Ol`gita Major: International Economic Relations Status: Workygirl I am fond of chocolates, flowers, friends, loud music, watching movies, taking pictures and traveling!!!

Get Rid of Ethnocentrism
Olya Bezvushko

Student’s ethnocentrism is an amazing phenomenon. They are ready to spend a small fortune for the experience of a semester abroad, but only some of them are interesting in a host culture, despite the fact that they have all necessary recourses for free (like libraries or foreign language films).

It was discovered that the most ethnocentric nation is American. It was found out that only 3 % of American undergraduates ever studied abroad and less than half of those go for a whole semester.

If you decided to go abroad it is better to get ready to fight the ethnocentrism. There are many ways to explore the world by staying at your hometown. The more you take advantage of them, before going abroad, the richer your overseas experience will be.

One of the most accessible and interesting ways to visit another culture, is by watching a movie produced by directors and editors native to your destination country. It is easy to make inquiries about the best-sellers through the Web. At the bottom of the Yahoo! Home page (www.yahoo.com) you can find local sites of different countries. Then go to the “Movies” or “Cinema” category and find top films currently in theaters in that country.

Sources for finding out more about the music of your future host country are similar to those for film, with the only addition that there are more websites that offer you the samples of the song from all over the world (like www.youtube.com).

Moreover, consider Internet like a way for multiculturalism. Chat with people from remotest corners of the world; access the major newspapers of all computerized countries, discover films and music, familiarize yourself with informal foreign language and find some special local recipes. Besides, you can listen to many major foreign news stations for the purpose of your language skills improvement.

Food can appear to be your favorite way to experience another culture. Is there any Italian or Ethiopian restaurant not far from your place? Try a different type of food a week and do a little research on the region it comes from. Stop by foreign stores in your city and if you are not sure what you want, talk to the person behind the counter and you can learn many interesting facts.  

Get acquainted with a cookbook. If you practice some recipes from around the world you will be more likely to avoid a “cultural shock” once you are overseas.

Use your imagination, clear up your interests and take advantage of the possibilities around you! There might be more of them than you have noticed.