Category: Exchange Students

Youth often get underestimated. Our thoughts and opinions are often disregarded and we are seen as too young to effect social, environmental and political change. The reason I decided to apply to this program is to break away from that stereotype and prove that teenagers can help create prosperity in the world.

In an attempt to utilize all the energy I had as a child my mom encouraged me to immerse myself in activities like sports and dancing. By experiencing the highs and lows that come with playing a team sport like basketball, I have learnt the importance of participation and cooperation. As a result, I have become a person that my teammates can freely trust and rely on. In addition, having been a dancer for many years now has helped me to develop confidence and be able to put myself out there and take on any challenge that presents itself to me.

With my passion for learning and a natural drive to succeed, I can definitely see myself emerging as a leader. Since the beginning of my high school education, I have always been involved with my school’s extracurricular activities such as the student’s parliament, where I have presented many of my own ideas which have been realized. Some of those ideas include the clean-up of the school’s yard, adding more languages to the school’s curriculum, collecting money for the students who are not able to afford going on a school trip and many more. Moreover, joining my high school’s debate club helped me improve my critical thinking and problem solving skills as well as made me more open-minded to discussing different topics with my club members. Additionally, this year I became class president and have taken on more responsibility than ever before. Learning to be a person my classmates can always count on has been a challenge and yet, a really rewarding experience. Making everyone feel included and comfortable, as well as make them feel like part of a group of unique individuals is a top priority to me.

An experience that has helped shape me into the person that I am today is getting involved in volunteering work. Not only has it made me more fulfilled and happier overall, but also helped me meet some amazing and inspiring people. Adults, who have served as amazing role models to me, as well as my peers. Meeting and speaking to a diverse group of individuals has immensely boosted my social skills and my ability to build connections. Furthermore, I am incredibly proud of the work we have done as a group. Some of the projects I have worked on include planting trees in parks, picking up trash around Belgrade and helping organize basketball games for charity.

Getting accepted to your exchange program would be greatly beneficial for my growth as a student, and more importantly as a person. Getting to know more about the life of people in the United States and experiencing it first hand is something that fascinates me. Additionally, I believe this program could help me step outside of my comfort zone as well as help me better my English and become more independent. I am aware of the efforts your government has been putting into creating better intercultural relations between the US and Europe. Therefore, I am very interested in learning more about the different ways the relationship between Serbia and the United States could be improved. From my point of view, creating more international exchange programs is exactly the change we need to implement in hopes of getting young people to join the conversation.

My journey of building a successful life has only just begun. If given the chance to attend your program I hope to meet other young people that also dream of making a difference in the world and becoming leaders of tomorrow.

I am writing with the view to expressing my interest in exchange program in IT field at IUBH (University of Applied Sciences) University. As I have been involved in this area of study, both learning other countries’ experience in the field of IT (Information Technology) and making best use of it in my future career are very crucial for me. The exchange program which our university is offering is certainly what I have always wanted and it meets my all requirements and hopefully I will make contribution to the area IT in my country.

My purpose for applying to this exchange program is to both expand on my solid education and to create more opportunities for myself in the future as I mentioned above. My ambition and interests to create new things, math and physics made me learn them intensively and when I entered to one of the best IT universities in my country. We all know that the role of team-playing in the development of anything is enormous. And the role of open-minded people in that team is also huge and I have felt it even more while studying at INHA University, because the tasks given to me and the assignments given for teamwork all showed us that I think a team with a lot of people with different ideas is very likely to succeed. I am therefore interested in innovative projects that require more new ideas, the application of new ideas in the field of IT and teamwork through an exchange program organized in collaboration with your university. And I need to gain international experience in this field.

A lot of different situations happened during my work experience and university studies. And sometimes the team was in difficult situations. Such as missing deadlines, losing the solidarity among the team and the mistakes during organizing processes. And those situations nearly caused the team to split up. But I managed to help them to overcome these obstacles with my leadership skills, by showing them correct directions, distributing tasks correctly and listening each member’s opinions. And this helped us to reach the highest level among others at university when we took important projects.

My all efforts did not go unnoticed. Even inside the university my team and me finished our terms with good results. Our results did not go unnoticed either. Whenever a new idea comes to my mind, no matter how impossible it seems, I never think: ‘I cannot do it’. Because I am always confident that I am capable of doing what others can do. For example, I work in a small IT firm as a coder interm in my free time, and one day we were given a project which was absolutely brand-new to us and it was the first time we had had to do such a big project. Having seen it, team members working with me together thought that we didn’t manage to do it. But then I took the responsibility and understood what type of strategies we need and how to use them effectively. Finally, we achieved to complete the project successfully with flying colors. After that I was given a promotion and I got an official job in that firm for a limited period of time. Also in my opinion it’s time to level up to the next degree for my IT knowledge and the capability of working with team. I believe your university will certainly help me on the way to move on the next step.

Integration and diversity

This planet, socially and culturally speaking is becoming smaller, our borders are being erased a point considered a threat by many right-winged parties, it is easier for people and goods to travel further and cheaper which is great news for the service sector companies, we are able to share our knowledge and opinions more freely to the point some experts are arguing about a common moral compass.

I believe in a shared citizenship and common responsibility so in this paper it will be treated the theme of the relations between diversity and integration in an over-globalised world, how is it that we can keep up with diversity while trying to make people feel integrated within the society.

It is common that the ideas ‘integration’ and ‘diversity’ are utilized one in place of the other, thinking they are the same while depicting the multicultural environment of a nation. The contrasts between the two of them, however, are incredibly essential to the composition of a healthy society.

Integration is more than the Census numbers. It does not just recognise the many different racial and ethnic bases, it also acknowledges, energizes, and flourishes the multiculturality. Integration is always creating a situation where inhabitants don’t simply live in a similar postal district, yet they share their lives with one another, considering better co-habitation than co-existence. On the other hand, it is diversity that spikes social competency and comprehension of various foundations and viewpoints through the realisation of knowing that there are lot of contrasts, it does not help much to the inclusion of everybody in the society, making it a fragmented one. Furthermore, being culturally competent can only be developed when and if the people of a community cooperate with each other.

Following the path of integration.

