1. DESCRIBE: The main challenge when you go abroad
for a year is basically a communication issues. What do I mean? I mean that
after a first semester you make a lot of good friends and then it is hard to
get on well with others. You feel that there are no better people that those
you met during the fall semester. I have noticed this issue even at Centria,
watching our exchange students.
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| Using my Polaroid to capture one of the best evenings ever:) |
2. INTERPRET: That issue might happen because
the new incoming students at the moment of their arrival have a lot of things
in common: they have just arrived, and they need to get used to the local
environment. They start to explore the environment and facing the challenges
together. That really unite them, as it had happened with me during the fall
semester. At the same moment, me and other “oldies” had already completed this
stage of acknowledgement.
3. EVALUATE: Speaking about locals regarding
this situation, they do not notice the split in the exchange group. They just
enjoy getting to know other nationalities and cultures. As for me, I became
really picky in terms of choosing people to talk to. I started to notice only negative
aspects of people. Moreover, two students from Centria had arrived in
Mondragon, so I started to feel more comfortable in my Centria squad. Now, I
can give a good piece of advice: never stick to the past.
Hi, regarding to your experience, I observed and went through the same issues in the host University. It depends on the characteristics of that person. When they want to expand the environment but they couldn't, and the others who didn't force or didn't like themselves to make relationship with the friend they didn't like, or thought they didn't need to. Also, if the main goal of the exchange program is to explore the culture and adapt new environment, experience to fresh area and new people are essential, then they should open more to people in order to achieve the purpose.
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