Tune in to the inaugural episode of The Abroad Experience to hear some insight into different study abroad experiences. Covering topics from the beauty of studying abroad, tips and tricks, and lessons learned. Hear from two international students: your host, Silvia Hernandez from Spain, and guest Hussienatou Manjang from The Gambia.
TRANSCRIPTION:
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SILVIA: Welcome to The Abroad Experience Podcast, I’m your host Silvia Hernandez and in this show, we’ll explore the world of international education through different study abroad experiences. Stay tuned if you want to study abroad. We’ll uncover the highs and lows, tips and tricks, and a whole lot of practical advice, here, at The Abroad Experience.
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SILVIA: Hello everyone! I’m Silvia Hernandez and this is The Abroad Experience. […] Joining me today is Hussienatou, one of my good friends who I actually met during my first study abroad experience. How are you? And, where are you joining us from, today?
HUSSIENATOU: I’m good! And, I’m joining from London in the United Kingdom.
SILVIA: Well thank you so much for being able to join me today in sharing a little bit about our different study abroad experiences. Now I actually want to start off with how we met since this was back in 2015. We met at our boarding school, in Long Island, New York almost five years ago now. And, that was when I was a sophomore in high school, and you were a senior. And, now you’ve graduated from college, which is incredible. So, Congratulations on that!
HUSSIENATOU: Thank you.
SILVIA: Now, I know that our time at boarding school was special. But, I also know that that hasn’t been your only study abroad experience, right?
HUSSIENATOU: No, right. So basically, to be honest, my whole life I’ve been moving around. So, I guess you can count that as abroad experience. But the first voluntary study abroad experience I personally had, was in middle school. No, just kidding, it wasn’t even middle school, that was volunteer experience [laughs]. My first real study abroad experience was the 8th grade, I went to Canada for boarding school, and then from there I did another study abroad to finish high school, and then I came to the UK to do my undergrad.
SILVIA: Right, I mean, you’ve had plenty of experience with living abroad and at so many different stages in your life, it actually makes me wonder why did you study abroad? I mean, was this something that you wanted to pursue?
HUSSIENATOU: So, the first choice of going to Canada, it was because I had been moving around a lot. And, for myself and my parents, they wanted stability in high school, they didn’t want me to be moving too much. And, boarding school was what seemed to be the most appropriate option. So we looked around, like, we did a lot of research for different International schools that would accommodate us and have programs that could help further our education beyond high school, beyond middle school. So, we found this school in Canada called Columbia International College and I went there for 8th grade until 10th grade. And then I moved to Knox in Long Island for 11th and 12th grade.
SILVIA: And you talk about International schools, which, I guess, I had never really thought of it that way because our boarding school wasn’t technically an International school, right, it was a college prep school. And the majority of the students were local students from Long Island. So, I don’t, I don’t know if you encountered some sort of culture shock during your abroad experience, or at least during our time at boarding school, but I remember I definitely did at least when I first got to New York.
HUSSIENATOU: I would say, like, not culture shock, but, our of all my study abroad experience, Knox was the most different. ‘Cause like you said, it really wasn’t international kids, like, it was mainly American. And, growing up, even before my experience in Canada, I was always with – like, I always attended International schools. So I was always surrounded by other international students, we came from similar backgrounds, similar experiences. So for Knox, it was kind of a culture shock, like assimilating with American culture, which was like very different, you know? I had been exposed to it through movies, like through music, but never really living there. And, I guess, that was the major difference for Knox, because for them I stood out. We stood out, you know? It was like Oh! You’re from this place, and you’re from this place; when most of the people there were American. So, it wasn’t hard to assimilate because, like, Knox encourages this community of everyone interacting so they kind of try to have events to cause that interaction. So it wasn’t hard, but it was different for sure.
SILVIA: Yeah, I get it. I mean, for me, I had been to the US prior, and it’s a completely different experience living the day to day life when you’re abroad. I think for me, the biggest shock was actually a more subtle type of language barrier. Because, yeah, I knew English when getting there, but my vocabulary was nothing close to what it is now. I couldn’t understand any pop culture references, or slang, or any sayings or idioms. And so, experiencing that was definitely overwhelming. I don’t know if this is something that you’ve also experienced.
HUSSIENATOU: Yeah, I did. When I was first in CIC, my school in Canada, there were a lot of other international students. And a lot of them, this was their first experience leaving home, so people obviously feel comfortable speaking in their own languages. And, initially, it used to bother me but over time, I feel like now, wherever I am, I’m able to pick up on a language. Even if I don’t understand it, I’ll know like they’re speaking Danish, or they’re speaking German, you know. And then through that, like I was able to improve. I had a friend who was from Liberia, and they speak kinda like broken English, called Kolokwa. And, from her, now I completely understand it. I don’t speak it, but when she talks to me like I’ll understand it. And, yeah, I feel like you just, even though there will be language barriers, you just have to be open to learning. Even in Knox, we learned a little bit of Chinese, like how to say ‘how are you?’ or numbers, just little things like that. So, I feel like you have to be openminded and then you can overcome the barriers.
