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#5 A Farewell to Armenia’s Charms

From Warsaw Chopin Airport my time in Armenia already seems like a distant dream. Or maybe that’s because my first flight back to the US was delayed over 27 hours, and I haven’t slept more than 12 hours within the last 60. In other words, perhaps the summer feels like a distant past because I’ve been trapped in an airport nightmare for far too long; like I’ve been subjected to some sort of back-to-reality prank. Or because having left Armenia, Russian is no longer the default language.

As I reflect on my time in Armenia in this half-asleep state, I feel really proud of how much I’ve learned. I am proud of the confidence I gained speaking Russian; of the fact that in my last days I had been consistently mistaken for a native speaker (don’t be fooled I’ve just learned to mask my issues with Russian phonetics), and the fact I was able to offer my fellow travelers simultaneous Russian-Polish-English translation in a time of crisis, even after being awake for 24 hours. The airport staff made quiet, almost secret, announcements about the long delay exclusively in Armenian, and I had to pry the information out of them in Russian to pass it along in other languages—like a game of испорченный телефон, or broken telephone, only I got it right. It was a true test of my skills, and I am proud to say I passed!

In some ways, Russian comes more easily to me now than Polish, and I’ve noticed that under pressure I’ve started using Russian conjugation patterns for Polish verbs. Is this because I know more Russian than Polish? No, of course not! Polish is my native language, my first language. Rather, it is the result of a language immersion program, in a city where the language is spoken everywhere, where you can hear it everywhere you go—and I am so grateful I got to experience that.

But, will every immersive language program yield this kind of result? The short answer is, это зависит от ситуации—it depends on the situation. Most importantly, it depends on you, the learner. I left my husband, dogs, and cat this summer with a mission: to get as close to fluency in Russian as humanely possible in two months. I thought eight weeks away from my family needs to bring me to a comfortable level of speaking and reading Russian, if it’s going to be worth it. So I spent almost every waking minute working on my Russian: small talk with staff in the local cafe where I ate every day; more small talk with the staff and other guests at my hostel; watching interviews with Russian journalists and politicians; reading and listening to (audio)books; carefully doing my homework every day; engaging in long and serious debates on various issues in class; joking with Alyona, our teacher, about Eastern Europe; going to every event I had the energy for. It was draining, truly exhausting. But I will miss it. I will miss speaking this language every day. I will miss the friends I’ve made in this language. And I will miss thinking in this language, as I transition out of Slavic syntax and back into English.

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On my last evening in Yerevan, I went to the Ukrainian charity with Alyona to eat proper homemade borscht, to donate money to the shelter for war refugees, and to hang out with her one last time. As we sat in the garden, sweating from the hot soup in almost 40 degree heat (that’s Celsius, google it), we talked about what we dream of. We talked about the uncertainty of planning for the future in this day and age, and how you can do everything right and still not get to where you want to be—and sometimes that’s just how it is. For both of us, the dream is to live and work in Ukraine at some point in the near future. This wasn’t the first time we talked about it, but it was the saddest, as we tried to figure out when and how we can meet again. If Ukraine were possible, we’d both be friends there; and when it becomes possible again, I’m sure we will be.

And as we said our goodbyes and hugged by the gates of the shelter, we both cried. We cried for having met in the circumstances we did, and how they brought us to this inevitable goodbye. Alyona is truly one of the kindest and most generous people I have met in recent times. I cannot be more grateful for having spent the summer learning from her, and getting to know her on a more personal level. I will miss her.

But we’ll keep in touch in the language she taught me this summer, and I’m sure we’ll meet again, in Armenia or perhaps in Ukraine.

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Blog Post #6 – LGBTIQ+ Solidarity in Brazil

My awareness of Brazil’s inclination towards collectivism over individualism has largely been triggered by my interactions with the queer community here. Attending the world’s largest pride march in the country further underscored this collective spirit, as millions marched together to advocate for change. It prompted me to reflect on how this collectivism influences social change.

It was powerful to see millions of people marching to demand public policies that reflect the realities lived by queer people in the country. I witnessed how progressive sectors of Brazilian society embraced their LGBTIQ+ citizens to foster an environment where people can express their identity with a general sense of freedom and authenticity. This openness went beyond a mere tolerance; it’s an ongoing dialogue that shapes policies, perceptions, and paves the way for inclusive discussions around gender and sexual diversity. I’m amazed by queer life in Brazil and hope it continues to thrive amid challenges presented by the anti-gender movement, one which operates locally and transnationally.