The journey to integration is the journey from an ethnocentric mind to an ethnorelative one. Following Bennett’s teachings, it can be understood that the first one believes that one’s own specific way of living is normal, right or positive. It could be argued that ethnocentrism could be understood as social numbness. Ethnocentrism implies that one may see his or her own way of life as the right way of behaving. It the people who have not experienced different societies inside-out can be considered to be ethnocentric in the way that they feel that their lives are the most normal method of living and others are just strange or abnormal. Some cultures might be comparable or have similar thoughts or ideas, nevertheless, there are some people who might get stunned to encounter contrasts at the time of experiencing a situation with people socially not quite the same as themselves. An ethnocentric mind circulates around their own social viewpoint, which means they assess others depending on their experience and what they were most familiar with when growing up. The objective for the individuals who would like to turn out to be socially and culturally skilful or educated is to move from an ethnocentric to an ethnorelative viewpoint in which the point of view on culture is comparative with the circumstances they are wind up in.

Ethnorelativism believes that ‘societies must be comprehended comparative with each other, and that specific conduct must be comprehended inside a social setting’ (Bennet), it is the acknowledgement of the reasonability of other social edges of reference. An adaptable arrangement of social character makes the conditions for an enormous number and expansive assorted variety

A great writer about the theme of immigration and the integration of said immigrants is Doctor Mathew J. Creighton, he focuses on the causes and consequences of immigration and examines the reasons for intolerance, anti-immigrant sentiment and the implication of social incorporation for health inequality.

One of the only environments that comes to mind when thinking of a place with characteristics such as multi-ethnic, multicultural, multilingual and interracial, is the university.

Diversity causing intercultural contrasts

When reading about integration, the main place where I believe we should start is circling the question of what type of people are the ones that want to ‘fit in’ the society, who are those that we want to feel integrated?

A short answer would be that there are three kinds of people to whom the question applies to, the refugees, the expats and the exchange students. That is why by doing some research I came across with a phenomenon that affects almost every person on the different three groups even if their situations are far from having many things in common. Instead of comparing differences, I prefer focusing on their similarities, for even when their backgrounds are different, all of them will encounter difficulties at the time of living in a country that is not their own.

The phenomenon that all of them suffer is the Culture Shock. Before coming to university abroad, I was warned about this type of shock and didn’t give it too much importance, as it turns out, it was something real and quite serious. This phenomenon includes the sentiment of tension or confusion that an individual may feel when they are exposed to a totally new condition and as clarified by the WHO (World Health Organization) it is both a physical and psychological wellness concern experienced by numerous foreigners. The signs and side effects of social stun are, bitterness, dejection, despairing; aches and sensitivities; insomnia, want to rest excessively or excessively little; changes in demeanour, feeling helpless, feeling frail; unwillingness to cooperate with others; Identifying with the old culture or glorifying the old nation; Inability to take care of straightforward issues; feelings of insufficiency or frailty; developing harsher generalizations (later I will comment on them) about the new culture; longing for family; feelings of being lost, ignored… All these troubling symptoms has been described by Doctor Carmen Guanipa, she is an expert that has written interesting articles about the counselling process of immigrant Venezuelan families and their integration in the US.

This term englobes the absence of direction, the sentiment of not comprehending what to do or how to get things done in another condition, and not recognizing what is culturally correct or not. It settles in after spending some time in the new placement. We can portray culture stun as the physical and mental distress one endures when coming to live in another nation or space not quite the same as the space from which we come from. Regularly, the way that we lived before is acknowledged or considered as ‘normal’ differs from the expected in the new placement, the shock appears even when the person or group changes from a war-ravaged country to another in the opposite spectrum. Everything differs from what the person is used to, for instance, not being able to fully understand the language, not realizing how to utilize banking machines, not being able to use the same currency, etc.

Dealing with culture shock means having to face different phases because it is a gradual phenomenon one will not arrive at the new destination and immediately become victim of it but rather this phases or stages will be developing gradually in relation to some factors like the time spent in the destination. These stages will appear at various different occasions and every individual has their own particular manner of responding to them. It is probable that a few phases will be longer and more troublesome than others. Numerous components add to the span and impacts of the issue. For instance, the person’s condition of emotional wellness, kind of character, past encounters, financial conditions, if you know the language or not, family or potentially social emotionally supportive networks, and level of instruction. This means that it is not the same level of ‘pain’ for every refugee, expat or exchange student for they are not in equal situations.

Under the influence of intercultural contrasts

To represent how intercultural contrasts influence us, Oberg in the 60’s built up a chart delineating the different phases or stages someone experiences, with the variable Time on the X (horizontal) vertex and the variable Level of Wellbeing on the Y (vertical) vertex.

In the figure it is depicted the four key phases that depict the different emotional states of the people experiencing culture shock through time from positive to negative, having the highest well-being level on the upper part and the saddest on the bottom part respectively.

Figure 1

The main stage we unearth with is the ‘Honeymoon’ stage, in this phase the individual has quite recently arrived at the host nation and they are energized and euphoric for coming cross new things and experiences, much like the vacation after a wedding. The distinctions discovered between their country of origin and the new placement are simply taken as intriguing realities or beguiling characteristics of this new culture, there are no main problems during this stage so the individual has the sentiment of being there as a traveller, for a brief period of time and making the most of their getaways. The feelings are on the positive upper side and the state of mind is high. This stage tends to last two months, it always depends on the person’s situation.

After the first stage, we encounter the Disillusionment, this is the point at which the high hopes start to go down. It cannot be seen perfectly well in the figure, yet it is a long excursion until it has been wound up in a sorry situation of that valley. It is presently when challenges and staggering differences begin to show up when it is understood that you share basically nothing with the way of life of the host nation, you may feel fatigated of talking the entire day in a language that isn’t your primary language and effectively disturbed for any minor bother like not understanding somebody’s signals or conduct. The individual feels pining to go home and needs to return to their nation. The feelings bit by bit changes from a euphoric state of mind to low spirited and begin to have a negative view of the experience abroad. This stage tends to last around fourteen months roughly, but as before, it depends on the person’s situation.

The third stage is called the Acculturation, it goes far up from the base of the valley and it may be even more slow than the Disillusionment stage. It is now when the individual starts developing their mentality and understanding that those apparently large contrasts between the two societies are simply part of the result of a healthy globalized world, comprehending the real meaning of feeling integrated within the host country’s people. Once it has been understood and tolerated those distinctions, the individual starts to secure another ability of adaptability plus feels gradually better with the idea of meeting new individuals, eating their kind of food, speaking a previously different language and enjoying a diverse culture. With the feelings currently happens equivalent to in the past stage yet in turn around request, the go from low and negative to high and positive. From this stage until the end of the experience it doesn’t make much sense to attempt to give an exact duration to the course of events, for the contrasts between people’s situation shift the duration.

