Follow the Links

I started out at U Roulette and the first website I was taken to was The Black Collegian Online: The Career Site for African-American College Students. As I scrolled down looking for the next link to click on, I was startled to see in their "College Updates" section on the homepage a picture and blurb about a girl I went to high school with. Basically it mentioned that she was an NYU graduate who studied abroad in Buenos Aires her junior year and was able to make connections that helped her get a Fullbright-MtvU Fellowship. As it turns out, while studying abroad she developed a deep interest in conducting research on Panamanian Spanish Reggae music and Afro-Panamanian identity. The entire article gave detailed information about her research, graduate, and post-graduate goals, as well as a link at the bottom for more information on the Fullbright-MtvU Fellowship. This took me to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs website, a division of the Department of State. I was then drawn to a link labeled "Citizen Exchanges" which turned out to be exactly what I thought it was. I learned that U.S. citizens (through nonprofit organizations) can take part in a citizen exchange program with a member of another culture in order to promote intercultural understanding and respect.

Personally I think this is extremely worthwhile idea, especially with the increasing amount of globalization occurring in our world. In many cases Americans tend to forget that just because we are the world's biggest economic power does not mean that we are the center of the universe. I think there are too many people who take for granted the opportunities Americans are afforded and forget that other cultures have different values than we do. It is important for us to take the time to recognize and respect those from different cultures in order to guarantee that we will be able to work together in the future. Even now, as we discussed in Dan Pink's A Whole New Mind, many U.S. jobs are being moved overseas, meaning that American businessmen/women need to gain intercultural communication skills and experience.