SILVIA: I think that’s a great way to learn. That’s why I always recommend anyone who can, to study abroad.
HUSSIENATOU: Yeah, for sure, I feel like in general, studying abroad forces you to become independent. ‘Cause you go to a completely new country, you’re surrounded by a new culture, you don’t know the people there. Like, you have to learn to do things on your own and figure things out. ‘Cause you’re not gonna be asking every day for the whole duration of your study abroad, how to get here or what to do. You have to start adapting to the environment you’re in. So, because I started in 8th grade, I was pretty young, I never realized how independent I became until I got to university. And that’s when I started seeing myself compared to the people in my, like who had just started. And, I noticed how far ahead I was mentally in that journey of going to college. So, I feel like it’s good, plus you get to experience other cultures. You get to just have more exposure to a lot of different things.
SILVIA: Right, of course, and like everything, it can be overwhelming, but pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is extremely rewarding. And, it’s not something that should be restricted to just studying abroad, this is something that we should all be doing on a day-to-day basis. But, I do think that an important aspect of living abroad is keeping in touch with your roots, you know, your family, your friends, your home. And so, I don’t know how you go about doing this, but I tend to call my parents and grandmothers as often as I can.
HUSSIENATOU: I try to make sure that even if it’s not a phone call that we’re constantly in communication through text, or like, on social media. And then, one of my coping mechanisms, like, it’s just a new one that I recently started doing. I created an Instagram page: @gambianbeaches where I just post pictures of back home, people send me pictures. And, obviously, through those interactions, it gives me that comfort of like constantly remembering home. And then, with the Instagram page, I’m always able to scroll up and down and see pictures, which makes me feel happy and at ease.
SILVIA: Oh my god, I absolutely love your Gambian beach page. I mean, you’ve created such an incredible community there, and you can clearly see how social media can be such an incredible tool to stay in touch with friends and family. And apart from this, is there really any advice that you would give your younger self if you could, or really, to anyone listening to this podcast that’s thinking of studying abroad.
HUSSIENATOU: Make sure you’re in contact with the people around you, ‘cause it’s really easy at the beginning, to kind of like fall into that confusion. Especially if you’re younger going into study abroad. For myself, when I first started I used to kind of feel like I was abandoned by my parents like I’m here by myself in this foreign place. Just make sure you keep in contact and don’t be afraid to ask questions!
SILVIA: Well thank you so much for joining me today Hussienatou, it’s been a pleasure. And, thank you for sharing what study abroad has meant to you.
HUSSIENATOU: Thanks for having me! Bye.
SILVIA: Bye, I’ll talk to you soon.
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SILVIA: Thank you for tuning in to today’s episode of The Abroad Experience. It was so great having Hussienatou join us to help shed light on some of the highs and lows of studying abroad, as well as some tips for those thinking of studying abroad, it could be you! We covered topics such as: coping with homesickness, assimilating to a new culture, and the beauty of stepping out of your comfort zone.
Before I leave you to your day, I want to remind you that studying abroad is a collection of moments, minutes, hours, and days that pass by in a blink of an eye. Between preparing for a class, and listening to lectures;
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Or figuring out your weekend plans, things happen. And, it’s in the mundane Wednesday, for example, that something in us starts to stir, that we start to tap into understandings bigger than us and our study abroad experience.
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It is the morning coffee with our homestay mother, for example, or the walk around a museum, or the fruit seller that you might visit every day after class. It’s the realization that you’re handling homesickness, that you’re pushing your comfort zone, and that you’re ready to face another unfamiliar day in an unfamiliar place. It’s finding something to learn about in every single moment. That’s where the best study abroad stories lie.
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SILVIA: To learn more, visit our website The Abroad Experience. More resources for you will be available there, alongside the Instagram that Hussienatou mentioned today. Thank you for wanting to learn something new today that you didn’t know yesterday! This is your host Silvia Hernandez, here, at The Abroad Experience.
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SHOW NOTES:
Guest Hussienatou Manjang moved to The Gambia after being born in Nairobi, Kenya. She is a recent graduate from The University of Kent (Canterbury) with Honors and a B.A. in Politics and International Relations from the University’s School of Politics.
Gambian Beaches Instagram Page: @GambianBeaches