The fourth and finishing stage will be separated in two, a period of Stability (coloured in green) or a period of Re-entry (coloured in red). In the Stability phase, the feelings are totally under control, close to mirroring the code of conduct found in the host nation and feeling acknowledged as one of the locals. The Re-entry phase, is portrayed as an ‘opposite’ culture shock and it happens when the individual returns home for an extensive period of time or just forever and they feel like their nation of origin has not changed the slightest bit however it is them the one that has been transformed by their experience abroad. There are chances that a few numbers of people may feel like they no longer have a place in their country of origin or some other nation.

The positive aspects of intercultural contrasts

The manifestations of this phenomenon can show up at various occasions. Even though one can encounter genuine pain and anxiety from culture stun, it should also be bore in mind that it is additionally an open door for reclassifying one’s life goals. It is an incredible new opportunity for inclining and getting new viewpoints, doing a little self-examination of some shorts. Culture shock can help us to build up a superior comprehension of what is going on in your own mind and animate individual inventiveness.

Refugees, expats and exchange students will most definitely experience culture shock one way or another, feel it in different levels. But either way, it should be known how to deal with this phenomenon and face it successfully. A few different ways to battle the pressure created by it are, as recommended by Guijarro, F. (2018), build up a new side interest like a hobby or learning a new skill or language, keep in mind your goal, the reason why you are in the strange new setting. Keeping in touch with members of your own ethnic gathering might be useful, this will give you a sentiment of belonging and it will decrease your sentiments of estrangement, I found out that volunteer work exercises made my experience easier because it lets you to rehearse the language that you are learning and it will help with feeling less worry about language and meet new people. It is also more than okay to miss your family, friends, partner and so on, having that kind of distress will make you stronger and help you realise how loved you are. Lastly, asking for help is always recommended, there are people out there that has lived that same experience and can offer you aid in the matter, in many companies in the case of expats, universities and schools, in the case of exchange students, and government agencies, in the case of refugees, exists the possibility of being under mental health professionals, that will most definitely help in whatever situation.

Agents against integration and diversity

The down part of diversity that could be argued is that in an environment with a multiplicity of races and ethnicities, there are more chances of having a fragmented society. Social fragmentation has its origins in extending contrasts among people as different types of cracks and clashes are coming from political, economic, cultural, social, ethnic, religious, language, and other steering factors. To solve it, Sayama and Yamanoi (2019) did a research resulting on finding out that it helps having some kind of tolerance of cultural diversity levels inside the society, that will aid on having an advanced peaceful existence with social and cultural variety.

However, diversity has other issues or ‘enemies’, such as far-right parties who see as a threat living in a country where they have to share space with a multicultural society. One of the reasons behind their thinking is a very simple concept, they have made generalisations based on the prejudices around immigrants. To illustrate this, the perfect example of a problematic view on diversity is the speech given by one of the leaders of the most conservative party in Spain, VOX, and his views based on generalisations. In his speech, Javier Ortega Smith, against immigrant population in the country whose religion was Islam, he described them as ‘the enemy of Europe, the enemy of freedom, the enemy of progress, the enemy of democracy, the enemy of the family, the enemy of life and the enemy of the future’(González, 2019). The problem with those words is not only that they are being said by a very public personality, but they were also listened by hundreds of Spaniards who will later on, agree with those ideas and spread them, bullying the Muslim population of the country. After his speech, Vox’s general secretary, Santiago Abascal’s number two was investigated by the Prosecution to determine if he committed a hate crime, it was only characterised as an ‘abominable behaviour’ but nothing else happened to him, in fact Abascal proposed to decriminalize the instigation of hatred against minorities and hunt those who provide humanitarian aid to immigrants (González, 2019).

A very bothersome fact, is that usually the great majority of the comments and discussions to be had with Vox’s party members are based on generalisations and not on personal experience and serious research. Generalizations are by definition, some general, usually incorrect, information that has been gained from the deduction out of explicit cases as depicted by the Cambridge Dictionary, the one we will ponder right now are the social and national group’s speculations, or as they are ordinarily known bias or stereotypes.

All these assumptions are the primary driver of our difficulties at the time of meeting somebody that comes from another nation or travel abroad for they commonly affect the other party in a very diverged way. For the Western well-off nations, it is entirely expected to have ‘good’ generalizations since they are seen with a superior point of view, instances of this are the way it is viewed the United Kingdom, with individuals being punctual and very educated or Germany, being applauded by its proficiency and having the option to do business effectively. The other point of view of this thought is the complete opposite one, it influences the Southern nations and the considered ‘poor’ countries, to propose an example of this are the generalizations around Spain, with lazy men and women, just eating, drinking or doing their siesta or Greece, always loud, cheerful and consistently in the red, needing outsiders’ money.

From February 2017 to June 2017 I stayed in Vancouver, Canada, as an exchange student. During my stay, I had the opportunity to explore an outlandish culture, get to know countless people, and try out new and unfamiliar activities. My openness to experience led me to my participation in a program called Best Buddies International, in which I participated from March 2017 to June 2017. Looking back today, my participation in the program can be described as one of the most memorable experiences during my stay in Vancouver.

Best Buddies International is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization which is devoted to ending the social, physical, and economic isolation of the 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Their mission is to establish a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, and leadership development, which are the three key mission pillars of the organization.

Best Buddies was founded in the United States by Anthony Kennedy Shriver. He is the nephew of John F. Kennedy, the late 35th President of the United States.

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which was the first civil rights legislation in the United States that prohibits discrimination on grounds of disability, and the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, which required all public schools accepting federal funds to provide equal access to education and one free meal a day for children with physical and mental disabilities, paved the way for Best Buddies. 14 years after these acts Anthony Kennedy Shriver founded the original Best Buddies Chapter at Georgetown University and thereby took the first step towards creating Best Buddies International, which today extends across 48 countries on 6 continents.

Unlike most other organizations, Best Buddies is an organization with a goal of putting itself out of business.

Today Best Buddies International counts 2.498 chapters and 120.182 total participants which have impacted and enhanced the lives of 1.201.820 individuals worldwide by creating opportunities for meaningful friendships, securing successful jobs, living independently, improve public speaking, self-advocacy and communication skills, and eventually feeling valued by society.

Best Buddies Friendship programs represent one of the organization’s three key mission pillars. This program in which I participated, was introduced at my school, Carson Graham Secondary, with the goal to break through social barriers and to integrate students with IDD.

