Examining the Global Immersion Experience

James Allen wrote, “Only by much searching and mining are gold and diamonds obtained, and man can find every truth connected with his begin if he will dig deep into the mine of his soul.” (CliffNotes, 2009) One American student and four Taiwanese students provided summaries of their experiences from the global immersion program. The purpose of this paper is to examine the reflections of five students involved in an exchange program for common themes associated with their experiences. Through the examination of the global immersion program, the student will develop a better understanding of what issues may connect and/or disconnect cultures. This reflection is used to encourage the student to analyze his or her experiences through the emotional characteristics described by others and develop an increased cultural awareness (Billings & Halstead, 2005). This paper will examine the reflections for each student, examine common themes found from these reflections as a whole, and examine if these finding
Common Themes Examining the reflection for common themes was limited to the four students from Taiwan and the American student in isolation. The discussion of food was observed in two out of the four and by the American. Three out of the fours Taiwanese students identified some aspect of nursing care or patient care difference. Activities and cultural interaction was also found in three out four reflections. The theme that was found in all four reflections was the appreciation and direct recognition, by name, of professors and students they encountered. Though a level of appreciation was found in the American student’s reflection, direct mentioning of names was not found. From this, no matter where and what the students saw, it is easily assumed the people they interacted with had the lasting impact.
Literature Review Koskinen and Tossavainen (2003) identified the following regarding learning intercultural sensitivity, “the core of ethnocentrism is the

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