CHANGES ALWAYS COME FROM THE OUTSIDE

Today I added a new name to my list of people I admire: Dr. Lanier. 

When Dr. Lenier opens her mouth, one knows that great things are about to be said. Since the very first day I listened to her I got amazed, but today it just went to a higher level. She started talking about the cross-cultural communication, which is very important since we are in a country that is different to Mexico in many ways. I got touched by her speech because I have already lived, or have heard about a lot of situations that she was describing.

To place you into context, I will start saying that it was difficult for me to choose what to study in the university, because I have always had the willing to travel, and also knew that I am passionate by teaching. But then, it comes the problem that in Mexico the teachers are not very well paid, and they don´t have too much time to travel. So, I was in a dilemma: Do I have to study for being a teacher even if i can´t travel, or Do i have to study a career that allows me to travel? At the end I decided to be a teacher. Now guess what? It was the best decision I made in my life!

As part of my studies and my professional life I have had a few experiences: I lived in Cozumel, Oaxaca and Monterrey for six months in each one, and as international experiences I lived in France for a year and in England for six Months. But why do I tell you this? For sure it is not to blow my own trumpet! It is because with those experiences I realized that one is never the same once one have studied or lived abroad! And having this in mind I decided to make my thesis about this topic. 

My thesis was entitled "Aculturación de los estudiantes de la licenciatura en idiomas participantes en el programa de movilidad estudiantil", which in English could be "acculturation of the Mexican students who study abroad in exchange programs". The findings were amazing! In few words, it shows that people experiment firstly a cultural shock, then they neglect the target culture, then they start adopting it, and at the end, they adapt it to their mother culture! But in all cases, the students agreed that they only take the good things of the target culture, and when they came back to their places they do what they did in their target culture. Which is amazing, because it means that they start a change in their environment, first with their family and then with the others. So, now you can imagine my excitement of today when I was listening to Dr. Lenier. 

Going further, we (teachers in this program) are about to start a change in our environment (familiar, professional, social) since we are participating in this workshop, and we can only take the good things FROM YOU ALL Cindy, Maggie, Molly, Rochelle, Dr. Lenier, Cindi. You are great models to shape us as teachers.

To end with, I am motivated now to start new researches about culture and how it affects language learning.