Feb 08

Cross-Cultural Counseling

By Missy Gluckmann International Education Tools, Multicultural Lives, Uncategorized No Comments »

(Click on the book to preview/purchase.)

This past week has been a sharp reminder of the importance of learning and utilizing skills when counseling across cultures, particularly during a crisis. I worked with two students this past week who are both experiencing tremendous anxiety:  one because she is experiencing a challenging relationship with her parent here in the US, the second because she is too far from her family in Western Europe.

In each case I received a somewhat panicked email or phone call asking if I could meet on the same day, which is rather out of character for each of these young women.  Both were tearful, uncertain and confused.  Each was unsure of how much to share and how much I would or could, in turn, share with others.

These experiences reminded me of the value of a graduate class in Cross-Cultural Counseling that I took many years ago at the School for International Training.  The work of Dr. Paul Pedersen really stood out for me, as his readings were based on the simple idea that “since all behaviors are learned and displayed in a cultural context, accurate assessment, meaningful understanding and appropriate interventions are done from the perspective of the client’s cultural context.”  As an American counselor, I have to style switch to address each student’s concerns, sensitively ask questions to determine understanding, make sure that my listening skills are particularly fine tuned to “hear” what might not have been said directly, and be keenly aware of the non-verbals.

One of the potential challenges for an adviser is how to handle the hand off to formal counseling services. For many students, American or otherwise, confidentiality is of tremendous concern. Many international students (and their family members) are not aware that universities in the US are not able to disclose information about a student to family members and perhaps not even colleagues within the institution, due to a law called FERPA – The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. For the first student, who is not from Western Europe, this was of great concern. She was uncomfortable with the thought of her family finding out that she was seeking counseling due to her strained relationship with a parent. I spent a great deal of time explaining the law and thankfully, due to our two year history and time dedicated to trust building, she was willing to try the free counseling.

Pedersen’s work illustrates that “Competence is measured by your ability to know what your client is thinking but not saying.”  In this case, I knew that this student was thinking that people in the US talk about these things publicly, as they do in her own culture.  Because of this, I made sure to pull up the FERPA web page to show her, in writing, that this is a firm law in the US and to explain that laws are very seriously followed in this country.

This past week has reminded me that it is time again to revisit the important work of Dr. Paul Pedersen. If you are interested in learning more about cross-cultural counseling, Pedersen’s website offers valuable power point presentations and simple exercises that you can easily utilize for staff training.

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Jan 12

Dreaming in Hindi – Landmarks in Progress

By Missy Gluckmann ESL, India, Multicultural Lives, Research, Uncategorized 1 Comment »

I have finally finished one of my new favorite reads, a delightful book entitled “Dreaming in Hindi: Coming Awake in Another Language” by Katherine Russell Rich.  Why do I love this book?  Probably because it would be my dream to be able to take off to India and study Hindi for a year. This is exactly what the author did and it resulted in a book that is part journal and reflection, yet loaded with recent research in second language acquisition.  Ms. Rich writes about her intensive Hindi program, politics in the region, her cultural informants, travel experiences, homestays, her classmates, and the idea of who do you become in another language/culture.  There is much to digest when reading this book, but she writes with intent, seriousness and a dash of witty humor.

There was so much that struck a chord with me in this book.  Ms. Rich writes about her early days in India, when she is living with a large family of Jains. (Jainism is an ancient religion in India that emphasizes non-violence to all beings in the world.) She writes about her early days of speaking in Hindi and how the family all sits down for dinner and asks her very simple, polite questions about the food, night after night.  Rich writes:

“Dinners go like this till one day, playing badminton in the drive, I give an automatic high-five.  The gesture startles everyone, shuts down the action. From then on, I high-five often. Did I like the soup? High-five! Did I like the lentils? High-five me more! They laugh so hard when they slap my palm, it ends all further discussion.”

This had me in tears, as I can completely relate to the American automatic need to high-five occasionally.  I recall an experience recently, despite all  of my years in the field of International Education, where I attempted to high-five a student who had recently arrived in the US  for university study.  I put my hand up, awaiting an enthusiastic hand slap in return, only to have the student continue with her remarks as if nothing was happening.  I caught myself quickly and instead moved my hand into my hair, as if to move it out of my eyes or something rather unnecessary. Ms. Rich’s description of the automatic American high-five had me in stitches, especially because it became a bonding moment for her and her Jain family, one that eventually allowed them to move past the basic “how is your dinner” kind of questions that we all get when we’re abroad and attempting to practice another language.

