My STEP Signature Project was the Multicultural Histories and Legacies of London and Paris study abroad trip. This experience combined all we learned in our spring course about service-learning, different cultures, people, and religions, and global issues into one. We started the trip by spending eleven days in London, and then finishing off with ten days in Paris. We did loads of sight-seeing and touring, but we also volunteered at the North London Action for the Homeless Shelter, met and spoke with the British League of Muslims, and took a tour of the Grand Mosque in relation to our topic of immigration in Paris.

Big Ben

I learned so much more than I ever expected to about different people, different cultures/religions, and most importantly about myself. I learned to navigate around language, different forms of transportation, and I became so much more aware of the challenges that people who have different backgrounds than me face.

I have gained such a deeper appreciation for the benefits we have as Americans, like freedom of religious and cultural practice. I think visiting the Grand Mosque in Paris was a perfect example of how two cultures and religions can come together to exist in harmony within a community. Paris, coming from a Catholic, monarchical history, showed a great amount of religious and cultural diversity. After seeing Muslims practice Islam freely in the Grand Mosque in Paris, it proved to me even further that everybody is the same and going through similar things. We all have our own religions, cultures, and practices, and it should not make us any different from the next person. Seeing these oppressed people practice their religion freely really made the trip so much more personal and real to me because I was able to firsthand experience the things that we only read about in newspapers and hear of in class. Thus, recognizing the privileges I have as an American was pivotal in my transformation of becoming a more cognitive and understanding citizen.

Jumping for joy in the rain at the top of the Eiffel Tower

A time where I felt transformation taking place was during our visit with the British League of Muslims. I had walked into our meeting completely unaware of the issues that Muslims face in every day life. I knew they suffered from oppression because of the war, especially in regards to being profiled as terrorists, but I did not know that they suffer from way more than inaccurate portrayal. Muslims in the Middle East, and other parts of the world, are not even allowed to properly practice their religion and culture because of the oppression that they face. I had known little to no information on the Islam religion, so after talking with these smart, educated, and community-oriented Muslims, I felt as if I gained a new appreciation for the freedom to practice religion that we have in the U.S. I think the fact that we were talking with Muslims who work in the community to advocate for other Muslims who do not have a voice, really shows how strong these people are. I gained such a great respect and awareness for the Muslim community, and I really learned a lot about the oppression that these people face on a daily basis. I hope to continue learning about the issues in the Middle East, and how to be an advocate for Muslims in my own community.

After visiting Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, we volunteered at the North London Action for the Homeless Shelter. This experience greatly shaped the rest of the trip for me because it really opened my eyes to how people, no matter where you are, are all the same and going through similar things. We spoke with one man about the current elections and how he supported Trump because he reminded him of the mayor of London during the time when he worked with the Air Force in England. He explained how someone like Trump, with a knowledge of money management, would be able to turn England around and advocate some of the money from the wealthier to the more middle-class. Although I did not support this man’s opinions, it was so surprising to see that someone halfway across the world can have so much knowledge on something that is directly affecting us back in the U.S. Also, taking a moment of reflection after this service, I realized that these people at the homeless shelter are smart and invested in their community, and they all had jobs and hardships just like everyone else has. This experience gave me this sense of unity with people who are so different from me, simply because we were able to find common threads amongst us when talking about different topics and issues. This is when I realized that no matter how different someone from a faraway place in a completely different circumstance seems from me, we may be way more similar than we thought. This is why being a global citizen is important because it means we look out for each other, even if we may not be similar in culture, religion, political views, or appearance.

Besides these multicultural experiences, another highlight of the trip for me was getting to know my classmates and teachers. I learned how to better work with others, sacrifice for other people, and be a better friend/ally. Even if it was a small act of going to a cafe that did not have any food that I wanted to eat, if it meant the group would be happy, then I was fine with it. I think this really demonstrates how the community, and how global society as a whole should be. We should better work towards the goals of the group, the community, and the world, rather than being selfish and not helping our fellow man. This trip was the experience of a lifetime, and I had an amazing time getting to know everyone on the trip, people of other cultures and places, and myself.

#WeAreParis

Silly faces at the Catacombs

In regards to my academic life, I hope to continue meeting new people and finding similarities amongst one another. As a Dance major, working with people is the entire basis of being a dancer, so being able to better understand where someone comes from and how they operate is very beneficial. This is especially helpful in my professional goal of becoming a dance teacher, since I will be able to navigate how to work better with people of all backgrounds, ages, and so forth. In terms of my personal life, I hope to meet new people and find commonalities between us because that is how some of the very close friendships I have made formed during this trip. Even if it is a small commonality, like sharing the same name as someone, practicing these interactions with people who are different than me has opened me up to a plethora of new knowledge and experiences.

This trip was so valuable to me because it really fueled my love of knowledge, traveling, and educating. I hope to continue traveling and learning about different places and people because I have gained such a hunger to learn and stay up to date on global/current issues. I cannot wait to utilize the things I’ve learned in my every day life, and to teach others. I think the greatest thing I have taken away from this trip is learning how to just talk and spend genuine time with people because that has taught me much more than a chapter in a history textbook has.

Stonehenge

Soaking in the sun at the Louvre

Seeing A Midsummer Night’s Dream