On January 30, 2016, I will be leaving the comforts of New England to spend my spring semester studying abroad in Florence, Italy. My plan is to travel around Europe, including to France, Spain, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, etc. Other than making the quick trip from Maine to Canada, this will be my first time outside of America. I have made several goals for myself while abroad, with the overall goal of expanding my cultural horizons. I also have goals for developing my cultural awareness beyond my college years, as I hope to integrate my cultural education and my passion for psychology. Furthermore, I plan to teach my future children to be aware of racial issues, to be culturally tolerant, and to active advocates for minorities around
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At first, I will likely use nonverbal communication (Activity 9.2 - Nonverbal Communication) as my primary method of communication in Italy; however, by the end of my stay I hope to be able to speak at least some broken Italian. In order to help learn the language, I will try to interact with poor and middle class populations in Italy, who are more likely to only communicate in their native language (class notes, 12/2). I will attempt to be objective when I see something that sharply contrasts the norms of American culture and have a positive attitude about trying new things (class notes, 11/30). Part of this will be modeling the behavior of the locals in whatever cultural setting I am in (class notes, …show more content…
There is a high probability that I will have a child with special needs, as both of my siblings have special needs. Proper treatment and advocacy for the mentally ill is, and will continue to be, an issue of high importance to me (Film - The New Asylums, 2005). I plan to practice play with my children, which I have learned is an important tool in developing a child’s cognitive, emotional, and social skills (Film - Play: A Vygotskian Approach, 1996). I will give my child a prompt (class notes, 11/23) to point him or her in a direction with play if necessary, but still allow them to internalize the tools they use during play make their playtime whatever they chose to make it (Kotik-Friedgut & Friedgut, 2008). I will encourage them to play with children of various racial backgrounds with the hope that they become friends with children from various walks of life. Being interested in both feminism and psychology, I expect that my career will involve advocacy for women around the world. In addition to fighting for sexual assault survivors in America, I will continue to advocate against the genital mutilation of young girls wherever the practice is still occurring (Film - Sex in Africa: Female Genital Mutilation, 2008). I will also advocate for the proper treatment of sex workers, both domestically and internationally (Film - Sex in Africa: Prostitution,
At first, I will likely use nonverbal communication (Activity 9.2 - Nonverbal Communication) as my primary method of communication in Italy; however, by the end of my stay I hope to be able to speak at least some broken Italian. In order to help learn the language, I will try to interact with poor and middle class populations in Italy, who are more likely to only communicate in their native language (class notes, 12/2). I will attempt to be objective when I see something that sharply contrasts the norms of American culture and have a positive attitude about trying new things (class notes, 11/30). Part of this will be modeling the behavior of the locals in whatever cultural setting I am in (class notes, …show more content…
There is a high probability that I will have a child with special needs, as both of my siblings have special needs. Proper treatment and advocacy for the mentally ill is, and will continue to be, an issue of high importance to me (Film - The New Asylums, 2005). I plan to practice play with my children, which I have learned is an important tool in developing a child’s cognitive, emotional, and social skills (Film - Play: A Vygotskian Approach, 1996). I will give my child a prompt (class notes, 11/23) to point him or her in a direction with play if necessary, but still allow them to internalize the tools they use during play make their playtime whatever they chose to make it (Kotik-Friedgut & Friedgut, 2008). I will encourage them to play with children of various racial backgrounds with the hope that they become friends with children from various walks of life. Being interested in both feminism and psychology, I expect that my career will involve advocacy for women around the world. In addition to fighting for sexual assault survivors in America, I will continue to advocate against the genital mutilation of young girls wherever the practice is still occurring (Film - Sex in Africa: Female Genital Mutilation, 2008). I will also advocate for the proper treatment of sex workers, both domestically and internationally (Film - Sex in Africa: Prostitution,