autoethnography and course portfolio

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University of South Florida *

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2010

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English

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Dec 6, 2023

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docx

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U43189731 anishahossain@usf.edu Anisha Hossain Megha IDH 2010 Hon. Acquisition of Knowledge Rebecca R. Todd Autoethnography & Course Portfolio GEA2

Autoethnography The autoethnographic essay I am about to write is about my experience moving to a different place thousands of miles away and its pros and cons. I will be expanding on the topics of cultural shocks I faced and hurdles with having to change majors. To provide some context, I am an international student at USF and originally hail from Bangladesh. I come from a place and environment very different from Tampa. Growing up, I was raised in a moderately religious household with strict guidelines that I had to follow. Doing academically well, alongside being good at other fields such as art, music, and other extracurricular activities, was a priority set up for me. Hence, I had to run from school to various coaching and cram classes to do well in every area of my academic life. As a result, I never really had time for myself and grew up without any passion for anything. While in middle school, I discovered that I am exceptionally good at sketching and drawing portraits. At first, I was very enthusiastic and even wanted to pursue art as a career path. When I broke the news to my grandmother, my guardian at the time due to my parents, who were very young at the time being busy with their higher education, without any hesitation straight up said no to my face and that artists do not make much money so it will be a precarious career path. I was discouraged to my core, gave up on that and ever since have not been that passionate about drawing even though I am excellent at it. Another factor about living in Bangladesh was that I was not allowed to go to that many places, and from outings due to academic purposes, I was kept from leaving the house. One reason for this was Dhaka, the city I lived in, was unsafe for girls. Therefore, I grew up sheltered and cooped up with little knowledge about the outside world. Then, after my grandmother passed away, my parents decided it would be better if I studied outside of Bangladesh, especially in the U.S. So, I applied to a few colleges and finally chose USF (more so because of the scholarship I received, and Tampa weather is comparatively warmer) and decided to major in Architecture. This was the first time I was left entirely alone in a place that was too far from home when I was previously not even allowed to go to the convenience store alone. Imagine my shock and overwhelming feelings! The hardest part was saying goodbye to my mom. When she left, I was in a daze. I had imagined the departure to be more emotional, with many tears. But I was okay. Being emotional at that point would have made her even more concerned and unwilling to leave.

But I did feel a lot of guilt for not being sad enough. However, I still think about my mother when I'm alone in my dorm and going through a difficult time. Every little thing would trigger my memory of how I'm here without her and how badly I want to see her again. She's no longer on the same continent, let alone in the same room. The second most challenging part was figuring out everything independently. I went from a girl whose whole life was being dictated to a girl whose life decisions were now solely mine. But as mentioned in one of the chapters we read in class, Existentialism, with freedom, also comes the anxiety of handling the responsibility that comes with it. Additionally, as an international student, I was facing various new cultural shocks at every turn of my life, and it was not only me. Food, transportation, housing, and every other guideline, including even the school itself with the professors and students, were worlds apart from the ones in my country. Every little part of life was a new challenge, from doing laundry to figuring out how our stive in the dorm worked - things I was not used to doing and having no prior experience with. I remember one of our classmates, Vivek, mentioning not knowing what office hours were. I was the same! But I discovered that I was not the only one feeling this way, and many others feel just like me. According to a report by USF Newsroom: New report on international student enrollment finds USF is a leader for global diversity TAMPA, Fla. (Nov. 16, 2021) - As universities across the United States recognize International Education Week Nov. 15-19, the University of South Florida community can celebrate reaching a historic milestone in its global diversity. The annual report released by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Institute of International Education, known as the Open Doors® 2021 Report on International Educational Exchang e, revealed that for the first time, USF leads the state of Florida in international student enrollment. As of fall 2020, USF enrolled 5,974 international students from more than 140 countries. The report ranks USF No. 19 nationally among public universities and No. 28 for both public and private universities ( Newsfeed, November 2021).

