Kelsey Robinson

So I wasn't able to attend this week's video session because of flight cancellations and our team being stuck in California...not a bad place to get stranded. I did though have an interesting encounter with my teammate who is from Sweden. Our conversation relates to the topics we discuss in class and our discussions with the russians. My teammate Cici was telling me that since she has been in America her accent has almost disappeared and she has developed a strong english dialect. In my mind I thought that was good because she does so well at speaking english sometimes you barely know she is from another country. She told me that it is good, but it frustrates her a lot. She explained that when she is in class or around people and doesn't know a word or how to say something they look at her as if she is stupid or just dumb. They don't ever think that maybe she isn't from here or still learning a second language. Most people don't pick up on her accent so in some situations they treat her as if she isn't very smart when in reality she is a biochemical engineer major and incredibly smart. I think that this particular situation is what we are learning about because you can't always put people in certain categories based on what social group or identity you link them to. Different people have different stories and experiences and it's hard for any person let alone someone from another country.