The first research partner I worked with in Dr. Wodzinski’s water resources research projects was from Nepal. As we continued working together almost every day, I started to get curious about his culture as he would talk about some of the challenges communicating with his family with the difference in time zones. I began asking him questions about Nepal and he was excited to share his home culture with me. Through sharing what his life had been like growing up and explaining why he came to America, he taught me about differences in our cultural practices and things I hadn’t known about my own culture.

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My experience learning from my Nepali research partner completes Self-Awareness 3 and Knowledge and Understanding 3.

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One of the first topics I inquired about was what it was like growing up in Nepal and some of the foods they eat there. The first cultural comparison he made was the difference in housing. He told me that nice housing in Nepal is what we would call “lower-class” housing. This was an immediate reminder that I have more than I realize and that the things I take for granted are not everybody’s reality. He described that they use different cooking techniques in Nepal and that they play soccer and ride motor bikes in the mountains for fun. The most memorable information he shared with me is that they eat with their hands in Nepal. This was so memorable because we sat down together and watched a YouTube video of a Nepali person teaching three other people from different countries how to eat with their hands. While the Nepali teacher was very neat with his eating style, the three students were not. My research partner found this very funny as he grew up eating with his hands and was entertained by how poorly other people ate with their hands. Just as other cultures might find it entertaining to watch people eat with a fork or chopsticks, I realized that people’s experiences form their worldview.

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In addition to the many interesting things my research partner taught me about his culture, he also taught me about rules within my own culture. The second big thing I remember asking was why he decided to come to the United States. He explained that there is opportunity to grow in the United States where there wasn’t in his country. As a senior in college, he taught me two things as he described his future to me. First, he would have to find a company to sponsor him to stay in the United States after graduation. This puts extra pressure on the job search for international students and was a requirement of which I was not aware. Second, he told me that his ideal job was an aeronautic engineer. He majored in mechanical engineering so I was confused why he didn’t attend another university so that he could pursue his passion. I learned that international students have a tough path into the aeronautic field because United States regulations are very strict on having US citizenship to work with airplanes. He explained that it would likely be at least ten years until he works in his desired field. I found his career path to be much more challenging than my own because of obstacles my culture puts on international students.

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As I continue to interact with individuals from different cultures, I will keep in mind that I do not know their background or the challenges they face compared to my own.