Student Spotlight: Angelle Nash in England
What were the biggest personal challenges you faced during your time abroad, and how did you overcome them?
“The biggest challenge that I didn’t expect when coming abroad was dealing with how to be a foriegner. I did not realize the persceptions that non-Americans had about American politics, culture, and news until I got here. Being American, everyone I have met has wanted to talk about our politics and current events that I thought most “foreigners” would not know about. Seeing how informed the people I have met are on world events and their effects worldwide really showed me how sheltered I am as an American and how much I can grow in my knowledge of global events. In the US, your worldview can often become incredibly insular, and coming to the UK truly showed me how despite being a “melting pot”, the US is most concerned with its own issues and culture. Being able to fully immerse myself in a new culture and meet people from all over the world has taught me that there is so much to the world outside of what happens in our 50 states, and being informed on global events is paramount to becoming a global citizen.”
What similarities and differences have you experienced between your host culture and your culture?
“In the US, the furthest that most people go to recycle would be to use two separate bins for their waste. In the UK though, there is a huge movement towards environmental awareness when it comes to waste, composting, and even reducing carbon footprint. Almost everywhere you go, there is 4 or 5+ different options to dispose of your trash: food waste, paper waste, plastic waste, liquid disposal, glass disposal; the list goes on. It is so refreshing to see a culture and community that treat the earth with such genuine care. Proper battery and vape disposal locations are located across campus and our near-by city of Brighton. Single use plastic is almost impossible to find, being replaced by wooden utensils, reusable bags, and glass jars in every fast food restaurant and grocery store. In the grocery stores, items that I would usually find in plastic jars are instead in glass, like the Nutella that I eat literally every day with toast. Once I was done with my jar, I was able to save it and use it for storage rather than tossing the plastic container as I usually would. Beyond recycling, energy conservation is heavily promoted, with lights controlled by motion sensors in every building. Even the radiator in my room has settings that allow it to be powered off when I am not in the room. This stark contrast between the rampant use of plastics and non-renewable resources in the US is eye-opening and reminds me that there are such easy ways for me to be doing my part for earth even when I am back in my hometown. Bringing my own bags to the grocery store, finding ways to reuse items rather than throw them, and countless other easy ways I can do my part for the earth have been integrated into my routine, and I’m excited to keep them up once I am back home.”
Tell us about an experience where you were out of your comfort zone.
“My entire life, I have lived within 90 miles of the house I grew up in. That’s not uncommon, and it is even farther than most Americans can say. I have been able to be comfortable, know the streets I drove down like the back of my hand, and have a home cooked meal be no more than an hour’s drive away. Even though now, being 6,000 miles from home, that sounds pretty good, I have always wanted to go farther. I remember being a little girl and wanting to move to New York as fast as I could. I have never been scared to leave home, in fact I craved it. As I got older, dreams of New York became simply dreams of an out of state school, but that just wasn’t in the cards for me financially. Fast forward to now, I’m living in a city where no one knows me and I know no one. Surprisingly, for the first time I became homesick. I realized that the familiarity I had been running from all my life was also the only thing I had ever known. Finding friends and making my own community in the UK has eased my fears of being alone and I have found that knowing home is still waiting for me is all the comfort I need. To have the opportunity to rediscover and redefine myself in a new country is invaluable, and I am so excited to see what I find out.”