Adam Spiesman STEP Reflection Post- Global May Great Britain

My STEP signature project was the Global May Great Britain where we immersed ourselves in the culture of the UK. Through this education abroad experience we took a class highlighting the culture, history, and literature of Great Britain and how it connects to life today. This experience gave me the opportunity to explore the UK and learn about the opportunities offered by a global city such as London.

Going into this project I was expecting the culture of the UK to be like that of the USA because languages were the same and the US started as a British colony. This was easily refuted from my first day in London and many times throughout the trip as I experience what it meant to live in a global city such as London. As I had the opportunity to travel across the UK and discover the different cultures and gain a more global view in my own life. This Trip also challenged myself to get out of my comfort zone and try a variety of different things and be able to be a part of the many different cultures I experienced.

One of the most profound differences between the cultures was how drinking was treated. In London, many people are busy working all day and instead of heading back home most people went to a pub directly following work. In comparison with American culture its very different because generally people don’t drink until later in the evening and a generally less responsible with it. I believe this casual piece of their culture is attributed to the younger drinking age that they have had for many years. This also showed itself in football culture that I experienced at the Arsenal match. What I expected from the match was much like the Columbus Crew games that I have gone to plenty of times in Columbus. This was very different as many people were just leaving work so they showed up wearing suits and maybe a scarf supporting their team. With their drinking, they would start as soon as possible after off work so they could have their fair share before the game. From the people I had talked to at the game it seemed that they could head home after work to get more comfortable and change but going to the pub before the game was part of the experience that took more priority than changing out of clothing from the work day. This was greatly different from the football (soccer) games in America where almost everyone is wearing a jersey or something supporting their team and almost no one is wearing suits. This was a very different phenomenon I wasn’t expecting when going to the game but it adds an authenticity and a bit of culture to the experience of the premier league games.

Similarly, between the two countries I noticed that in London they treat tourists and foreigners much like many do in the United States. Being a tourist myself this may be a biased view having experienced it happening to me. In many pubs and restaurants I noticed that since we were easily identified as Americans that we got lesser service than the British customers and when they believed we were out of earshot they would start to talk about us. This happened to us many times in various pubs and restaurants and I thought it was very rude but then asked myself, how different is this from what we do to tourists in America? From my various family vacations across America I’ve noticed this same trend toward tourists from other places visiting our country. It is a different experience having it happen to me as opposed to experiencing it secondhand, but it will make me more conscious if I ever see it in the future.

These few similarities and differences show many of the things that make visiting each of these countries unique. Though they have many similarities each country has their own authentic culture that can’t be matched by any other place in the world. London’s culture is unrivaled by cultures in America and vice versa. It does show that though each culture is unique, you can find similarities between them.

Through the month in London I was able to adapt and pick up bits of culture that I could blend in as a Londoner. I took a long time but on the last excursion as a class in Camden Town I was able to blend in well enough that the vender I was talking to asked what part of London I was from, so naturally I named a random tube spot that I remembered and gave him that area to keep up the act. It took the course of the entire trip to get to that point because there are many things that go into carrying yourself as a Londoner. The first challenge that I was able to overcome rather quickly was navigating the tube. From the first day, I believed that getting around the tube would be my biggest obstacle but it turned out to come much easier to me than I anticipated. By day five I was confident enough to take the tube myself because I anticipated my missing luggage to be at London center (when in fact it wasn’t). Navigating the tube was a learning curve the most challenging was seeing how others carry themselves on the tube and being able to learn how they act. Much of it was having headphones in, being quiet, and not looking at others. Originally I thought the tube would be much like taking the metro relying on my experience of traveling to France. Though it was a different experience the nuances of how people act on the tube was like the metro and helped me have an edge to mastering blending in on the tube. Mastering this non-verbal communication was not easy but through the many times taking the tube I was able to adapt over time to blend in as we traveled from place to place.

Though the UK and America speak the same language many of the words we would use daily are very different from what is used by British people. From the beginning of the trip it was difficult to adjust to not saying “thank you” as much as I normally do. Back at home I generally say thank you after various interactions with people to be polite to others. I realized one of the differences between the UK and America is that instead of “thank you” many people will say “cheers” instead. This was one of the harder things to adapt to in my time in the UK because it was almost a reflex to say “thank you” that I didn’t think about it when doing so. This was just one example on how I adapted my way of speaking and was more conscious of what I say as the trip progressed.

Throughout the trip I challenged myself to act more like a true Londoner and adapt to get the most out of my experience abroad. Through breaking some of the cultural barriers and in some ways acting in ways that were unfamiliar to me but made me seem “familiar” to those in passing. At times, it was very difficult especially when in the large group of all our class, it really made the trip more eye opening and helped me to understand the culture of London better. Through this challenge I was able to better function effectively in Britain and easily overcome many of the obstacles that others in the class may have experienced and struggled with.

The final question remains as to how I can use this experience going back home and in my life moving forward. It was obvious from the start that this would be quite the transformational experience for me as this was my signature project for the S.T.E.P. program but I was still unsure as to what that would mean to me moving forward and going onto the trip. Before the trip a few of the things I thought I would take from this experience is more independence, cultural awareness, and a big step in my preparation for adulthood. For independence and preparation for adulthood I expected the trip, though it is with others, it has the right amount of independence that will help as I grow older and begin doing more on my own. Traveling internationally alone for the first time, relying on myself for food, and managing my personal finances for the trip certainly helped with that.  In my first week back in America I moved to Columbus on my own and started working over the summer and living on my own. I have already noticed how this trip has helped me living on my own with planning out my expenditures and keeping account of what I want to do through the week and how I plan to do it.  I can use these experiences as I move further into my adult life and begin to manage more with a job and life after school, fitting into Ohio State’s mission of “education for citizenship”.

One area I expected to gain a lot from this trip is cultural awareness. As I went and immersed myself in a different culture I thought it would give myself more awareness as I came back to the United States. Being aware of the other culture that I lived and played a part in over my time in the UK can help me as I come back to the cultures here at home and relate to the experiences that people have as they visit the United States. As explained above it will help me to relate to the tourists that visit here as I notice how we treat them and recognizing some of the struggles that they may go through. Being culturally aware is something very valuable when in such as diverse environment such as Ohio State and the Columbus area. Columbus has a large refugee populations from places such as Somalia so being more aware of the different cultures in this area will help me be a better member in the community when it comes to issues that effect that population. This will also help me in years to come when faced with cultural differences in new communities I may live in as well as future career endeavors.

The biggest reality that hit me from this trip started from our first class session talking about the idea of a global city such as London. It was mentioned how many Ohio State alumni live and work in London because of the opportunities that come from a global city. This resonated well when reading and discussing “Lonely Londoners” and getting a glimpse into how immigrants view the opportunity that London was able to provide them as they had to leave their home country (even though it was a struggle for many including Moses). This type of thinking made me think more about the opportunities that may be available for me in other countries with studying chemical engineering. This trip made me think more internationally about my plans for the future with internships and employment as I move further through my time at Ohio State. Gaining a global perspective for job and internship opportunities allows for a broader spectrum of different experiences that could help me by gaining an edge having global experience in my field of interest.

Through the entirety of this trip I had one goal and that was to make this trip a transformational experience that’ll last a lifetime. Many times, when tired or lazy I would think back on this goal and push past personal struggles and gain the most from my experience. From facing jetlag on the first day, to fatigue from running up a mountain in Wales, and even doing readings to prepare for class; having a goal at the center of this entire trip lead to the many experiences I can draw from as I finish my time in school and go on from there. In achieving this goal I made countless relationships and had countless experiences that I know I will look back and learn from for the rest of my life.