Minorities in Academics

The semester has been busy, and I did not update this blog as I had planned to in preparation for study abroad. Today was full of errands, but eventful in providing food for thought.

Study abroad pre-departure orientation is mandatory, I expected a general focus on health and safety. Instead the focus was on stereotypes of Americans on study abroad programs, perceptions of Americans in other countries, and culture shock while abroad. Having grown up in the United States in a decidedly Mexican household, I am no stranger to culture shock. My house, my family, my various neighbourhoods, and my schools were all principally Mexican or Latino, or had a significant proportion of Mexicans or Latinos. College and certain classes in high school are when I've been "cast out" into surroundings where Mexicans and Mexican culture weren't all around me to take for granted. The culture I grew up in and hang out in is always mainly Mexican. Americanization mainly shows in food choices and which language, or mix of language, is used to communicate. But the culture is very preserved, so the orientation session alienated me.

First of all, when I entered I was the only non-white student. As the session filled up with late tricklers, there were about 35 students, with only 5 non-white students including me, and only one male. The video they showed us on American stereotypes and differences in cultures marked to me why I was a minority in this country, and why I will always be a minority in this country, even though I was born in and grew up here. Among points addressed were:

• Americans are too loud (I've only heard this stereotype in regards to people of my culture) -do not drink to pass out, because in most other cultures drinking is for social mingling (this part of American culture is one of the more alien to me, and I always grew up seeing drinking as a social activity as well. Tipsiness in my culture okay, yes. Passed out drunkenness? Not so much.) 
• Americans are too invasive of personal space (compared to what I grew up in, Americans have a too large bubble of personal space) 
• Americans hug more than in non-European countries (but less than what I expect among other Latinos)

Those are just the ones covered in the video, but they were enough to make me feel alienated from the larger gathering, and the fellow Latina I'd wound up sitting next to kept shifting uncomfortably as well like I was doing, at least until we were given time to mingle. My own fidgeting stopped after that as well.

All this after having watched two videos that also made me see my place as a minority. One on women in STEM, as I am, and how they are still held to standards of beauty and asked about their fashion and life choices despite it having nothing to do with their work, and the other a Pantene advertisement of women in the workplace. The latter was a Filipino advertisement with remarkably light-skinned models, some who looked white and not at all Asian, which a discussion into the homogenization of beauty. It's a lot to think about, and I'll write on it when I've had more time to reflect on it.

To those interested, the videos: