The Experience Changes You

Living and working in a foreign country, especially one that is significantly different from one's own homeland, changes an individual considerably.  Of course, one learns a great deal about his or her host country:  it's people, society, customs, culture, geography, politics, and history.  Language skills broaden and new lifelong friendships form, but there are also some very significant and life altering changes that occur deep within a person.   An individual definitely experiences some paradigm shifts, and one's world view becomes broader, clearer and different.  Political views may change, and a person's career path may take a different course.


Some changes are subtle, but no less significant.  For instance, my personal library is maturing in ways I would not have anticipated a year ago.  I am currently reading The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov (Мастер и Маргарита, Михаил Булгаков) on the recommendation of my good friend Sasha.  It is possible I would not have known the book existed if I had not met him.  I recently finished a biography of Stalin, and when I am finished with Master and Margarita, I will begin a book about the Holodomor, Bloodlands.


After stepping back onto American soil after an extended period of living and working with Ukrianians, I can say with confidence that I am a very different person than I was when I left the U.S. in December, 2010.

My Fulbright Scholarship in Ukraine was an absolutely significant and life changing milestone in my life.  I count it as one of my most important personal and professional growth experiences.