It’s still the beginning of a new semester at Mississippi State. A new semester means a lot of new things: registering for classes (hopefully everyone is done with that), meeting new people in these classes and forming new friendships (right now Facebook-stalking new classmates is more popular than you are assuming).
In this time of booming Facebook friendship requests, you might want to stop and look around in your class. (Yes, most of you reading this newspaper are doing it during your psychology or music appreciation class.) Look closely at the people you befriended in your class and look at how many people you never paid attention to: the students whom you block off your potential friend list, the people whose Facebook friend requests you never approve.
I am talking about the opportunity you miss when you do not talk to someone who is different from you, someone from a different race or who comes from across the other side of the world.
I was part of a meeting with the organizers of the international fiesta along with most of the other international student organizations’ leaders. We all came from different parts of the world and came together in one big room. The awareness of all the languages, cultures, religions, ideas and traditions packed into that room is empowering. There are an infinite number of cultural interactions that can occur. There is an infinite amount of knowledge that I can learn from those people.
As an international student, I clearly realize the need for diversity and cultural diffusion and exchange of ideas and thoughts. After all, I came from the other side of the world, once called the Old World, to experience a different place and culture.
But how many people share the desire to have the experience of witnessing cultural diffusion? How many people are willing to talk to someone who speaks differently? How many people will actually approach a foreign student and seek the opportunity to meet him and learn more about his or her culture or teach him more about American culture (American Southern culture too)?
There is a specific group who does: those who claim they can speak a different language than English. They come up to a foreign student and start speaking to him in his native tongue (after waiting for 20 minutes in the back gathering courage to go talk to him).
The foreign student clearly notices the American Southern accent but he still is impressed and so the foreign student replies back in his native language speaking quickly and using slang words the American student never heard about. Now, a pale ‘no compremendo’ face is on the American student and a disappointed embarrassed face on the foreign student.
A large number of languages are being spoken on campus every day. Many of us go through our college career missing the opportunity to meet international students. You do not have to study abroad to start learning about different cultures. MSU has brought a diverse group to campus just so that you would meet them, and that they would meet you.
Imagine being in Asia, Europe, Australia and South America without leaving the room and without reading a book (because we all know how many of us actually like reading about other cultures although just reading this article has given you an extra two points on the cultural diversity scale.)
Imagine sitting with friends from India, Mexico, Korea, Venezuela, China and even America. Now imagine sitting with all these people at the same time at one table. You know it feels great because I tried it. It is one of the most exotic ordinary events that happened in my life (just meeting new people can be so exotic).
Abdallah Abu Ghazaleh is a freshman majoring in electrical engineering. He can be contacted at [email protected].