Ms. Rich’s humor shines through when she writes about her orientation to the language school which took place in Hindi – with the occasional warning coming through in English. Ms. Rich writes:

“The orientation leader, Vidhu, states: ‘If you see a group of sacred cows, we ask that you not disturb or frighten them as that can make them rush this way and that and possibly brush you. Last year cows strained a girl’s leg. She was a dancer.’ Vidhu warned, and then I was desperate to know what else they’d said.”

This had me laughing out loud and seriously wondering what I’ve covered in orientation to the US that has had my students mystified, horrified or hysterical!  (I’m guessing that the US health care system is the section of orientation that sends most of my students over the edge – it seems so very ridiculous to them when I describe how much a visit to the hospital can cost.  Come to think of it, it seems most ridiculous to me also!)

Much of this book with Ms. Rich’s personal experience as an intensive language student with fascinating research on language acquisition.  One simple statement that deeply resonated with me referred to the landmark of progress in language acquisition.  Ms. Rich writes:

“Some people say you’ve turned a corner when you can make jokes,” the linguist Ellen Bailystok says.’Some say it’s once they’re translating , others when they dream in the language. People put up landmarks of progress.’ ”

While I am not fluent in another language, I have studied Spanish, Italian and French and have taught ESL for several years.  I have seen my students’ joy when something “connects.”  And as a language student, I recall those landmarks of progress.  While living in Switzerland during graduate school, I had to navigate through the local food market every few days. I really wanted to order turkey from the deli counter, but didn’t know how.  After several weeks, a friend taught me the phrase in Italian and I practiced it daily, awaiting my big moment at the market.  One of those landmark moments, for me in Italian, was successfully ordering some turkey at the market.

Today, I pose the question:  What are YOUR landmarks of progress?

Take a moment to enjoy this playful video by Ms. Rich.  Note the high-five at the end! YouTube Preview Image


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Nov 26

Thanksgiving Holiday (US) – A Search for Truth and Thanks

By Missy Gluckmann International Education Tools, Multicultural Lives 2 Comments »

The United States will celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, November 26th.  We will gather together with friends and family, most of us will eat a turkey with stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce and a dessert of apple or pumpkin pie.   We’ll all ignore the obligatory salad that someone has made and instead have second helpings of the carbohydrates, eventually flopping onto the sofa for a cat nap before the festivities end.

The day is meant to be a celebration of the first “Thanksgiving” between the Native Americans and the “Pilgrims”, which is largely a myth.  I am still stumped as to why my country feels the need to perpetuate such myth about this event.  The reality is that historians suspect that the local natives provided much of the food for the harvest feast, as the “Pilgrims” did not have the skills to survive in the new landscape.  Additionally, the ugly history of the takeover of the land is largely ignored and it should be noted that Native populations generally do not see this day as one of celebration. The reality is that a harvest feast in 1621 should not be mistaken as something as simple as a happy meal. The tragedy is that the native population of this country was ultimately systematically slaughtered. Those who weren’t were treated as merely one rung above African American slaves.  The history of my country that most people don’t know that if a Native American was not a slave, he or she typically “owned” one (or many).  I would highly recommend Tiya Miles’ book Ties that Bind: The Story of an Afro-Cherokee Family in Slavery and Freedom to anyone who is interested in learning more about this subject.  It is the story of Shoe Boots, a Cherokee warrior and his slave (and life partner/mother of his children), Doll, an African-American woman. This book leaves a lasting impression and will help you to understand my strong concerns about how our schools repeatedly share corrupted stories of our nation’s history.

Based on this history, I choose to treat Thanksgiving as a day to reflect on what I am personally thankful for and to share that with dear family and friends.  I choose to remember the true history of our nation and take pride in the progress that has been made, as well as remembering so many indigenous people who were slaughtered and enslaved along the way.

Today, I give thanks for a career that allows me to have the gift of  a world view.  I am grateful for the people that I have had the honor to meet through my work – the students who take the leap of faith to pursue their studies abroad, the faculty who give tirelessly to ensure that their experiences are deeply meaningful, and the administrators who think creatively to make sure all the “i”s are dotted and the “t”s are crossed.  Travel is something that I value deeply, and this past year I was able to participate in an educational program in Germany.  I am so very appreciative for that experience.

On this day, I am particularly grateful for the larger network of professionals that I work with on a daily basis. These are truly the most giving of mankind, in a league of their own.  This morning, while reading an email from a list-serv, I was reminded of how generous this breed truly is.  One of my colleagues had asked for help on a list-serv. One of her students had left her I-20 at her home college. She was in Canada and needed the document to re-enter the US in the appropriate visa category, however, there wasn’t enough time to mail the I-20 to her abroad.  Colleagues from around the US emailed with their suggestions for this case;  one in upstate New York even offered to drive to the border to meet the student and explain the situation to the border agent.  Wow – talk about going above and beyond! This is the fine field that I have been blessed to work in  – one of compassion, support, and educating toward truth.  And this Thanksgiving, I am humbled and grateful.