The school program was established in 1995 and operates as a student-run friendship club. The club focuses on building one-to-one friendships between people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities. It offers social mentoring while improving the quality of life and level of inclusion for a population that is often isolated and excluded. Through their participation, students with IDD form meaningful connections with their peers at school, gain self-confidence and self-esteem, and share interests, experiences, and activities that many other teenagers enjoy.

Carson Graham Secondary is not the only school offering this program in order to create an inclusive school climate for students and a community culture of acceptance.

In total 63.355 high-schoolers worldwide participate in one of the 1.197 different school friendship chapters.

I came to know the Best Buddies program shortly after I arrived in Vancouver due to my classmates at school, who also participated in the program and recommended it to me. Knowing that it would help me integrate myself at school, getting to know new people, and trying out something new and unfamiliar, that does not exist at my school in Germany. I, therefore, decided to join. Participation in the program also presented itself to be a fitting project for the CertiLingua program.

2. Personal Motivation

When I first found about the project during a lunch break, I was immediately motivated to sign up. I asked a friend if she has ever participated in a program or a project at school and whether she could recommend me one. Considering that she is really active and stands up for her friends, classmates, and school, it was no surprise to me that she had participated in almost every program/project at one point. While listening to her description of the different programs, one stood out to me: Best Buddies. In contrast to the other programs, it seemed to offer many opportunities, such as integrating myself at school, because being an exchange student in an unfamiliar country holds many obstacles. The biggest obstacle for me was to integrate myself and connect with my peers. Canadians are very friendly and considered and yet it is fairly difficult to build strong friendships since I frequently had the impression of them being shallow. Seeing that Best Buddies focuses on building these strong one-to-one Friendships, it appeared to be the perfect opportunity for me. I expected from it to help me not only to get to know new people but moreover build friendships with my peers who also participated in the program. Whether they were disabled or not did not matter to me.

Beforehand I had little experience in dealing with disabled individuals, in particular with disabled peers, since a comparable project does not exist at my school in German (Friedrich Ebert Gymnasium).

Before joining Best Buddies, I definitely expected that it would be a lot of work and would consume a lot of time. We not only have to spend time with the disabled peers but also have to plan group activities, events, and field trips. I was worried that it might be too much and that getting to know others, outside of the program, would suffer from it. Furthermore, I worried if it was the right program to join, since the school offered various programs in different fields. At first, I was uncertain if I would have been more contented by choosing alternative program.

Most importantly I wanted to leave my comfort zone and therefore tried many activities that I would have never tried back at home in Germany. Before joining Best Buddies, I had many prejudices. I could not have imagined sincerely being friends with someone who thinks differently and does not have the same intellectual capacity. I was worried that I would not be able to build a real bond with these people since I did not really see them as a “peers” or “just another kid”, I used to focus on their disability rather than them being an individual person who does not get defined by his disability.

3. Connection to the school curriculum

The Best Buddies project cannot be connected to only one school subject or topic but rather extends over the entire school life. The same values can be found in the interaction with others, interpersonal relationships, and the tolerance and open minds of the students.

Furthermore, Best Buddies also fits to the school profile due to its focus on equality of its students, regardless of race, ethnicity, the color of skin or disability. Diversity and individuality are being encouraged by offering various art, music, and literature classes in which the students can flourish, unfold their creativity and create their individual identity.

The variety of languages that can be studied at the FEG help to promote diversity and the equality of all ethnicities, since the students also get to know unfamiliar cultures and lifestyles.

Additionally, the refugee class is a project with a similar concept as best buddies. Although it does not particularly focus on integrating disabled students. In this project, German students and teachers work together with refugees and foreign children who came to Germany. The project aims at inclusion, education, and equality, by teaching them the German language, explaining cultural differences, and helping them to connect with peers.

The FEG does not offer education for intellectual disabled students as Carson Graham Secondary does, however people with physical disabilities also get the opportunity to attend classes since the school has an elevator that grants accessibility for physical disabled students and teachers.

Furthermore, getting to know people and building friendships is not only difficult for teenagers with disabilities but also for many others. The FEG, therefore, offers various clubs such as the rowing club, tea club, which create opportunities for making meaningful friendships and sharing common interests, experiences and activities.

4. Course

Usually students could only join the program at the beginning of each school year and had to participate for at least the entire following year. This rule was set up in order not to harm your potential buddy by breaking your promise (of friendship) once hope has been provided. It, therefore, was important to maintain involvement.

But since I was an exchange student and were not able to join at the beginning of the school year, they made an exception. By reason of this, I could not be a regular Peer Buddy who builds a one-to-one friendship with a disabled peer, but rather had the mixed duty of a “Peer buddy combined with “associate member”. This meant that I could and should hang out with one particular disabled peer but was not as bound to that person as the other Peer buddies were. Moreover, as an associate member, I had to attend group activities and lunches and additionally had to assist planning activities, events, and fundraisings.

Since I participated in the program for several months I cannot unfold every single activity and will therefore solely give a general overview and explain certain activities further in detail.

Our regular meetings took place twice a week during lunch break. During these lunch breaks, we did various activities. The usual lunch break consisted of eating, talking, and playing games. Our favorite games were Uno and Jenga, especially the younger students loved these games. Uno is a well-known game and there is, therefore, no need to explain it further. Jenga is a game of physical and mental skill. Built on the simple premise of stacking blocks. Players take turns to remove a block from a tower and balance it on top, creating a taller and increasingly unstable structure as the game progresses. But there was a problem, which I will explain at the example of Jenga. For playing Jenga, as I mentioned above, physical and mental skills are needed, in which some of the disabled students lacked in. After losing the game they sometimes got furious and started to become aggressive towards the other students and teachers, making it arduous to interact with them and calm them down.

In the following paragraph, I am going to describe one of the lunch breaks in detail.

The lunch break starts at 12:55 am, is 40 min long and therefore ends at 13:35pm. First, we met in the special education classroom and all started to eat lunch together. Shortly after, I decide to walk around the school wit another girl, called Hana, with whom I had started to build a friendship. She had a speech impediment and therefore had difficulties with pronunciation, grammar, and communication in general, but it did not hinder us at building a friendship. Hana particularly enjoyed going to the school’s gym and do various activities there. We consequently went to the smallest gym of the school, since the ground was padded and it was designed for doing gymnastics. After running around for a while, just when we started to become exhausted, the bell rang and signaled us that the break had come to an end. That being the case, I accompanied her back to the classroom.

