The current world climate is greatly focused on global autonomy and cooperation. On a large scale, world politics and events are at the forefront. We can contrast this with our hometown experiences.
Both of us come from small towns. Most of what we hear is surrounding local gossip and politics, instead of what is going on in the world around us.
Being a global citizen means being able to take part and recognize both the struggle and triumph of other cultures. This includes being aware of world events and politics. When traveling abroad, it means understanding, appreciating and taking part in other cultures.
This is extremely evident in language barriers. Almost everyone we have interacted with on this trip has been, at bare minimum, bilingual. These people are able to communicate and understand people from all over the world. It seems that they understand how critical it is to interact with those outside of your own country and culture. Upon observing locals in the cities we've visited so far, we have come to the consensus that these people tend to be more of a global citizen. Most of the time, they seem incredibly knowledgeable about us and where we come from. The language factor is also massive. Almost everyone speaks at least two languages, if not more. They are able to communicate in our language, despite us being in their home.
Being a global citizen means being able to come into a foreign country and understanding that things are not the same as home. It is critical to be able to interact in another culture, leaving self-reference criterion behind, and not being ethnocentric.
Standing back and observing the group, it is interesting to compare to what extent each person is a global citizen. It is evident that some people have an easier time immersing themselves in a new culture. On the other hand, some others struggle to really get these differences. This is not a negative thing. Everyone's experience is different. It is a matter of how we have been brought up, the life experiences we've encountered, and the extent to which every individual understands cultural differences. .
We both feel that we are a global citizens on some level. However, we recognize that we have a long way to go to be true global citizens. Things like being multilingual, being more aware of history, and deeper understanding of culture.
Do you feel that you you've had a hard time adjusting to other cultures? What has been the most difficult part for you? What do you think you can do to be more of a global citizen?
xoxo
EJ
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| Even a poor man can dress well and influence the locals ~ Bratislava |
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| Budapest on a rainy day |
Very insightful take on being a global citizen! We think it is important for everyone to think globally, and travelling to Europe has only reinforced this belief. It definitely seems as if European citizens are more globally minded than us, or possibly even Canadians as a whole. We can think of two factors that might play a role in creating this outcome.
ReplyDeleteThe first factor that comes to mind is the proximity to other countries. Geographically, we live in the second largest nation in the world. The distance between Prague and Budapest is almost exactly the distance between Edmonton and Medicine Hat. Departing from Edmonton, a six hour train ride of the same speed as the one today would still not take us outside our country’s borders. Canadians have to travel a much larger distance than Europeans do to experience life in other countries.
The second factor we thought of was the European Union. Living inside a common market that allows for easy travel between member countries and reduces the barriers for citizens to experience other cultures. We have learned from locals that many of them travel to other EU countries for weekend vacations or even day trips. For someone not from an EU country, travelling abroad could be viewed as a once in a lifetime endeavour.
We feel we have done a better job at adjusting than we had originally expected. The biggest difficulty we have experienced would definitely be the language barrier, however it is not as prevalent as we thought it would be. Most of the locals we talked to in Vienna spoke English fluently and many in Budapest spoke French or English. It also seems as if they genuinely like speaking to us, which has helped with adjusting to the culture and reduced some stress of being unable to help for help when needed. We believe that if we want to further adjust to European culture, the first step we should take is learning some basic phrases in one or two of the languages we’ve encountered on this trip.
- Matt and Lindsay