 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| Who is an INTERNATIONAL? By: Mai Eldib There is a certain air of sophistication when a person can define herself as an international individual. International, worldly, Well-traveled and cultured all seem to encapsulate this air of a person stepping out of the covers of Vogue or Bazaar. One thing is for sure being an international isn’t an elite club for the rich and famous only, but constantly experiencing a different culture, food or country broadens your international portfolio, be it through the most expensive or cheapest means. We are internationals in this global village which allows us to eat Chinese food at your very own Chinatown in San Francisco to buying African weaved baskets at your small eclectic boutique in hipster-ville. My experience with internationalism began very early on from my schooling, traveling and voracious yearning to learn new languages at any juncture. As of 6th grade my class had students from India, the US, Holland, Ireland, Iran and Serbia. There was no unique identity. Everyone shared their background giving the class and in totality the school a feel of a global village. A place where you can hear two people talking in Hindi by the tables next to the library to two Americans with a southern accent going on about the basketball games on the courts or the cafeteria. The only thing that united us was the school and being in Alexandria. Which essentially up until the 1950’s was one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, with Greeks, Arabs, Italians, Russians, Jews, Muslims, British, French, Egyptians and Christians all lived in harmony. The knowledge of different languages also affords us the opportunity to communicate to others around us from across the whole world. Imagine the power of knowing Mandarin; you have the capacity to talk to a little over 1 billion people, that 1 out of 7 people. Or speaking Spanish, where the whole continent of South America (with the exception of Brazil) is fluent. Languages are tools of communication that empower us to better understand other people and cultures. I am person who is extremely invested in learning new languages and attempts at any point to communicate in my new found language, even if I stumble upon every word and get the award for the worst accent and worst grammar track record. Whether it be the snooty Parisian saleswoman correcting my horrible French, to the Spanish cabbie who speaks so quickly that I constantly ask them to slow down and of course to my infamous incorrect use of the English grammar. I sometimes think, why in the world am I killing my brain with all these different formats of sentence structure and conjugations, but there is always a certain sense of achievement to understanding the lyrics of Juanes’ new song or watching a French movie without constantly looking at the subtitles. I love the fact that I am multi cultured and international woman. Traveling is one of the most rewarding forms of education, because we are able to see a culture in its most native forms without any form of corruption by our own personal culture. Whenever I think of my list of countries to visit it always outnumber the countries I’ve visited by fourfold at least. My parents think I am delusional dreaming of flying across the whole globe, but there is simply too much to see. We need to enjoy the fruits offered to us by this diverse world and stray away from fear and xenophobia. Yes, maybe everything can be seen through the Travel Channel or picture on the internet, but that never does any country justice to its true beauty. I dream of seeing the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, to the Angkor Watt in Cambodia and to the beautiful Western areas of Montana. Traveling is one of the most important forms of learning about this international world of ours. So is eating different cuisines. My latest form of experimentation with food, and trying to learn about an new culture was eating at an Pan-African restaurant in New York. It was officially the first time for me to read the menu and think I have no idea what’s this or that. I even misread the word Kidigo for appetizers, as Kindingo which my friends poke fun at me incessantly because I wasn’t in my element that I couldn’t even read properly. But by far my dinner at the Pan-African restaurant was the most entertaining and enlightening experiences in a long time. I enjoyed learning how to eat with my hands, which is a complete art form that can’t be mastered all at once. But step by step we appreciate our differences and learn about each other and enjoy this knowledge of the other, making us step by step a tad bit more international We read about this utopia of an international place, where cultures meet and greet and create this beautiful sound of music; a harmony that would rival any orchestra. This synchrony of cultures keeps on meeting and greeting to a note of satisfaction to all the parties involved, visitors and natives. So go out and do something different. Talk to person from a different part of the world. Plan a trip to somewhere across the borders. Or even try to learn a new language. It’s a mind chattering experience. I know my next priority is living in a different country, who knows maybe Argentina where I can try to master the art of the Tango! |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |