Cold weather is cold. Except when it’s not. When David Sigurdsson, 20, a soccer defender from Iceland came to Gonzaga, he couldn’t believe our definitions of cold and hot. With Iceland’s average summer temperature at 55 degrees, Spokane’s heat would seem sweltering. Weather. Body odor. Community. To international students, what’s normal in our culture is anything but. Here, four Gonzaga students share their experiences in a foreign land – the United States.
SAUDI ARABIA Khalid Alanazi, 19, Human Physiology When Khalid Alanazi arrived in the United States, he expected to see swaggering gangsters. Gun-toting isolationists ready to fight a foreigner at the drop of a hat. “My view changed completely since my feet touched the U.S. ground. Rather than seeing gangsters, I saw nice, smiling people,” he said. Still, he notices marked differences between the Saudi and American cultures. Generally, Americans drive carefully. In Saudi Arabia, drivers often act crazy, drafting behind cars on the freeway. “Here, more people are open to know you,” he said. “It’s not that hard for me to start a conversation with a stranger.” Even in greeting one another, though, cultural differences appear. When Saudis meet they show more emotion, raising their voices and shaking hands vigorously and frequently. Finally, a note about cologne. “In my country, if you went to a class in school, you will smell good smells everywhere because everybody is wearing perfume,” Alanazi said. Even during gym workouts, “we try to prevent our bad smell from spreading everywhere.”
LIBYA
ICELAND
Hend Addalla, 41, Leadership Studies Doctoral Program
David Sigurdsson, 20, Marketing
When Hend Addalla arrived in Detroit, she and her husband were pulled aside by border patrol agents. It was 2008, and they were on their first trip to America. Taken for questioning with other Muslim Arabs, she was angry and nervous. But since that rough arrival, she’s met many kind and caring Americans. “I no longer feel that I’ve been singled out because of my nationality or religion,” she said. Like Cabezas, she notes differences between a society based on the collective and one based on the individual. Social roles are strictly defined in Libya. Children stay at home until they are married, and adults are expected to care for their elderly parents. The best thing about America? The education. Addalla said that if she could adopt one aspect of American culture it would be the pedagogy found at Gonzaga. Specifically, she notes open mindedness, analytical thinking and group discussions.
Good weather is relative. David Sigurdsson knows. It’s fun, he said, to observe what’s considered a nice temperature here in Spokane. As if to complement the warmer weather, America also has more holidays. Sigurdsson looked forward to experiencing Thanksgiving and Halloween for the first time. Although there are many similarities between the two countries, things are bigger here. That includes cars, parks and the media. Twitter is more popular in America, although that is changing. The seafood-heavy diet in Iceland is quite different than the American diet. Sigurdsson has seen more eggs, bacon and hamburgers here, which is just fine with him. That’s in contrast to puffin, a traditional Icelandic fowl, and fish. So far, he said, everyone has been kind and helpful. Something from America he’d like Iceland to adopt? Turning right on red lights.
“Professors show respect for each individual and also regard them in a holistic manner,” she said. “From my educational experience in America I have personally benefitted in many ways.” One other thing: She’s noticed that Americans put a lot of time, effort and money into gardening. “The expectation of keeping a nice yard is very high,” she said.
WINTER 2014 | GONZAGA MAGAZINE
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