Retos y Hitos/Challenges and Milestones

That is definitely the theme of this year: challenges and milestones. In the beginning my experience consisted mainly of challenges, but I think I have finally reached the point where I’m starting to see the milestones.

Although my last few posts may suggest otherwise, I am busting my butt in school. This semester I am taking the following classes:

“Flujos de Comunicación en el Continento Americano” (Flows of Communication in the American Continent). Essentially what the name says, we are studying the flow patterns of mass communication – mainly television so far – back and forth between countries, especially in the Americas. In other words, we are learning about the exportation and importation patterns of various media, from their history up to the present day, while analyzing their impact on the economies of various countries.

“Seminario de Comunicación Internacional” (International Communication Seminar). This class has a philosophical focus; we discuss and analyze international communication, starting from the concept of “nation.” Actually, we even started as basically as “what is the purpose of education?” and it was interesting to hear the perspectives of Mexican students and if/how they differed from mine.

“Investigación Cualitativa de Comunicación” (Qualitative Communication Research). Whereas last semester I took quantitative research, this qualitative research class covers the basic stages of a qualitative research investigation. We are simultaneously reading an absolutely wonderful book called “Los Hijos de Sanchez” (“The Children of Sanchez”), by anthropologist Oscar Lewis, in which he transcribed years of interviews that he conducted of the Sanchez family, who lived in a poor neighborhood in Mexico City. I highly recommend the book to everyone; it’s available in English and Spanish, and gives you a firsthand sense of one of the many cultures that reside in Mexico, as well as the culture of poverty in general and what it’s like to live from day to day not knowing where your next meal will come from.

“Responsabilidad Social Corporativa” (Corporate Social Responsibility). This class teaches us the historical and contemporary concepts of corporate social responsibility, while forcing us to question and analyze the pros and cons of this increasingly-popular idea in the business (and organizational communication) world. We even had a debate in class a few weeks ago!

I wanted to share with all of you a particular milestone I had a few weeks ago, not to brag about myself by any means, but rather to give you some insight into what it’s like to take classes in a foreign language.

Last semester I didn't participate in class. Not because I didn’t want to; I firmly believe that participating in class is one of the best ways one can learn a subject. But rather, by the time I understood what the teacher was saying (the Spanish of it), processed it, synthesized it, analyzed it, etc., they had already moved on to another subject before I had a chance to say something. It was frustrating to say the least, but that is part of the language learning process.

I cut myself some slack because I was the only non-Mexican in my classes, meaning that I was the only one who didn’t understand perfectly. I tried very hard and made progress, but even by the end of the semester I still had to ask one of my classmates every once in awhile, “What was that homework assignment, again?”

I began my second semester determined to overcome that “disability”, especially since in one of my classes we receive 3 points for participation every single class (and we get a 0 if we don’t participate). After a few weeks into the semester, I finally felt that I was understanding the class on an analytical level, and even worked up the courage to ask one question. Nevertheless, my teacher came up to me and told me that I needed to participate more – even in English was fine, but I need to participate. Well, I did not come to Mexico to participate in class in English. And although it was uncomfortable that he called me out, I was determined not to let it get to me, and to prove to him that I could do it.

It also happened that I had to do a presentation for the next session of that class as well. The way the class works is that we’ll have one assigned article that everyone has to read, which is the one we discuss, and then a student is assigned to read another article and do a presentation on it (i.e. teach the class). So, I decided to spend all weekend – literally – working on these assignments so that I would not only prove to my teacher that I could step up to the challenge, but more importantly, prove it to myself.

I was surprisingly nervous about participating in class (imagine, just a little thing like class participation can be a much bigger deal to a person in another language and country), especially since it was really the first time I had forced myself to participate. However, during the next class session, not only did I feel that I was really able to engage in the discussion on an intellectual level, but I also thought that my presentation went well and that the teacher really liked the discussion I led at the end of it. One of the greatest senses of accomplishments I’ve felt, though, was when I checked my grades online: not only did I receive a 3/3 on participation, but I got a 12/12 on the presentation! But for me, the reward was not as much in the number that my grade was, but in the fact that to me it showed that he saw and appreciated how hard I was trying, and that I had succeeded in overcoming this personal challenge that I had set for myself.

I wrote this story to give you insight into the challenges and milestones that come with studying a subject in a foreign language in a foreign country. I felt that on that day, I reached a very significant milestone in the language acquisition process, and with the confidence I gained in proving to myself that I could do it, I now participate in class on a much more regular basis. Climbing over that “bump” was uncomfortable to say the least, but after the first awkwardness of class participation, it gets easier every time.

This story also gave me a lot of empathy and appreciation for all the foreign students with whom I’ve ever had a class. Even if one’s conversational abilities in a language might be 99.99% perfect, mastering that language on an academic, intellectual level is a whole different ballgame. And I feel that I am one step closer to that goal.

**Side note: I posted various pictures from this semester so far: ice skating (yes, in Mexico!), gift exchange with Rotaract, my new house, and a cabin weekend . Check them out here**