When a Semester Abroad Becomes a Journey of Self-Discovery

by Julia Mayer

It’s always the same: You’re new somewhere, whether it’s at a new school or in a new club, and you have to introduce yourself to others—Usually in the context of unpleasant icebreaker games. There are certainly people out there who like these games, but I’m not one of them. And I’m pretty sure the majority of people share my distaste in this matter. Is it about these games that makes it so unpleasant? Is it the fact that you tell random facts to these people who you may never see again? Or is it because all the other people have so many interesting things to tell and you just feel too basic, too normal, too average? For me I think it’s more of a problem that I often don’t know what to say at all. The disruptive factor is that it often goes beyond information such as name, age and origin. I am actually already overstrained by the question of what I do in my spare time. Would my honest answer be exciting and interesting enough?

This struggle reached its new peak when I decided to study abroad for a year in the USA here at Hamline University. The question “Tell me something interesting about yourself” overstrained me beyond measure. But it got even more complicated when it was not only about my interests and character, but also about my cultural identity. I was born and raised in Germany but how German am I and what does it even mean to be German? I have to admit that I never questioned this before in my life. But at such a point, thousands of miles away from my home, I inevitably had to deal with who I actually am.

What is it about a person that makes her unique?

In order to be prepared for all the questions people would ask me about myself and my home country, I prepared a set of answers in my head so that I wouldn’t have nothing to say in those situations. Do I really identify as a German person? Well, I have some character traits that are stereotypically German, but I don’t think that they actually apply to the majority of the German population. With that I mean being ambitious and organized, usually on time and self-critical. Of course, since you meet a lot of new people—starting in every class and ending with the working people in the cafeteria—I actually made use of my prepared answers. Interestingly, the more I talked to others about their interests and their culture, the more clarity I gained about my personal answers. When you are in a foreign country, you often find yourself in situations in which you compare the behavior of others to your expectations and the probable outcome of the situation in your home country. My conversations with other students from Japan and Vietnam made me especially aware of the great cultural differences between the western and eastern world.

Students are often highly encouraged to study one or two semesters abroad because it expands one’s cultural horizon and leads to personal growth. When I decided to study abroad, the significant factor for me was that I wanted to improve my English language skills in order to survive in a globalized world. The aspect of cultural exchange was initially rather marginal, and if I’m being honest, also a rather abstract concept. I guess you have to experience it yourself to understand what it really means. By now, I feel like having heard the other students talking about their cultural background has really shaped the way I perceive myself and the world around me. However, Even though I might know better now who I am, I will still hate all icebreaker games. Next time, when I have to face them, I know that I might be a completely different person as we as humans constantly change and develop. So in the end, the journey of self-exploration never ends no matter what country you travel to.