In terms of the broader dimensions of the D6 Model, it would be valuable to understand more about the Masculinity/Femininity dimension (or the achievement vs nurturance dimension) and its implications for gender roles and expectations within Brazilian culture. This would deepen my understanding of how cultural values shape perceptions of gender diversity within the LGBTIQ+ community and Brazilian society as a whole. It just comes to show that cultural dimensions can intersect and interact in various ways, and reflecting on this is helping me deepen my appreciation for the diversity of human experiences.

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Blog Post #6 – Themes, Threads, and Thoughts

Nice and late, but here goes my last blog post. Looking back I have a lot to be grateful for with the opportunity to take classes and live in San José, Costa Rica. This SLA experience not only prepared me for my field research, it gave me riches in both my academic life and my personal life. Academically, I took two great classes. One refined my Spanish speaking and grammar, while the other fed my interest in Afro-Caribbean histories. In terms of my personal life, I found my older brother (which I’ve never had) and a second mother in my host family, Angelita and Leo. They embraced me into every aspect of their lives, taking me to mass, on errands, to the gym, to meet their larger family, and to neighborhood parties. All the while they have been interested in building me up as a person/student and hearing where my research leads me. This opportunity prepared me for research in other ways too. I had to befriend the humble, quiet little spiders in their home before I could deal with the MONSTERS I encountered in the rainforest during my research. But in all seriousness I am grateful for the ways in which the SLA opportunity has thoroughly enriched my life and career.

I would say that I met and exceeded my goals for intercultural development. I never expected the multicultural reality that is Costa Rica. I met people from Jamaica, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Mexico, Venezuela, Panama, Argentina, South Africa, Tanzania, and the US, all under this common name of “Costa Rican.” We talked about shared forms of resilience and what humanity needs to reach for next. After taking the two IDI tests and analyzing our responses, I realize that it is often more complicated than putting labels on cultures. It’s difficult to say that this cultural group is more xyz than that cultural group because individuals are so diverse even within a specified culture. I exceeded my goals but not in a complacent sort of way, more in a way that shows me that I’m obsessed with this lifestyle and frame of mind. I’d like to be ever-growing, ever-changing with the diverse perspectives around me. I don’t think I’ll ever be done exposing myself to new perspectives around the world, and we’ll see where that interest takes me after I graduate from here.

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Hofstede Cultural Dimensions

Link to the Hofstede dimensions. 

Spain ranks at a 42 on the “Masculinity” scale whereas the U.S. ranks at a 62. According to the scale, this generally means that Spain “does not value excessive competitiveness and puts more of an emphasis on collective effort.” Whereas, the U.S. is generally more “winner takes all” oriented. I can see how Spaniards are more nurturing in the sense that they seem to put more value on having a healthy work-life balance than Americans. Furthermore, the education system here is very inclusive and, in my opinion, offers more opportunities without bankrupting students. For example,  public high schools have many more options in terms of supporting entry into trade schools for students who do not wish to attend University. There are, of course, trade schools in the U.S., but high schools don’t seem to advertise them as much of an option. And for students who do wish to attend University, it is much more affordable than the U.S. (1,000-2500 euros/ year).  

With this said, Spain is a very diverse country with multiple different languages and cultures. Under Francisco Franco,  Castellano (Español) was declared the official language of Spain, and other languages like Gallego, Catalan, and Euskera were outlawed. After the end of the Francismo era, there was a strong push to reaffirm regional identity through language and culture. Before Franco died, there were multiple separatist groups like ETA (de país vasco) that wanted and still want independence from Spain. I mention this to show that although Spaniards tend to be collectively focused, there are still many contrasting views and goals within Spanish society. 

The second cultural dimension I want to discuss is “power distance.” Spain has a score of 57 and the U.S. 40. This supposedly means Spain has a more “hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification.” Whereas, in the U.S. “less powerful members of institutions and organizations are less likely to accept that power is distributed unequally.” This does not mean that Spain is rife with inequality. In actuality, inequality in Spain is much lower than it is in the United States. However, I think I have definitely seen a preference for a high power distance within families with older generations receiving a lot of respect. Furthermore, I’m in a culture class that has a planned syllabus but the class itself seems to vary depending on the professor. One of my professors who taught the class had no problem switching topics/ letting the lecture flow more conversationally. However, the last professor I had for this class was very adamant about adhering to the schedule and had to first consult with the director of the Colegio to accommodate a request from another student to have a class about a specific topic not listed in the syllabus. With this said, preference for power structure in the workplace may be more individualized than the Hofstede index indicates.

Below are some images of the murals in Barrio Oeste, the neighborhood where I have stayed during my time in Spain.