When people ask me where I’m from, it’s always tricky for me to answer. I was born in Venezuela, but moved to Miami when I was very young. I have lots of memories from when we used to visit my family, and even though my Spanish is far from perfect, I love my Latin American background and identify with it much more than with my time spent in the States. Miami is basically northern Cuba anyways, so I haven’t had much experience with what it’s like to be an American, although I probably do have the best of both worlds.
This means that if anyone is appreciating the culture clash we have here at Duke, it’s me. I love sitting in my common room and watching a friend from New York try to understand conversation I’m having with another Venezuelan, while a beautiful Brazilian plays loud music in the background and and a buddy from Bombay does homework with us. It’s such a wonderful disaster.
It gets particularly eye-opening when you meet someone from a corner of the world you’re completely unfamiliar with, and you realize that you know absolutely nothing about yet another country. Zimbabwe? Pakistan? …Wisconsin? You have no idea what life is like in those places, and eventually you come to realize that not everyone is aware of what it’s like back in your hometown, either.
Even people with an American passport can easily surprise you around here. That New Yorkian I mentioned earlier speaks fluent Italian, and is half German. The Brazilian girl actually grew up in Florida, speaks four languages, and has explored all of Europe. You could probably spend days guessing where I’m from, but I never fail to surprise people with my little history.
Even if you were born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, there’s something you can bring to the table that others have never experienced before, and that fascinates me. Your school is a beehive of people sharing experiences, ideas, and perspectives in a way that would otherwise never have been possible.
There are few other times in your life that you’re going to get the opportunity to learn about places without actually travelling to them, so I’d suggest taking advantage of as much as you can. Don’t assume that because someone is from somewhere familiar to you, that they can’t surprise you, and don’t assume that you have nothing to learn from someone from an entirely contrasting part of the world. Interacting with strangers from strange places is funny, exciting, and will give you great stories to bring back home to your parents.
Something that I’ve always loved about America is the incredible diversity that is welcome here, and Duke is the epitome of that concept. Sometimes speaking to peers can be more enlightening than sitting through all of your lectures, so take the time to do so. Shamelessly ask people about where they come from, what language they speak, and what it’s like back home. Because we may not be able to experience everything, but we can share the load with each other, puzzling together the spectrum of human experience, especially at a place like this.