Living abroad can change the way a person sees the world, from navigating unfamiliar situations to learning about different cultures. People who have lived in other countries also have different experiences adjusting to cultural differences and new environments.
Tiger Lin ‘29 lived in China until he moved to the US at 15. He said there was a period when he found it difficult to adjust to living in the US, but he eventually did. Lin observed that in Minnesota, “people are not very close to each other” compared to China because they are living in houses instead of apartments. He “enjoyed the public transportation and…convenience” in China, but he “didn’t like the schools there,” and appreciates that he can “express [himself] more” in Minnesota.
Matis Aguiar ‘28 was born in Switzerland in Geneva, and spent one year in Boston when he was eight. He then moved back to Switzerland for a few years, and one year in Singapore before moving to Minnesota. He considers Switzerland his “hometown,” and has the opportunity to return every summer. When Aguiar moved to Minneapolis, he said that “the state itself and the city itself doesn’t feel like home,” but he thinks “the people around [him] helped [him] a lot” to get used to living in a new place.
Aguiar noticed that in Europe, “people are colder on the outside, but when you actually get to know them, it’s really easy to become friends with them.” On the other hand, he observed that it was much harder “to connect with people on a deep level” in Minnesota. Aguiar added that the lifestyle in Singapore and Geneva was much different, because “you would do everything by walking and public transportation, and it’s much safer.”
French teacher Heather Cholat has lived in many French-speaking places/locales. She spent two months in French-speaking Switzerland as part of a study abroad program during high school. She later studied abroad and lived in multiple parts of France, including Brittany, Grenoble, and Paris, and worked as “an assistant program director for a program in Quebec, Canada.” Cholat loves the language component of living abroad, especially that “the French between Switzerland and France and Canada is all a little different,” which was “always fascinating to [her].” She said that “if you don’t know the language” of the place you’re travelling to, as long as you’re “really wanting to learn it or really trying, people see that and give you a lot of grace.” Cholat encourages all students to take advantage of global programs or “think about a time maybe in college to do it,” adding that “it’s life-changing living abroad.”
