Introduction: Abroad Diaries

Hey courtdotcomm followers, I have to get out of the habit of posting once per year don't I?

In 2021, I started courtdotcomm the blog with no real expectations besides having a platform to share my personal anecdotes of my (then) early twenties. Now, I'm 25 living in England and about a month out from moving to Paris. I got into my dream masters program, Europubhealth, a dual master's degree that's a branch of the European Union's Erasmus Mundus programs that allows me to live in 2 different countries and obtain a master in public health and second master's in epidemiology and biostatistics.

But enough about the technical part, what I find people want to know more about is how living in Europe has changed and challenged me. At the end of the day, attending lectures is only one element, but the people I encounter, the history, food, dating, working, etc.--those are the real elements that curate my life here. As I conclude my first year abroad, I want to educate my friends and acquaintances back home about how rich this experience has been for me, and to possibly encourage more people to travel and live abroad, or at minimum just embrace the complexities of life outside the United States. We've been trained to think of America as the pinnacle of all things great, but American Exceptionalism is a dangerous conditioning that limits our ability to see the connections we share with the world, with humanity. We tend to hide in our ignorance, not because we want to but because it's safe and honestly the norm.

(In case this is a new term for you, American exceptionalism is an idea that, "...the United States of America is a unique and even morally superior country for historical, ideological, or religious reasons. Proponents of American exceptionalism generally pair the belief with the claim that the United States is obligated to play a special role in global politics." (https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-exceptionalism)

My public health cohort has been my family as I maneuver culture shock and making peace with my ignorance of cultures different from my own. In a lecture theater of 100 people, there's at least 50 countries represented, I've never experienced that level of diversity in my entire life. In the context of the U.S., we are such a separationist (and racist!) society. This is not to say the UK doesn't possess its own racism and self-segregation but I love that on a single street in tiny Sheffield I can see local Yorkshire delicacies, Turkish kebabs, Italian pasta, and Chinese restaurants from multiple provinces. Seeing Eid Mubarak signs in non-Muslim establishments made my heart smile. I wish in the U.S. it wasn't the norm to dilute our differences in pursuit of power, be that financially or just in 'fitting in' enough to find community. It makes me wonder how complex my friends growing up had to juggle conforming to American culture and maintain their connection with their own families and nations.

For example, Muslims make up only about 1% of the U.S. population, whereas in the UK it's closer to 7%, and Islamophobia was something I'd only read about, but never witnessed up close. Simple things like finding Halal restaurants and grocery stores, fasting for Ramadan, looking up the time of sunrise for morning prayer and joining Youtube daily for a livestream of the muezzin leading an afternoon prayer are a norm for my Muslim friends here, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to have Muslim friends to educate me. It's not to say Muslims in America aren't jumping the same hurdles, but more so it's astounding how little the average American knows of other religions outside of Christianity and simply have no interest in adopting a better understanding. I constantly question myself and how I was raised. In the U.S. we often stick to fighting for our own community's place in society, but we fail to acknowledge the intersectionality of our identities. How much of life in America is defined by race, gender, sex, sexuality, religion, class, and history? Truthfully, a LOT.

Though I'd like to think I moved to the UK with a good amount of knowledge of global events and cultures outside of my own, it's so difficult to accept the fact that it's nearly impossible to know everything about everyone, but that doesn't deter me from the pursuit. I constantly find myself on Youtube doing deep dives of world history, trying to understand the context of the new people I encounter because that context is crucial. If you were raised in a post-Soviet country, your view on money is undoubtedly different. In my closest group of friends we are American, Albanian, German, Turkish (did you know it's not Turkey, but Turkiye?!), South African, Honduran, Pakistani, Filipino, Indonesian and Ecuadorian to name a few. Everyone is fluent in at least 2 languages and some can speak and comprehend up to 5. They are my windows into other worlds, and I can't help but acknowledge that if we'd met in the U.S., we may have never had the chance to speak so transparently about the differences and continuities we possess.

Also, just being honest, Amerikkka blocks so many other nationalities by having strict tourist visa requirements, or only allowing those with higher education degrees the opportunity to immigrate, further minimizing our scope of other cultures and ethnicities to that of wealth and access. When I think of Americans on social media indulging in visiting every country in the world, we don't acknowledge the privilege our passports possess, and the dominance of our culture in the global arena. I detest the fact my friends from the global south need to prove months of bank statements to be granted a visa, or have to spend thousands more to travel direct to their home countries because they would need a special visa to even have a connecting flight that lands in the US. It also breaks my heart that so many "developed" nations hate migrants and their conservation of language and culture, even when the cause of their migration is a direct result of their colonialism and imperialism weakening their economies and causing civil unrest between tribes and religions.

Liberal culture would have us to believe we are so tolerant, but we are quite spoiled in having so much cater to us as Americans. I don't know any Americans that had to learn a second or third language via watching soap operas, blockbuster films, and their favorite Youtubers simply because there were no translations available in their mother tongue. Mass media is really FUBU, for us and by us, and it puts a blinder on us all. I find it astounding how many people know more about American reality shows than I do! You wouldn't believe the amount of questions I receive regarding what American high schools and colleges were like simply because there's a million stories about it publicized in the media. It's a bit intimidating at times, but I feel somewhat like an American ambassador. I tell people all the time that the only time I feel American is when I'm outside of its borders, and I love the fact that I can share my perspective and history to open ears so that they may understand the context of my life more too. It perplexes people why anyone American by birth would ever want to leave because of the propaganda we promote to the rest of the world.

At this point in my program, I've learned how important it is to be considerate and humble in my interactions with non-Americans. I'll never stop screaming how institutionalized racism, sexism, and homophobia should be dismantled, but I have to grapple with the fact that my personal struggles as a Black American woman of a mixed ethnic background cannot always be the loudest in the room. There are a multitude of people experiencing their own 'isms' and prejudices that also deserve a spotlight, and most importantly deserve compassion and understanding. My heart has been softened profoundly, and I've gained so much empathy for humans from every corner of the earth. I do not take it for granted, and I hope that by following along on my journey you may be able to be inspired to break out of whatever identity-specific bubble you've felt bound to and lead a life that is more open to listen and to learn.

Thank you for reading, and I encourage you to comment or ask questions surrounding topics you would like me to write in the future.

Wishing you peace and eternal expansion.

Courtney