Column:
Living abroad broadens cultural horizons
Published Oct. 24, 2008
Have you ever driven an elephant? Ever seen the Sphinx? Ever seen King Tut's tomb? Sophomore Maggie Kimutis has. And her experiences abroad have exposed her to cultures vastly different than our own.
Even though she was born in St. Louis, she's lived on the other side of the world since age 2. Her dad is a civil engineer, and his job requires his family to relocate like Carmen Sandiego. But Maggie doesn't seem to mind. Not many 19 year olds have seen as much as she has.
When living in Egypt for the first chunk of her life, she experienced perhaps the most authentic part of Egyptian culture, living just outside of Cairo. Unfortunately, it wasn't always fun.
One time an angry driver wanted her dad to move forward a little, and he didn't have room. So the driver got out of his car and threw a fax machine through her dad's window. Try explaining that one to State Farm Insurance.
Another time she was walking down the street with her mom looking at all the inside out cows hanging right there in the open ready for portions to be bought. So they wisely decided that some pita bread would make a much better snack. They didn't realize it was Ramadan, and all the locals watched them eat while everyone else was fasting and gave them a look Maggie described as "visibly offended."
"To be honest, though, I really loved living all over the place," she said. "But it was tough knowing that nothing was permanent and I would be gone soon."
When Maggie was 7, her family moved to Bangkok, Thailand. There her dad got the opportunity to help build the elevated expressway, and she got the opportunity to soak in another completely different culture.
She went to an international school that was about half American. She met a lot of kids just like her. But, again, it was tough knowing that her new best friends would almost certainly be long distance friends at some point.
"You basically just have to be realistic about it," she said. "We all knew we'd be halfway around the world from each other eventually, but we would all stay in touch."
Many of her friends she made playing sports. Although Thailand isn't exactly known for its athletics, she still found a sport she excelled in for every season. She played soccer, rugby, ran track, rode horses and was on the dance team. Not your typical kid in Thailand, but then again, she's not your typical kid anywhere.
"I remember one Christmas my family was gonna go to an island in Thailand, but my brother wanted to stay home to be with his friends before he went back to Mizzou," Maggie said. "It was a good thing, because a massive tsunami hit the island the day we were supposed to get there."
Few MU students have had the experiences Maggie has - and a lot of us could use a couple cultural eye-openers. We often forget that there are social conventions so unlike our own across the world, and seeing some of those first-hand could help us to become more sensitive to differences in our own nation.
Maggie escaped a tsunami, rode an elephant, played rugby, ate a dried squid, hung out with King Tut and saw the Sphinx. And she did it all before college.
"I love it there," Maggie said. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