This motivated me further to find more people like me and talk to them so that I could relate to them. I learnt that all international students have to deal with these types of experiences. Everyone deals with it differently, maybe even unlike the ways they had expected. This is an experience you do not go through daily, so there is nothing to prepare you. One way of overcoming the culture and shock and adjusting to the new life more smoothly was to talk to others and become an effective communicator. Reaching out and talking to others and not being afraid to ask questions to classmates, instructors, advisors, etc., helped me adapt the most to my new environment. One of the most important lessons you can learn is to become more open, to identify with a broader range of humans, to find common ground, and to function with diverse subsets of people. The people are the entire point of college. It might seem daunting at first – starting over is never easy. However, education can be obtained anywhere (online, for example), but the relationships you establish can last a lifetime. You will meet people from various backgrounds and experiences who you will remember for the rest of your life. Hence, I decided to keep an open mind, put myself out there, and make as many acquaintances as possible, even if I do not meet with them daily. Another tough choice that I had to make was selecting a different major. I was happy with my major – Architecture – but unfortunately, I learned that my scholarship would be cut in half since architecture has a more diverse academic path than other majors. The news devastated me because I could no longer keep my major since I could not afford it. Even worse was the fact that I had no idea which major to choose. I had always had an indecisive personality which did not help my situation. Unlike other Asian households, my brown was not strict regarding these matters and told me to choose whatever major I was comfortable in (this was the one time I wished my mom was a strict one who imposed restrictions on me!). I did feel very devastated and lost. I talked to my advisor to see if she could direct me in a specific direction but sadly realized that no matter how much assistance I received from others, the choice entirely depended on me. Even though the experience was unpleasant, it taught me to be more self-reliant and accept accountability for my choices. From the start of my college life, I started learning to make choices more myself, no matter how big or small. I no longer had the safety net of my family to rely on and had to take care of myself as much as possible because in my journey to move to the U.S. was not only my hard work involved but also my mother's. Hence, I could not afford to be

impulsive with my choices and wreak havoc on my life. I had to be careful and, at the same time, not collapse under the pressure this new freedom imposed on me. With the help of family, friends, and advisors, I finally decided to choose Computer Science as my major since it was the best choice academically and career-wise. I again realized that talking to people and coming out of my introverted shell was very crucial to me. I am sad that I had to let go of becoming an architect, but at the same time, I am excited to learn programming languages and look forward to what this degree has in store for me. I am still in the process of learning new things, and even though six months is a brief period of time, I have changed a lot. For the first time in my life, I was out and about all by myself and felt a glimpse of what being an adult is like. So far, I am proud of how I am doing and adapting, and I hope to keep improving. Moreover, I hope my experiences and knowledge I have gained will be able to help others as well and guide them towards possible solutions.

Course Portfolio Discussion: The Music of Strangers The Silk Road Ensemble and Yo-Yo Ma's album, The Music of Strangers, provided interesting insight into many civilizations. In my opinion, the mood of the film felt very collaborative and inspirational at the same time, even though it changed many times throughout the video. It was amazing to see how important music was to each of those people's lives, their heritage, and what drove them to become and stay a musician. It was an excellent look at how a bunch of diverse and ethnically different individuals interacted to form a singular community. The film in itself was very appealing with the portrayal of so many different cultures and how they blended together. The movie kind of reminded me of our very own ‘acquisition of knowledge’ classroom, as it has a similar vibe: different individuals from different races harboring contrasting opinions all under one roof preparing to learn from each other and work together! However, I think, no matter how long you work together, learning for your environment never really stops. The question that popped up in my mind frequently, though, was - when you work with such a diverse group, how do you prevent arguments and clashes of opinion? Another query would be - Since the musicians are in this ‘interdisciplinary’ blend, do they ever feel like they might lose a sense of uniqueness as they adapt to each other? Questions 1. Can you remember of a time when you had an experience relating to Interdisciplinary Inquiry? 2. Which character from the film did you like the most and why? 3. Do you Interdisciplinary Inquiry can help you in your professional field?

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