Multicultural Histories of London and Rome

Kayann Hoffman

Education Abroad Experience

My project included taking a course during the spring semester which overviewed topics such as service leadership and different cultures and identities. Then, during May, all the students in the class went abroad to London and Rome for one month. While abroad we did community service, went on countless tours, and had free time in order to explore the cities on our own.

While abroad on this experience, I learned a lot about myself. I learned about my ideas, my personality, and how I react to different situations. Coming into this trip, I knew that I was socially anxious, but I never really understood the full effect that this had on me until this trip. I learned that I need lots of time to process things that happen throughout the day and that I need time alone or in small groups of people. Being in a large group for the majority of our time abroad was exhausting. Most days I wasn’t for sure how long tours would last and this was extremely exhausting emotionally as well as physically. The first week, I wasn’t for sure if I was going to make it through the entire trip. There was too much group activity and not enough time to process it all. I think that this all was a huge thing for me to finally grasp. I needed time alone and I needed time for deep conversation with people who understood. In addition to this, my understanding of issues related to race, gender, and sexuality grew while relating these identities to our definition of politics (who gets what and when). Throughout the trip I noticed countless little things which sparked conversation with other people on the trip and through discussion, my ideas were challenged, broadened, and my understanding of the world grew.

The trips that we took while abroad taught me about myself and about the world. One specific instance that taught me about other cultures was when we visited the British League of Muslims. While many of the things the people there talked about, I deeply disagree with, I learned to listen. I believe that today, we need people who can listen and ask genuine questions in order to further their understanding of other people and different topics. I think today, people are often only listen in order to respond. While this was something that I really wanted to do during this session for various reasons, I was forced to listen and this allowed me simply to learn because that was all I was able to do. I couldn’t change their minds, but I could further my understanding of their beliefs.

I also learned that just because one person believes in one thing, does not mean that the entirety of the group that person identifies as believes exactly what they do. At the British League of Muslims, the group of older men that were talking had very different ideas and beliefs than the one college age man there. I was thankful for his presence in order to moderate their views. It made me think about how my views different from my parents and even more so from my grandparents, yet I still identify as a Christian. It has made me think more critically about the stereotypes that I’ve heard and it has made me aware of “the danger of a single story.” This has changed the way I look at news stories and has challenged some of the ideas that I previously held about certain groups of people.

Finally, going to main touristy places like the Trevi Fountain made me realize how difficult it is for me to be in places with a lot of people. The trip in general has made me realize that I only have a certain amount of social energy and that in order to make it through each day, I needed to come up with methods in order to conserve some of the energy. As the trip went on, I learned that hanging back in the back helped me make it through the day. I also learned that talking about the day and my observations with someone else really helped me process all of my thoughts in a healthy way. Not everyone needed to do this, but each day I needed this in order to completely recover from each day’s events.

I am not 100% for sure how this trip will impact my life. I know that in my life time, I want to have a positive impact on the world. I know that I want to initiate a change in society with will outlive my lifetime. I want to be the reason that someone else is able to be successful and overcome adversity. This trip has furthered my desire to have this impact because now I know that these issues are not only present in the United States, but they are present around the world and while I may not be able to change the world, I know that everywhere there are amazing people doing amazing things and I would love to become a part of that. I think a difficult aspect of this trip was we didn’t dive into one specific issue (homelessness, the education gap, or food insecurity), instead we looked at the whole picture and to me that seems daunting. Currently, at school I am involved in programs that allow me to have a positive impact on the youth of the Columbus area, but I still feel like I can do more. My major is special education and in regards to being a teacher, I now know what it is like to be in a different country and I can better sympathize with students who might be new to this country or even just the school. I also now have a drive to bring in more community service into my school in order to encourage students to take on leadership roles among these individual projects.