Minority Issues
Societal attitudes toward race and sexual orientation are cultural constructs. Those attitudes change considerably across cultures, and University of Iowa students traveling abroad inevitably bump into them. Those bumps can be jarring, particularly if students go abroad with unrealistic expectations about how they will be perceived by the host culture. You may need to take a deep breath from time to time and remind yourself that this is a learning experience. You’ll be learning a great deal about a foreign culture, and about your own cultural identity in juxtaposition to it. The Office for Study Abroad has resources focusing on the experiences minorities traveling abroad. The following comments can serve as a starting point for your pre-departure research.
Cultural Reactions To Color
Responding to the question, “What were the biggest differences between your experience as a person of color abroad as opposed to your experience in the USA?” UI student Natasha Robinson (Spain) wrote, “It seems that racism is a little more noticeable in the USA than in Spain. I deal with it on a daily basis but in Spain it seemed that the people reacted to my color due to never seeing an African American in real life, rather than the prejudiced attitudes that some people have about African Americans here.”
James Brook’s article in New York Times, June 1994, addresses how “U.S. Blacks Find Visits to Brazil Bittersweet.” explaining that, “On and off campus, a semester here gives African Americans a rapid introduction to the complexity of Brazil’s race relations. On one level, there are the daily racial slights in a country where the average income of blacks is less than half that of whites. In elegant shopping centers, store clerks often drag their feet in waiting on black customers. At currency-exchange shops a counter attendant will look suspiciously at a young black woman with dollars. ‘His whole face changed when I opened my mouth.’ said Rashida Sykes, another Spelman student here. Addison Le Platte, a business student from Morehouse College, put it bluntly: ‘You move into English when you don’t want to be bothered.’”
ISEP participant Hung T. Quan of the University of Montana describes his study in Hong Kong: “In essence, I have come to understand the deeper implications of my standing as an Asian American. Because of my experiences in both cultures, I cannot feel completely comfortable in either culture, but belong instead in the interface between the two of them. I consider this realization as the most valuable result of my experiences in Hong Kong. In light of my experiences, my advice to any student who is considering going abroad is to do it. Regardless of whether you are a first, second, or ‘nth’ generation immigrant, I feel cultural identity and roots are important facts that need to be explored."
Kianga Ford mentions her experience through Georgetown University’s program in Tanzania: “Tanzania found me a minority of one; one ‘black American’ female student feeling looked at—the only one, to my knowledge, in the country. When I walked down the street, I was always followed by dozens of eyes and there was always the echo from people that could hazard a guess, ‘ah black American...black American...’ Even in a county with centuries of Arab influence and more shades of brown than you can imagine, schoolchildren followed me and chimed “half-caste.” One old man near the Serengeti, more in grunt than in English, told me my very existence was a sin. In short, there was no homecoming party waiting for me. It was a beautiful country for no expectations. Everyone will not see things as I did. Some of you may feel completely embraced in your journeys home, and whatever the outcome, they are worth it. If there is one thing that I could say to those of you ‘in search of...’ it is to please travel with an open mind. Expect nothing. Be open to anything.”