A brave new world

With a Starbucks on practically every corner in Tokyo and even a few in Doha, Qatar, Americans have never felt more at home abroad. But globalization is not a one-way street. With the meteoric rise of India and China, the makeup of the international economy has shifted and more Americans are now taking cues from abroad.

America's former dominance has faded, and homegrown corporations are increasingly looking overseas for talent. The term 'outsourcing' has become part of the common vernacular. Increasingly, undergraduates are applying to study abroad programs and more graduates are opting for international jobs to adapt to the changing global economy.

According to the latest press release from the Institute of International Education, an educational nonprofit organization, the number of students studying abroad increased by 9.6 percent from 2003 to 2004, and in China the number soared by 90 percent.

Congress has created a new special commission to increase the number of college students who study abroad to about one million each year by 2017, according to a report released last month by the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program. Currently, about 190,000 students study abroad annually.

"Today, the problems of a global society confront us, placing new demands and pressure on the United States and its historic partnership with higher education," the report said. "Greater engagement of American undergraduates with the world around them is vital to the nation's wellbeing."

Taking note of global trends, the University has also tried to cement its ties abroad, particularly in Asia. Last year, President Tilghman and three top University officials made an inaugural visit to China, Korea and Japan to reach out to alumni associations in those regions, establish connections with other schools and heighten awareness about the University. Tilghman also held multiple television, radio and newspaper interviews.

"It showed signs that the school was acknowledging the importance of the region, economically, politically and what that means for Princeton," said Gallant Nien '02, a Young Alumni vice president for the Princeton Club of Hong Kong.

Dean of Admission Janet Rapelye, who also attended the Asian tour, also acknowledged the importance of tight global connections. "Our future depends on our ability to live together, to work together and study together," she told the Daily Princetonian in a November 23, 2004 article.

Making the Plunge

For students willing to brave the new world, the experience can be both intimidating and rewarding.

Though many who elect to venture abroad are aware of the practical and economic advantages, most are enthralled by the romance of the expatriate experience — the desire to gain a new perspective on life and the excitement that comes with living in a foreign land.

"I wanted to know more about this part of the world and to stay outside the United States long enough to challenge some of my own conceptions of what life is like," said Eliza Gregory '03, who is working for the International Rescue Committee in Tanzania.

Regardless of the motivation, however, such a dramatic move is almost always accompanied by the proverbial culture shock. While many seniors will nestle into a comfortable apartment on 5th Avenue next fall, the few who go abroad will face unique challenges. For some alumni interviewed, the culture shock merely amounted to not finding brands of foods they were used to seeing at their neighborhood grocery store in the United States, like Bumble Bee tuna or loud orange bottles of Tide detergent. Others had to adapt to new cultural norms and social practices.

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"Europe in 1970 was very different from the United States," said David Fisher '69, an information technology consultant who moved to Germany a year after graduation. "Many typical behavioral aspects of young Americans were considered by many to be impolite or uncultured."

Meanwhile, others dealt with the stigma of the American stereotypes. Many felt that they were typecast as loud, obnoxious or superficially friendly. George Corser '85, who left for South Korea after the dot-com crash, said that while he struggled to adjust to aspects of Korean culture such as eating sannakgee (octopus that is still moving when served), Koreans had an equally difficult time adjusting to his American habits.

"There were also things that Koreans generally found confusing or offensive about me," he said. "Such as walking into an apartment with my shoes on and pouring my own beverage at the dinner table."

For those who plan to live straddled between America and a foreign country, the return to America is another inevitable culture shock. Gregory, the graduate living in Tanzania, believes that the term "culture shock" really "applies more specifically to the depression one feels at returning home from time abroad, when you have to face the fact that all the things you took for 'reality' are not the only way things have to be." The opportunity to live abroad also creates a new context for understanding the United States.

"Perhaps the biggest shock is entering the United States and being met by stern-looking officials with guns. In New Zealand, international visitors are met at the airport by beagles who are sniffing for contraband food," said Elizabeth Rose '77, a senior research fellow at the University of Victoria in Wellington, New Zealand. "The two welcome committees set pretty different tones."

Juxtapositions between the United States and one's new home are particularly interesting today, given the United States' precarious position on the global political stage. Since the launch of the Iraqi invasion in March 2003, the United States has faced intense scrutiny around the world. Though the State Department has increased the number of travel advisories and warned American citizens against visiting places known for anti-western sentiment, Princeton expatriates acknowledge the value of immersing oneself in a country where the majority of the population is strongly opposed to America's policies.

"I recognize now that the United States is just one of the many great countries, and not necessarily the country that has the best answers or that should dictate the world's views on issues," Doris Sohmen-Pao '93, director of the MBA program at the Singapore campus of INSEAD, said.

Many alumni interviewed said that living in another country forces one to examine the United States and its government more objectively. According to them, Americans tend to be perceived as very egocentric, which perhaps leads to strained diplomatic relations.

"Viewing America from the outside looking in has significantly changed my perception and my concerns about where American society is heading," said Elizabeth Singleton '00, who left for Tanzania after graduation. "In many ways, I think America's civil society and democratic institutions are in worse shape than the many burgeoning democracies around the globe."

Jack Goodman '89, who started an online company in Australia, takes the argument further by suggesting that America's egocentric focus is restricted to the continental United States. "I've realized how little Americans think about how the rest of the world perceives them," he said. "So few people have any awareness of life outside the 48 states."

As an illustration of the world's perception of America, Corser told a joke that he overheard at a cocktail party: "What do you call a person who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call a person who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call a person who speaks only one language? American."

Despite the United States' less than favorable image, though, alumni rarely reported experiencing any anti-Americanism during their time abroad. While citizens of other countries may not approve of the government's actions, very few seem to place responsibility for them on the American public.

"American culture is generally admired by many if not most Europeans, especially the young," Fisher explained. "I often have lively discussions about the relative merits of the American and European ways of doing things, which tend to revolve around business and economics."

Though the leap from campus to some of the remote corners of the world was a difficult decision for many of the alums, there is a general consensus that the leap was ultimately worthwhile. Alicia Barker '03, a Princeton in Latin America fellow in Mexico City, said living abroad can be immensely rewarding because it broadens one's perspective and allows one to see the beauty in foreign societies and a culture's idiosyncrasies. "You'd be surprised to find how comforting the unfamiliar can be," Baker said.