Furthermore, we regularly held the Best Buddies information session, where upcoming events were discussed and organized, and new people could go to if they want to join the program. For instance, we planned a monthly hotdog sale in the Eagles Café for the winter and a regular event called Freezer Friday for the summer months, where we sold popsicles in the Agora. The earnings of those sales were invested in field trips or events like the Pizza Event where we ordered Pizza for lunch.

Moreover, major events such as a Best Buddies Dance, rallies, and an outdoor art project were debated and arrange during the information sessions.

The Best Buddies Dance was the highlight of the semester and needed much preparation. Thus, a lot of effort was put into planning the event.

The dance took place towards the end of my stay in Canada, on the 21st of June. The members of Best Buddies from Carson Graham Secondary as well as from another would come together and participate in the dance. Since the dance would take place in the gym of our school, we were responsible for the planning.

Organizing a dance or any other event is a lot of work. It is therefore important to get enough people on board so that the work could be evenly divided. Hence, we formed various teams, and each got designated with a certain task from a basic to-do list (action plan), which we created prior.

Our action plan looked as followed:

The day before the dance, the team I was part of would be excused from classes and set everything up. A photo booth was also set up. The needed equipment was available to us, as some students had already made them for a previous event. Two girls from my team had technology skills and therefore were assigned to check the music equipment (set up a drum kit) and the sound system (microphones).

Furthermore, all of use were responsible for making decorations. A week before the dance, when we came together during lunch, we made decorations for the walls and tables out of paper, turning out to be really beautiful.

Moreover, we created a slide show consisting of all the photos we had taken during our participation in the program.

Lastly, to finalize our preparations, we decided that everyone would bring some snacks or food to the dance and would additionally order Pizza for everyone.

The dance took place from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm the following day and was a success. Students from different school, participating in the program, danced, laughed and overall spent an enjoyable time together.

As a member of this program, I did not only plan events at school or hung out with my peers during lunch, but also met up with them after school. We often went out for coffee, dinner, or the movies as a group. Beyond that I used to hang out with a particular girl. Her name is Hana and she has a speech impediment, as I have mentioned before.

Meeting her for the first time outside of school was more onerous as it usually is. Before I was allowed to meet her, her mother wanted to get to know me and therefore invited me to their place. She enlightened me further of her daughter’s disability and special needs and gave me her phone number, in case of an emergency. Afterwards, we were allowed to hang out with the condition that I always had to inform her of our location. We went out to get coffee, went shopping, and hung out at her place, always having a pleasant time.

5. Personal experience during Best Buddies

I was very nervous the first time I went to one of the regularly held Best Buddies information sessions, where upcoming events were discussed and organized, and new people could go to if they want to join the program. Fortunately, after a short while I lost my nervousness due to their kindness and making me feel welcome. It really surprised me how open everyone was. Prompt I realized the magnificence of the program and noticed how small actions can have a meaningful impact on another person’s life. Seeing how it gives them the strength to break through social barriers and to become involved in the community is really empowering and evoked my passion to build these friendships.

6. Reflection

Inclusion, education, and equality is the mission of the Best Buddies program in High Schools. Being a member of this program and to support this mission is an extremely marvelous experience. It allowed me to be a part of something that I had not been able to experience before.

Our motto was “put person first”. Best Buddies teaches you to put the true personality first and not get preoccupied or define a person by the disability. Taking this motto to heart contributes to encouraging and appreciating equality as well as being non-judgemental towards other people.

Moreover, the created friendships within this program helped me to understand the hardships these students go through every day, causing me to realize that all my troubles are minuet compared to their struggles. This realization revealed to me the true value of each day and simple activities we take for granted.

I was perennially amazed how they always preserve a positive outlook on life and know to cherish the for most people insignificant things in life. Their attitude influenced me to have a more positive attitude towards life myself and be thankful for every new day.

At the end of this project, I understood that conquering the world is possible for anyone. As long as one is willing to commit, work hard, and has a positive attitude, success is ineluctable. Everyone should be treated as equal, no matter the disability or difference. Moreover, diversity and individuality are qualities to be proud of, but in order to achieve equality, discrimination must be eliminated.

I am very thankful that I had the opportunity to be part of this project since it offered me to gain experiences, make friends, have a better understanding of people as well as to commit to a great cause. I learned how important it is to stand up for other people and help them if they are being discriminated or have a more difficult time than oneself. Standing up for someone else can be frightening, and many people are hesitant to step in or only care about themselves, but it is important to look after others and to know that one voice or a small act of kindness can make a difference.

Overall Best Buddies was an amazing experience that I would recommend to anyone, since it brings people of all abilities, interests, and talents together, as equals and as friends.

7. Outlook

Before Best Buddies, I had little knowledge about disabilities like IDD and the hardships these people go through daily. I could have never imagined building friendships with these students. The experience broke off my prejudices and taught me to worship the true personality of a person. The project really did change my mind, as I really enjoyed getting to know the most diverse people, spending time, planning events, and overall having fun with them. I really pity that I had to leave Carson Graham Secondary and all my friends behind. I wistful look back on my stay in Vancouver and wish that the FEG would also offer a similar program with the mission of inclusion, education, and equality.

Japanese are considered to be one of the most polite nations in the world. Are they, however, polite when it comes to Westerners? I question this because of the Japanese homogeneity and the fact that they were closed to the world, which even more strengthens the existence of a so-called West and East dichotomy, one of the most major cultural dichotomies ever known that creates a different attitude. This dichotomy was brought up mainly because of a polar difference in culture and way of thinking. As Pattberg (2013) suggests, “there are two cultural modes of humankind: the more rational, deduction-driven West, and the more intuitive, induction-driven East.” So how does East, Japan, in particular, encounter West? Having taken inspiration from this drastic difference and outstanding politeness of the Japanese, in this brief ethnography paper, I try to analyze the attitude of Japanese towards Westerners. I show how Japanese treat Westerners in a social public place, such as cafeteria based on my analysis of two months observation and a number of interviews. The genre-form of my ethnography paper is, therefore, analysis, the general goal of which is understanding cultural realities.

My observation takes place at the school cafeteria at Komaba I campus of the University of Tokyo and is not restricted to one particular time period. I adhere not only to a sole observation but interviews as well, because observations would not give me a whole picture as I cannot elaborate on Westerners’ feelings and fully grasp what they personally experienced. I will work with undergraduate, graduate, and exchange students. They come from New Zealand, Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom, Finland, Chile, and Russia.

