I decided to take this class after spending three months in Paris, France, during the gap year I took between my senior year of high school and my freshman year of college. I didn’t speak the language, and I didn’t have any understanding of the culture at all, which made my time there much more difficult than I expected it to be. The learning objectives of this course give me hope in that I aspire to be able to do many of those listed, including examining causes of intercultural misunderstandings, developing strategies that will help to adapt to life in a foreign country, and recognizing the role that culture plays in effective communication.

I didn’t expect to be able to check off any of the items on the novice intercultural competencies list, but there were a few that I can honestly say I occasionally succeeded in, including identifying specific locations to eat, purchase a metro ticket, or buy something I need; imitating appropriate greetings; and recognizing that gender and age can determine one’s role in a family, school and workplace. My goal is to eventually work in another country, which means that the items on the advanced intercultural competencies list, particularly collaborating on a project; filling out forms for visas, work permits, and registrations; and researching career options, are ultimately what I’m working towards, and I’m looking forward to getting one step closer by taking this course.