In our multicultural world, international links are established
through travel, economy and politics. However, we at UCLA do not
necessarily have to go on the road to make these connections; we
ourselves make up a colorful, vivacious quilt.
Look around you. Eavesdrop on conversations. You will be
fascinated to learn from those who have left their familiar
environment and traded highly valued norms ““ local culture,
food, religion, social celebrations, holidays and friends and
family ““ to at least temporarily accept a new tradition and
lifestyle in America.
How are, for example, weddings celebrated throughout the world?
A UCLA student, who met and married his German sweetheart during
his junior year abroad in the university’s partnership city
Goettingen, recalls the wedding: “On the eve of the wedding,
friends and family members of the bride held a Polterabend, a
custom in which dishes are smashed in front of her house. Germans
believe that the noise will drive evil spirits away. When the bride
sweeps up the broken pieces, luck is brought into her new
household.”
An exchange student from Russia said, “My parents married
in a square atop Moscow’s Lenin Hills. On the morning of
their wedding, bridesmaids gathered at my mother’s house,
playfully demanding a “ransom” (in Russia, it is
usually money or vodka) from my father before allowing him to take
the bride away.”
Other UCLA students know or have seen brides who change their
wedding dress seven times (Morocco), or have belly dancers at their
receptions (Egypt), or release doves from a cage (Italy),
symbolizing the newlyweds’ send-off to a new life. Â
These students’ experiences connect to our fast-paced
lives by contrasting our norms and value systems to the adventurous
and exotic strangeness of the unfamiliar. We taste the goats and a
cow roasted on a big spit, and say goodbye to the white, creamy,
multi-tiered wedding cake. By telling the other side of the story,
by showing that alternative ways of living exist and have their own
intrinsic value, institutions on campus such as the Bradley Center
attempt to bridge cultural gaps and make students more familiar
with foreign cultures. Located on the west side of campus near the
dormitories, the Bradley Center stresses the importance of getting
to know international students “whole-heartedly.”
Panel discussions, seminars, mixers, and miscellaneous outreach
programs encourage students with diverse backgrounds to simply tell
their stories.
Unfortunately, we often neglect to take advantage of these
opportunities. Many students are unable to spend the holidays with
their families. When did you last invite a “dislocated”
student to celebrate one of the upcoming holidays with you?
“I have not seen my family for four and a half
years,” says Natalia Futasova, a third-year M.F.A. directing
student, whose family is from the Czech Republic.
Vladimir Pefic, a fourth-year mathematics student originally
from the former Yugoslavia, asserts, “You come here and you
know that you will have to compromise values and traditional norms
to adapt to American culture, but some things just are not the
same.”Â
Others are more outspoken, expressing their bewilderment
regarding several American social events and holiday celebrations,
such as Thanksgiving. “Why are Americans so crazy about
turkey?”
Other opportunities are lost when we fail to accept an
invitation to celebrate one of the upcoming holidays in a
non-American traditional manner. Imagine a Russian Christmas Eve
dinner, meatless but festive. The most important ingredient would
be a special porridge called kutya. It is made of wheatberries or
other grains, honey and poppy seeds. Eaten from a common dish, the
kutya symbolizes unity.
“We used to throw a spoonful of kutya up to the
ceiling,” a student said. “If the kutya stuck,”
he continued, “we would have a rich honey harvest.”
After twenty years, Larry Gower, Director of the Office of
International Students and Scholars, still sees international
students come and go while experiencing awe, worry, and
apprehension. He places great emphasis and importance on achieving
maximum understanding and knowledge, as available, of foreign
cultures to accommodate specific needs as well as to ease the
difficult transition into the rich UCLA community. “Only
complete stories make up complete people,” Gower
reinforces.
Yorke’s column usually runs every other Tuesday.