This ethnography research might contribute to existing works done on the investigation of Japanese society, specifically their intercultural communication abilities.

Gathered data and analysis

During my observation, I did not just view cafeteria as a whole, but I consciously divided it into two main sites as each setting helps us gain a particular insight of certain behavior of Japanese towards Westerners. This division was, therefore, based on the site’s function and so, the distinguished sites are the lines and the eating area itself. I will discuss and analyze my findings from observations and interviews in accordance with the sites. The analysis of each site led me to explore two theories: belief in Japanese superiority and Japanese allocentrism.

The lines

In the lines, Westerners experience direct communication with the Japanese through food ordering and paying at counters. Investigation of this led me to spot Japanese superiority complex, which probably arises from the notions of difference.

My interviewees shared their experiences, which gave me a better understanding of interaction between them and the Japanese people. A total number of 8 people were interviewed. Their overall experiences in ordering food have been good enough, although they confirmed encountering unpleasant situations, which are all about the Japanese not admitting Japanese spoken by Westerners. An exchange student L.A. from New Zealand, who has been living in Tokyo for seven months says “I ordered a large size and the lady said: ‘medium’, and then I repeated myself: ‘no, large’, but she said: ‘okay, medium’.” And our conversation was entirely in Japanese. They just don’t listen to your Japanese.” Other interviewees agree with that statement as J.R. from Australia said he realized that: “Even though you speak in Japanese, they either speak English or not speak Japanese back” and this is again supported by the interviewee from the United Kingdom, J.G., “They reply to me in English. I asked for emu saizu and they asked me “medium?” M.B. from Finland also talks about how the conversation does not go in Japanese with him, despite asking in Japanese, the staff answers him in English, as if implying they do not understand what you are saying, “There have been instances where they have refused to speak in Japanese and insisted on broken English that I could hardly understand.” This shows how the Japanese simply do not accept the fact that Westerners have the capacity to speak Japanese. The theory of belief in the Japanese superiority, on which numerous pieces of work were done, could explain this phenomenon. The Japanese account themselves as a superior and unique nation and therefore, they strongly believe that no one can ever become Japanese. As Kaji, Sahoko, Hama, and Rice argue (1998, p.3), “To be Japanese, you must have a Japanese name and exclusively Japanese blood”. The phenomena of a so-called Japanese superiority is to a certain degree explained by Uchi and Soto’s concept, which represents the model of relationships in Japanese society. Uchi means in-group, or “ours” and Soto means out-group, or “other” and according to this distinction as Kaji et al. (1998, p.2) state, “To the Japanese, foreigners are soto most of the time” as they view the world through “we Japanese” and the rest. Consequently, I suggest that roots probably lie in the fact of existing “difference” on which Uchi and Soto’s concept is based on, which is especially felt by the Japanese. The idea of difference is also touched upon in the “At counters and eating space” part of the paper. Thus, due to the notions of difference the Japanese do not recognize Westerners’ Japanese. In this way, in their view, there is no nation that could ever know them and thus, a foreigner who speaks Japanese is regarded as henna gaijin (weird foreigner) (Kaji et al.,1998, p.4). Japanese, however, do not stop at this point but go beyond by adhering to the idea that “Japanese should not be corrupted by foreign influences no matter how much Japan’s material way of life may be affected by them (Sugimoto, 2014, p.189-190). This, I argue, might be one of the reasons, why Japanese speak back in English because in this way they discourage Westerners speaking it in the first place and so, “prevent the corruption” of the Japanese language.

At counters and eating space

There have been four particular major patterns that I noticed through both observation and a series of interviews. I will first describe all the cases and then explain what could stand behind them.

1. There are different seats and tables one can find in the cafeteria. You have moveable tables, big oval tables, and a sort of benches. As a rule, Westerners tend to sit on the big oval ones. I many times observed how a Japanese would not sit on that oval table if there was a Westerner even though all of the seats would be free. When, however, an oval table was occupied by an Asian looking person, a Japanese would decide to eat there without hesitation. The same situation applies to the case of several people. It can be seen that the Japanese would prefer not to sit with Westerners. For example, a Japanese student came into the eating space and started searching for a free table. He realizes that the majority of moveable tables are occupied and so, looks at the oval table. He goes toward it but sees a Westerner silently eating on his own. He stops, looks around once more, passes by the oval table with the Westerner, and sits to another oval one, which is quite occupied by the Japanese.
2. Another pattern worth mentioning was the observation of Japanese always turning around as the reaction for Westerners speaking loudly, or showing excessive emotions while having a talk, whereas they would not pay much attention to Japanese being noisy. They would do it mostly either grumbling or quite harshly as if being startled by something. In both cases, they look with judgmental eyes. Japanese did not limit themselves with only turning around and giving a judge-y look, but they also commented on such occasions. There was a group of four Westerners having lunch together. They were talking normally, but then one of them went vociferous. At first, two male Japanese students sitting next me hesitated to say anything but after one of them noticed that my laptop’s keyboard was in Russian, he understood that I was a foreigner and so probably assuming I would not understand them, made quite negative comments.
   1. A: “ Damn… those foreigners. There are too many of them here. What on the earth did they forget here.”
   2. B: “Indeed!”- replied the other with a fully affirmative and discontent voice.
3. The majority of respondents stated they often feel pressure when paying at counters, and this is not limited to the cafeteria. In this way, a graduate student V.E. from Russia says, “you are taking time and then they look at you with an expression: ‘for God’s sake’, whereas when a Japanese person does it, they don’t really notice.” According to an exchange student from Chile, R.B., he did not prepare his money in advance and so, could not pay at once. He felt tension from Japanese as they looked at him annoyedly, “if I were home, that would just be me not finding my money, whereas when I’m here, it is ‘oh gaijin can’t find his money’ I feel like being judged not as a person but as a representative of the whole race.” From these interviews, it again became clear that there is an inequality between the way Japanese and Westerners are treated. Another exchange student, M.W., from New Zealand had an unpleasant moment too, “ladies looked a little annoyed when it came time for me to pay… but that was definitely because I was taking ages trying to organize myself and find the right money.” It should be noted, however, that there were respondents, who deny this kind of experience. An undergraduate student, V.F., from Italy says, “I never felt this way even once. On the contrary, I notice that they always approach me with a big smile.” The reason may lie in the fact that the Japanese feel sorry for Westerners as they know that Westerners will never comprehend them and because of that, they show consideration towards Westerners, “Westerners in Japan are exonerated from following Japanese ways and even the most blatant misconduct will be forgiven on the grounds of them being a gaijin… Gaijin embodies…disdain for the ‘unruly’ Westerners, the underlying meaning being “…S/he will never be able to be Japanese…poor soul…we have to treat him/her kindly” (Kaji et al., 1998, p.4).
4. The last common case I discovered is foreigners being discussed as the Japanese do not assume Westerners know Japanese (explained in the aforementioned theory of belief in Japanese superiority). This particular pattern is seen through both observations and interviews. I always tried to sit in the place, where the Japanese would sit right next to me so that I could hear what they tend to talk about Westerners if they do at all. Mostly, I grasped their opinions on the fact that there are more and more gaijin coming to wagakuni. The way they discuss it is certainly negative as they are using gaijin instead of gaikokujin, and refer to Japan as “wagakuni”. What is more, it is not only about what they say but how they say it. During observations, I noted that when the Japanese discuss this topic, their facial expression is obnoxious and they look irritated as if talking about issues they have. My interviewees know at least some Japanese, and the majority’s level of proficiency is intermediate-upper-intermediate, which allows them to know if they are being discussed or to spot any passing comments. Respondents had enough stories to share regarding these issues, “an old man muttered something in Japanese along the lines of ‘stupid foreigners, stupid fools’, “ an old woman at Shibuya crossing shouting about internationalism being a threat”, “the staff saying ‘The one in 309 is English, but he’s not as dumb as they usually are and he can speak Japanese, so be careful”’, “when my friends and I walked to the ticket machine to pay for ramen shop, the Japanese said, ‘oh look at that. Look at those foreigners’ faces’ in Japanese”, “ a Japanese man said, ‘I hate foreigners’ when I went into the bathroom”.

