had limited knowledge of the Chinese language and culture. After making many friends from both CSB-SJU and China and accomplishing my daily tasks-like bartering for oranges on the street in China-I gained a supreme sense of confidence in my own abilities. I can go somewhere without knowing anyone and come home with friends and more fun experiences than I could ever imagine.
I also must add that studying in China offered me a more global perspective on my own country and on world politics. Getting out of my own "American" mindset about politics and beginning to truly understand how other people see the US was an informative experience. Their approach to politics and life in general is vastly different but strangely similar.
What advice do you have for future Study Abroad Students?
Whatever you expectations, they will not be met because you cannot even begin to expect the experience you'll have. It is amazing, educational, fun, and (yes...) at times wholly frustrating and perplexing. My advice: just go and commit yourself whole-heartedly to discovering your host culture. Have your own personal goals and stick to them. Don't think about what others think you should be learning about this new culture; learn in your own way and at your own pace. It is YOUR experience.