“Happy Thanksgiving” to each of you – however you choose to celebrate it.

Nov 20

Reflections on Multicultural Lives and “The Travel Bug”

By Missy Gluckmann International Education Week, Multicultural Lives 6 Comments »

International Education Week rolls around each year and we dutifully plan events on our campuses to encourage students to think about the world around us.  Many of us don’t wait for this week to facilitate programs that will engage our students to think about the world that we live in through a different lens.  On my campus I have facilitated a panel nearly each semester: “Global Citizenship: Multicultural Lives and Multilingual Careers”. The intent of this panel is to illustrate the value of experiencing other cultures first hand and how knowing a 2nd language (or 3rd, 4th, 5th…) can open doors and hearts more than playing it safe and staying at home.

This panel resurfaced for International Education Week 2009.  Keep in mind that I’ve facilitated this panel 3 times and I personally know 3 of the 4 presenters. They are people that I worked with during a stint in the corporate world and we grew close during our long days holed up in the International Assignment Services offices, assisting companies and individuals/families relocate abroad for employment purposes.  We first became colleagues, then dear friends that I have stayed in close contact with for a decade – so I “think” I know these people well.  Round 3 of this panel proved that there is always something new to explore about a life lived in another culture….or cultures!

Four panelists spoke  and shared their passion for other cultures and a total of 9 languages.  Roberto, originally from Brazil, spoke of his father’s insistence that he learn English as a young boy.  A high school exchange program took him to Michigan for a year and he returned home to study for a BA degree, eventually landing a job at an Brazilian airport in customer service.  His little experience with Italian helped him to land this position, which he eventually left to pursue graduate studies in the US.  This is where his little bit of experience with French became particularly important.  He spotted a firecracker of a young woman with beautiful red hair, freckles and bright blue eyes.  Natalie, from French speaking part of Canada, eventually became his wife. When  he met her family in Canada, they were floored that this man from Brazil was able to converse with them in French.  Three children later, they are off to Singapore for a new adventure. Their 3 children speak 3 languages – from the moment they were born, Natalie has only spoken French to them, Roberto has only spoken Portuguese and they have learned English from their school in Connecticut.  As Roberto lovingly stated to our students, “Until they start acting funny, we’re going to keep throwing languages at them.”  They will next learn Mandarin in their new home.  Roberto described this new move abroad as an extension of their need to travel and experience life – this “travel bug” that international educators speak of from time to time.

Karen, another panelist, is an American who grew up in suburban Connecticut.  She quickly became fascinated with Russia in High School.  Something about this place intrigued her; she didn’t know what it was but had to pursue this language.  She wanted to talk with people there and knew that she could not rely on English, so she studied endlessly, spent time abroad in Moscow and eventually returned to the country to, as she put it, “practice my Russian since a friend was living in Moscow and had a couch that I could sleep on.”  She became so fluent that she was offered, with no prior work experience except babysitting and working at Shop Rite, a Manager position in the first 24/7 copy shop in Moscow.  She worked with a team of Russians, provided sales outreach to American headquartered companies that had new offices in Moscow and learned as she went.  One of her most important nuggets of learning came when she told students about how she tried to motivate the employees by instituting an “Employee of the Month” program. Little did she know that the employees were meeting behind her back, developing a  strategy about how NOT to be given this “honor.”  Karen explained that she had not realized that a country with such a distinct communist history would not seek pleasure in celebrating an individual. She quickly changed the program to a “shift” award and it was highly successful.

The audience laughed heartily at Karen’s story and all of the unique and humorous experiences of all 4 panelists, yet the common thread was this unending need to go abroad, to learn about “the other”,  and to invest in language acquisition. I have friends who are from rural areas in the US, that have never had a family member who has traveled, yet they have spent most of their trying to go abroad and to explore other cultures.  I’ve met siblings that are as different as they can be – one that has stayed at home, married and settled down not more than a stone’s through from her parents while the other traveled abroad extensively, became an ESL teacher to facilitate more travel options and then spent 2 years in the Peace Corps.

All 4 speakers yesterday referenced the “travel bug” repeatedly and last night I began to reflect, where DOES this “bug” come from and why do I have it?  What drives some people to take that leap of faith, get on a plane and explore another place in this world while others are completely happy and comfortable staying at home watching the news?

I’d be interested in your thoughts on this subject.  Do you have the bug and if so, where do you think it came from?

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