Now that all the patterns are defined, I would like to refer to a theory related to allocentrism introduced by Lebra(1983) that I think explains them. Allocentrism is having one’s attention and actions focused on others rather than on oneself, which relates to Japanese as according Lebra(1983), “…the Japanese tend to be more aware of others than, for instance, those who have not socialized in the Judeo-Christian theistic tradition” (p.193). This allocentrism results in exposure sensitivity as one is preoccupied of what others might think and therefore is easily embarrassed. Exposure sensitivity, as Lebra believes, drives Japanese to self-represent themselves perfectly in any situation which accounts for the reason of their numerous codes and rules (p.197). In this way, being highly concerned about order, the Japanese avoid disturbing it as much as possible. When it comes to Westerners, however, it is exactly the opposite – they conflict with the Japanese values. While Japanese are allocentric, Westerners are their counterparts as they are idiocentric and the difference of this psychological dimension creates certain tensions. This again ties in with the notions of difference mentioned earlier. Allocentrism, therefore, is another example of how the sensitivity to difference is manifested in the Japanese society as stemming from allocentrism the Japanese are more aware of the difference between them and Westerners. In this way, Japanese would prefer not to sit with them, give judge-y looks as Westerners tend to violate Japanese norms, and Westerners feel pressurized at counters as M.W. suggested earlier, “definitely because I was taking ages trying to organize myself and find the right money.”

Conclusion and further research

In this short ethnographic research paper, I investigated the attitude of the Japanese towards Westerners trough three methods of data collection: field observation, interview and the use of secondary sources. Field observation and interviews complement each other in providing evidence of real behavior and experiences. In the course of observations and interviews, I noted five main patterns in the behavior of Japanese people towards Westerners. Specifically, Japanese people prefer not to respond in Japanese even when the Westerner is a fluent Japanese speaker, they do not want to sit with or near them in public spaces, they disapprove Westerners’ expressing their emotions freely, trivial mistakes of Westerners are judged harshly which makes Westerners feel pressurized to present a perfect front, and they pass comments on the rowdiness and general attitude of Westerners. I analyzed these general observations through two concepts: the allocentrism of Japanese people and an inherent feeling of superiority, the origins of which come from the notions of difference. This prompted me to the conclusion that the Japanese are ethnocentric as they have a well-pronounced yet covert superiority complex and they view Westerners in the lens of their own culture and so, react somewhat condescendingly.

It has to be said, however, that my study focus was confined to the university setting as well as people that have some kind of connection to the University of Tokyo. Another limitation of this study is an insufficient number of interviewees, which could not provide comprehensive and high validity results. To address both of these limitations and therefore, undermine any subjectivity, it is pressing to augment the number of interviewees and ensure that they come from different backgrounds. To further improve the credibility and accurateness of this ethnographic paper, it is crucial to make the same observation in other venues, which would broaden the scope and therefore, give a better insight on the issue.

Bibliography

1. Kaji, S., Hama, N., & Rice J. (1998). The Xenophobe’s Guide to the Japanese. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.jp/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=e6gmBAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT4&dq=Xenophobe%27s+Guide+to+the+Japanese:+Sahoko+Kaji:&ots=vKCD02nzoS&sig=LsKixr8HXZpwdUhkEpq7G6w_Iwg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Xenophobe’s%20Guide%20to%20the%20Japanese%3A%20Sahoko%20Kaji%3A&f=false
2. Lebra, T. S. (1983). Shame and Guilt: A Psychocultural View of the Japanese Self. Cambridge, England: Society for Psychological Anthropology.
3. Pattberg, T.(2013). The East-West Dichotomy. Beijing: Foreign Language Press. Retrieved from https://www.pattberg.org/the-east-west-dichotomy-book/
4. Sugimoto, Yoshio (2014). An Introduction to Japanese Society. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.kz/books?id=92enBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT211&dq=japanese%20ethnocentrism%20academic&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiOhdvImc3fAhXhlIsKHb3LDUYQ6AEIMTAC#v=onepage&q=japanese%20ethnocentrism%20academic&f=false

Which is worse? To build 17 years of life and leave it behind for a year, or to build one year of life and leave it behind forever? A year ago, I had to make the biggest decision of my life. I had to choose between staying home and finishing high school earlier with all my friends or taking a risk and following my heart to an exchange year in America.

It was always my number one dream to come to America. Ever since I was a little girl I dreamed about traveling. How someday I would wake up on the other side of the world with someone I loved. I wanted to go to America. The one place you hear all the stories about.

I knew I would be taking a big risk and It wouldn’t be easy. Could a small girl like me survive such a thing? Could my parents survive it? What about all my friends? Would I lose them all? I wasn’t sure if I was mature enough. I told myself that it’s never going to happen. I thought it was one of those things you tell yourself maybe someday, without really thinking of actually doing it.

