FCOB Operations Global Lab

• Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project

From May 5^th to May 20^th, 2017, I participated in the Fisher Global Operations lab in Mainland China and Hong Kong. It was a period of self-discovery, professional development and cultural empowerment.

• What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project?

I am originally form a small country in West Africa and being able to experience the African Culture, the American culture and the Chinese culture has been a tremendous experience. One major assumption that I had before my trip was that homogeneity in skin color was prevalent to some aspect of the rest of the world at least in China.; I had a belief that the rest of the human population are aware of the other diversity in race that exist in the world. I was surprised to witness the amazement of some of the citizens in China had with my skin color. In fact, I received multiple stared from the strangers; people were taking my pictures with and without my consent. It was overly interesting because with China being such a big economy, I had expectations about the cultural awareness of the member of the Chinese society. This behavior was more prominent in the smaller cities we visited during our time there and lesser in Shanghai and Hong Kong (which are among the few cities we visited). Nevertheless, I was surprised to see the lack of diversity in such a country as I was 95% of the time, the only black person in a ten mile radius.

• What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discusses in #2 and how did those affect?

Being able to immense myself in the culture allowed me to truly feel what it means to live in China, One particular interaction that led to this transformation was the use of public transportation. This may seem odd but public transportation truly allowed one to be one of them. It allow you to see the habitants, how their interacted with each other and how they interact with a foreigner. It truly gave me the opportunity to fully experience the Chinese culture and be part of their daily routine.

One specific event that led to this change was when I visited the Great Wall of China in Beijing on the last day of the program. I always felt the stared, saw the cameras but it was very overwhelming when at some point, there were over twenty people lining up and trying to take a pictures with me. To be frank, it was frustrating at first but I soon figure out, this behavior was due to curiosity and not racism. It was weird to be the only, but it was great to be able to educate few individuals about the diversity in the world.

My relationship with my roommate throughout the whole trip played a role in this transformation. My roommate is Chinese and originally from Shanghai and became my protector during our time. She took it upon her to fend me off strangers, called people out when they were staring at me and had to explain my hair style when it was questioned. In some ways, she help me understand that they meant well and that me being black was fascinating to many of the Chinese as black people are scarce in the country, and most of the continent. Overall, I loved my experience there and discovery that as a universe, we still have a long way to go to be all accurate across borders.

• Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life?

This transformation is significant because I have a better understanding of the Chinese culture and allows me to be a better person. During my two weeks in Hong Kong and Mainland China, I have a better appreciation of many of the things we take for granted in the USA such as free water, Wi-Fi and free public restrooms. To a deeper extend, I believe this experience will allow me to better interact with the many of Chinese students across our Ohio State Campus as I have a better understanding of some aspect of their lives and culture. From a professional standpoint, this transformation is significant as move up the ladder in the workforce. With increasing globalization and China being such a powerful nation, it is very likely that I will be working with companies that conduct business in that side of the world. This experience will allow me to better meet the need and expectations of companies/clients and be a better employee.