Comments on: A Black Woman runs in Haifa

By: jessica

jessica — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:24:45 +0000

I particularly enjoyed this article because I too am an African America female but of Haitian descent and have studied abroad. I lived in Antigua for about a year and a half to complete the basic sciences portion of medical school and now I am doing clinical potion in the US. Being a bio major at Northeastern, I didn’t really have time to (although I probably could have) studied abroad so I decided to do so in medical school. My experience had some similarities and some differences when compared to Moya’s experience. I can definitely appreciate the idea of students learning outside of the classroom and venture out to foreign countries and interact with so many different cultures. I could never have asked for a better experience. It gave me a new found confidence to know that I was able to make connections with people who looked like me but lived completely different life styles and had limited resources. One of the main differences between Moya and my experience is that I was able to witness my Indian, African American (non Caribbean descent) and Caucasian colleagues get taken advantage of. Not to say that Antiguans are racists, but I did notice that I would get some privileges being that my family is from the Caribbean too. Again, the whole experiences had ups and downs, but I would never change or replace it because I would never be able to learn about this culture from a book. So I would definitely encourage others to step out the box and take advantage of all the opportunities out in the world!

By: Swapna Rao

Swapna Rao — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:18:20 +0000

It’s amazing how much a hands-on experience can influence you, and oftentimes open your mind to other possibilities about yourself and your own career path.

By: Dawn Anderson

Dawn Anderson — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:15:20 +0000

This was pleasant to read. Ms. Bedward’s decision to change her project is an example of students returning from abroad with new perspectives, new focus and a determination to make a difference based on a new reality shaped by their experiences abroad. It appears that she switched from just writing a paper that would satisfy major requirements to wanting to explore a problem she has identified in her community. That is the part of self-efficacy.

By: Impact is the Point in Study Abroad by The Other Lobe of The Brain

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:44:51 +0000

[...] as part of a NAFSA Newsletter Not that long ago in this blog, a student and I wrote a post called “A Black Woman Runs in Haifa” about a shift in her perspective that occurred when she was on study [...]

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:43:20 +0000

Cassidy,
Thanks. I wonder if as a student who has done co-op and as an economist in training you could give us your reaction to the “other lobe thinking” that we argue underlies the reaction to her experiences? Do you see a parallel to the process where by people come to judge something is valuable? Maybe this is a reach to far.
-Jim

By: Cassidy Carlson

Cassidy Carlson — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:57:52 +0000

I really enjoyed reading this op-ed. I loved the theme of running and how this allowed you to see more of the surrounding area.