One day I was sitting in a bus and a young girl sat next to me. She seemed full of joy and excitement. I asked the girl what she was so happy about. She didn’t even hesitate. She started to explain me about how she got accepted to be an exchange student in Spain. She told me all about how she had always wanted to go to Spain and now she gets to live there for a year. As she told me this, I started to think that maybe I could do the same thing. The only problem was that I would have to convince my mom that it would be a good idea to send her youngest child to the other side of the world all alone. I spend months telling my parents about the reasons why it would be a good idea for me to apply to be an exchange student. I started to follow a lot of blogs what previous exchange students had written. I showed them to my parents, so they could hear about other people’s experiences of how fast you actually can learn the language and the benefits of being exchange student later when it’s time to applying for a job. My friends said that I was kind of obsessed with reading and learning about other kids’ experiences.

When the time finally came I couldn’t wait to meet my new host parents and start the year. I was told before that I shouldn’t make any expectations for the year based on other people’s experiences because every experience is different.

I’m now six months into my year of exchange. I got myself a new group of friends, new family in a completely different culture, and I also learned a new language. The language barrier was probably the headrest thing I have had to go through in these few months. I remember being so frustrated every day with having to think and talk everything in English. Overcoming the language barrier was what made America feel like home.

This year has given me so much. New perspectives of life and new ways to think. I have learned how to be independent and how to take care of others as well as myself. I have noticed a lot of differences in the culture and the people. I’m not scared to express my feelings anymore. I learned to respect what I and what others have. I am very lucky to have this experience what a lot of people can only dream of. This exchange year has been an awesome experience for me. What I most appreciate about it, is the fact that I was able to rebuild a new life from a scratch.

Youth often get underestimated. Our thoughts and opinions are often disregarded and we are seen as too young to effect social, environmental and political change. The reason I decided to apply to this program is to break away from that stereotype and prove that teenagers can help create prosperity in the world.

In an attempt to utilize all the energy I had as a child my mom encouraged me to immerse myself in activities like sports and dancing. By experiencing the highs and lows that come with playing a team sport like basketball, I have learnt the importance of participation and cooperation. As a result, I have become a person that my teammates can freely trust and rely on. In addition, having been a dancer for many years now has helped me to develop confidence and be able to put myself out there and take on any challenge that presents itself to me.

With my passion for learning and a natural drive to succeed, I can definitely see myself emerging as a leader. Since the beginning of my high school education, I have always been involved with my school’s extracurricular activities such as the student’s parliament, where I have presented many of my own ideas which have been realized. Some of those ideas include the clean-up of the school’s yard, adding more languages to the school’s curriculum, collecting money for the students who are not able to afford going on a school trip and many more. Moreover, joining my high school’s debate club helped me improve my critical thinking and problem solving skills as well as made me more open-minded to discussing different topics with my club members. Additionally, this year I became class president and have taken on more responsibility than ever before. Learning to be a person my classmates can always count on has been a challenge and yet, a really rewarding experience. Making everyone feel included and comfortable, as well as make them feel like part of a group of unique individuals is a top priority to me.

An experience that has helped shape me into the person that I am today is getting involved in volunteering work. Not only has it made me more fulfilled and happier overall, but also helped me meet some amazing and inspiring people. Adults, who have served as amazing role models to me, as well as my peers. Meeting and speaking to a diverse group of individuals has immensely boosted my social skills and my ability to build connections. Furthermore, I am incredibly proud of the work we have done as a group. Some of the projects I have worked on include planting trees in parks, picking up trash around Belgrade and helping organize basketball games for charity.

Getting accepted to your exchange program would be greatly beneficial for my growth as a student, and more importantly as a person. Getting to know more about the life of people in the United States and experiencing it first hand is something that fascinates me. Additionally, I believe this program could help me step outside of my comfort zone as well as help me better my English and become more independent. I am aware of the efforts your government has been putting into creating better intercultural relations between the US and Europe. Therefore, I am very interested in learning more about the different ways the relationship between Serbia and the United States could be improved. From my point of view, creating more international exchange programs is exactly the change we need to implement in hopes of getting young people to join the conversation.

My journey of building a successful life has only just begun. If given the chance to attend your program I hope to meet other young people that also dream of making a difference in the world and becoming leaders of tomorrow.

I am writing with the view to expressing my interest in exchange program in IT field at IUBH (University of Applied Sciences) University. As I have been involved in this area of study, both learning other countries’ experience in the field of IT (Information Technology) and making best use of it in my future career are very crucial for me. The exchange program which our university is offering is certainly what I have always wanted and it meets my all requirements and hopefully I will make contribution to the area IT in my country.

My purpose for applying to this exchange program is to both expand on my solid education and to create more opportunities for myself in the future as I mentioned above. My ambition and interests to create new things, math and physics made me learn them intensively and when I entered to one of the best IT universities in my country. We all know that the role of team-playing in the development of anything is enormous. And the role of open-minded people in that team is also huge and I have felt it even more while studying at INHA University, because the tasks given to me and the assignments given for teamwork all showed us that I think a team with a lot of people with different ideas is very likely to succeed. I am therefore interested in innovative projects that require more new ideas, the application of new ideas in the field of IT and teamwork through an exchange program organized in collaboration with your university. And I need to gain international experience in this field.

A lot of different situations happened during my work experience and university studies. And sometimes the team was in difficult situations. Such as missing deadlines, losing the solidarity among the team and the mistakes during organizing processes. And those situations nearly caused the team to split up. But I managed to help them to overcome these obstacles with my leadership skills, by showing them correct directions, distributing tasks correctly and listening each member’s opinions. And this helped us to reach the highest level among others at university when we took important projects.

My all efforts did not go unnoticed. Even inside the university my team and me finished our terms with good results. Our results did not go unnoticed either. Whenever a new idea comes to my mind, no matter how impossible it seems, I never think: ‘I cannot do it’. Because I am always confident that I am capable of doing what others can do. For example, I work in a small IT firm as a coder interm in my free time, and one day we were given a project which was absolutely brand-new to us and it was the first time we had had to do such a big project. Having seen it, team members working with me together thought that we didn’t manage to do it. But then I took the responsibility and understood what type of strategies we need and how to use them effectively. Finally, we achieved to complete the project successfully with flying colors. After that I was given a promotion and I got an official job in that firm for a limited period of time. Also in my opinion it’s time to level up to the next degree for my IT knowledge and the capability of working with team. I believe your university will certainly help me on the way to move on the next step.