Beerbower: Learning about other cultures while living at home

It was a cold spring evening. Over a dozen Chinese students, visiting scholars and their families milled about my family’s almost-an-acre yard. A few young boys jumped on our trampoline with my younger brothers. Women stood around chatting about the garden in the fast-paced tones of Chinese. An adorable little two-year-old named something like Mau-Mau giggled and patted the cat. Communicating with a two-year-old is difficult at best, and with one who does not speak your language, it is even more so. But it is amazing how much one can communicate with smiles and gestures and speech, even if one cannot understand the words.

My dad and one of the visiting scholars father wandered below the trees and through the fallen leaves. Jabbering to each other, they pointed at things. Laughing and nodding, they talked on and on. The fact that they did not understand one word the other said did not faze them. They went on as if they were old friends.

Here at the University of Toledo, we have the amazing opportunity of being able to experience the world without having to leave the comfort of our own homes — or more often, our dorms, the Student Union or a classroom. Many international students, particularly Chinese and Saudi Arabian, come to study at UT, bringing the opportunity for students to experience their culture with them.

Imagine, especially if you have never learned another language, though hopefully you have, going to a country you have never been to, where you do not know the language, the culture or the people. Besides the difficulties of simply surviving, you will miss the comfort of a familiar language and easy communication. Would you not be delighted if a someone native to the country took an interest in you? But you will find that if you invest in a relationship with an international student, you won’t be the only one benefiting.

That day last spring, my family had invited the Campus Bible Fellowship International Bible study over for a potluck and bonfire. We enjoyed the authentic food: a delightful Chinese pancake, which was more like a tortilla, spicy fried vegetables, their ever-popular dumplings and, as always, rice. We also enjoyed watching them have strawberry shortcake for the first time. Some of them had it without shortcake, as they generally do not like sweets. At the announcement of ice cream, however, the irrepressible squealing showed that the appeal of ice cream does indeed cut across cultures.

Then we moved to the sandbox in the backyard and lit the wood for the bonfire. I think none of them had been to a bonfire before, and they were fascinated. We sang songs for them. They knew many American pop songs that my family did not. American pop culture is popular in China as well. When it was time for s’mores, they were eager to try them. Little Mau-Mau cupped a raw marshmallow in her hand for the first time. She took a bite and then stood staring at it wonderingly. Then she quickly ate up the rest.

Later, I heard from one of the visitors that the man my dad had talked with still talks about going to our house. Despite being unable to talk to any of us without someone translating, he said that visiting an American family was one of his favorite parts of his trip to America. My younger brother sometimes exchanges emails with one of the boys he connected with. When the boy showed pictures to his friends back in China, they questioned him. They envied him for having an American friend.

School always comes up in conversation, so I tried to explain homeschooling to women who are used to a compulsory system so different from American culture. For example, in China, sports (already usually limited to a few hours per week) are stopped for a few weeks before midterm exams. Teachers really push the students, I have been told by a number of women. “I think it is very hard for the kids,” they tell me. But the kids are very dedicated. They have to be because the expectations for school are so high. As young as eight or nine, a Chinese student’s life consists mainly of school with very little free time. While the women agreed that they don’t really like this arrangement, American students, who are idle in comparison, could learn a lot from this different perspective.

These are the sorts of things one learns while discussing culture with non-Americans. Enlightening, challenging, fascinating — these conversations broaden your mind to different ways of thinking and living. Perhaps you do not have the opportunity to study abroad. But you have the opportunity to study the abroad at home. Next time you come into contact with an international student, make a new friend and ask to join in each other’s worlds.

Jeannette Beerbower is a third-year majoring in English.