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Different cultures have different expectations, this is obvious. But this reality can be truly inconvenient at times. In the US, most venues have an easily accessible wifi connection, at least outside of major metropolitan areas. In Germany, this is actually quite uncommon. In Frankfurt, there may be only two or three cafes that allow connection to a Wifi — what’s more, sitting at a cafe for hours on end may be considered rude if the venue is busy.

I sat down at a bar-cafe and asked if they have wifi, the waitress confirmed that they do. After I ordered, I looked for their wifi, and there wasn’t any. When I asked the waitress about it, she looked at my phone and shrugged bemusedly. She left and did nothing else.

I felt that she had partially mislead me, and was a bit frustrated, because I had want4e dto get some work done as I sat. Obviously, the culture in Frankfurt is that wifi is not expected as part of sitting at a cafe, and so the waitress did not see it as her problem to help me.

The “sunglasses” view of culture is helpful here. I had always assumed that Cafe’s having easily accessible wifi is part of the Cafe experience. But now I realize that I was useing my “sunglasses” and was missing the cultural elament — that is simply the expectation in the US.

I learned that if you are expecting to spend an extended period of time doing something, it is best to ask locals if that something accepted.

I don’t really know what to expect going into this summer or how I “should” be feeling. I feel nervous, excited, anxious and a blend of other emotions, but I haven’t really taken any action on these feelings. I’ve done a minimal amount of research or planning because I truly just want to show up and see where life takes me. I think that’s the best way I will achieve the most authentic experience possible and through reflection on this authentic experience, I hope to grow interculturally.

I’ve been studying German since the 8th grade, but I’m doing this program because my language abilities have hit a plateau and I need to put them to the test in order to further develop them. I think this will present its fair share of challenges in the beginning and I need to make the conscious effort to use German not English. This is the biggest reason that I chose Radolfzell over a big city. My hope is that since Radolfzell is a small town, the temptation to use English will be less because less people will speak it.

One of my goals going into this summer is to be spontaneous. I’m the type of person who prefers routine, but I know that if I do the same thing every day I will look back on the summer as a missed opportunity to experience new things. While I don’t want to plan out every moment of every day and fill them to the brim with activities, I also don’t want to become content in a routine. My intent is to try something new everyday.

I expect that I will learn a lot about how willing I will be to embrace the discomfort that will come with experiencing a new culture, and through this discomfort I expect that I will be able to find similarities between Italian culture and my own culture while also finding out how cultures influence values and life choices.

If I decide to embrace the discomfort that will come with trying to immerse myself in a culture that is not my own, then learning about the culture will be much easier and I expect that I will be able to more easily find the similarities between Italian culture and my own culture. It will also be much easier to observe how culture affects the values of its people if I accept that this experience will be far from comfortable.

If I fail to embrace the challenge that lies ahead of my, then I expect that my goals that I have set forth for myself will be much more challenging to achieve.

Last summer, I worked as a resident volunteer at Hesed House, a homeless shelter in Illinois. And wow, did that experience shape me. I remember having zero expectations going into it, unsure what I would even be doing exactly. I just showed up. Once again, I find myself unsure what to expect for the summer—going into Costa Rica and learning Spanish—but I do know that I want to just show up and take it in.

Frankly, I am insecure in my Spanish abilities. In fact, it has been at least a whole semester since I really studied Spanish. Regardless, there is this deep desire within me to be at least colloquially fluent. There is something about language that is so ontological to someone’s identity that makes it so appealing for me to learn languages. And I want to understand people, take part in how their world is constructed through words. My friends, some of my best friends actually, are native Spanish speakers, and so learning Spanish has become a driving force within me. And I believe it would help me understand even beyond those closest to me. 

Back at Hesed House, I used to help with the laundry, folding blankets and sheets—sorting them. And there was this one resident who would always help. Estefan. Spanish was his first language and I remember wishing desperately in those moments that I was fluent. I remember feeling so thankful for his patience and consistent effort to communicate with me even as I shuffled words out of my mouth. I remember wondering how it must feel to be in a place where you couldn’t communicate in your mother tongue. 

Learning Spanish has not been easy. It feels like I’m trapped in my own mind. Stuck on the words, on the conjugations. I never learned a language that I didn’t grow up speaking (English and Japanese) until university. And it feels so discouraging at times. As if I am a baby with a fully cognitive adult brain. I know what I want to say. I know how I want to say it. Just not in this language… 

It makes me think with much humility how difficult it must be to emigrate or push yourself out of the comfort zone of your primary language(s). Admittedly, I have been a coward. I try not to raise my hand in Spanish classes; I try not to practice Spanish with my friends beyond the bounds of what I know. But I think language is so human in that way. In that, the only way to become fluent (at least efficiently) is to be around others who speak the language and to use the language yourself.

Costa Rica is going to humble me. And the homestay situation will ensure that I can’t hide away from this opportunity. So I am going to show up. I am going to confront the uncomfortable need to depend on others’ help and even come across unintelligible. And I hope if anything I will be able to accompany others.

I have never been to Costa Rica or Latin America in general. I recognise from the Intercultural Development Index I tend to be more polarising with my perception of cultures and when I’m not, I tend to be minimising of cultural differences. I grew up with two nationalities, Japan and the US, that I constantly compared and contrasted. The question is how can I balance differences and similarities of cultures effectively. And to what extent is it helpful to do so without judgement and to what extent is being aware of my judgements and preferences useful in understanding myself and others.

My hope is to come closer to an answer over my time at Costa Rica. For now, I plan to just show up.