Diversity at TWU

Posted by admin on Oct 6, 2009 in Featured Articles | 0 comments

Diversity is all around us. Going to school in Canada, we are reminded by teachers, professors, and student leaders of the benefits of diversity, multiculturalism, and the Canadian “mosaic.”

But do we really appreciate the value of the variety of cultural experiences within our grasp here at Trinity Western University, or do we take it for granted?

“I think we have a treasure we don’t recognize as a treasure,” said Andrea Ribey, Assistant Director of Community Life for International Student Programs (ISP). It’s not that it’s being neglected, she explained – TWU has come a long way in helping international and North American students integrate – it’s simply that “the immense value has not yet been recognized.”

For North American students, the difficulty may not necessarily be lack of awareness of the opportunities diversity presents. Many of us have spent time abroad, said Ribey, and “have a taste for how exciting it can be” to try new things and get to know people from other cultures.

Unfortunately, “because we don’t need it to do our assignments, we don’t necessarily take advantage of it,” said Ribey. All of us know what it feels like to have good intentions at the beginning of the semester, intentions which we never quite have the time to follow through on. In the future, when we are out in what TWU calls the “marketplaces of life,” we will perhaps realize what potential experiences and growth we have missed out on.

For international students, the difficulty may lie in having confidence about the worth of what they have to share, and in the sharing of it.

“International students are starting to own their experience,” said Ribey. As international students come to realize they are not only here to receive an education, but also to give of their own experience and enrich our education, they begin to take pride in that, Ribey explained.

Even so, there is room for growth, Ribey said. One of the common obstacles to many students is feeling intimidated about language ability, when “all it would take to help some students jump in is an invitation.”

So in this feature section, let’s take the time to appreciate the diversity available to us at TWU. Let’s meet a few members of our richly diverse international student population. Let’s look at the information presented here and reflect that it’s not just whether we’re Canadian, American, Cambodian or Venezuelan; but also whether we’re male or female, resident or commuter, in arts or in science, and so on. Let’s recognize that this myriad of factors not only makes up our own individual identities, but also contributes to our collectively diverse experiences. And let’s not stop at merely thinking about it.

TidSureyah Tach
Studying: Biology
Home country/culture: Cambodia – Khmer (Cambodian) with Buddhist background
How long have you been in Canada? This is my first time ever to be outside of my country and to be in Canada; I arrived here on Sept. 4.
What is one of the biggest things you’ve noticed about Canada/TWU that is different from your culture/country?
First, the way people react with one another. People here like to say hello and give handshakes while the people in Cambodia smile and greet one another with both hands put together, with the phrase, “Chom Reap So’ur”.

Second, the technology that Canada has. We usually don’t have swipe cards or the cola box where you insert coins. And what is so “weird” – in a way – is the wildness of people when they’re involved in games and athletics, when they scream and shout like crazy and get out of control.

Third, the relationship between guys and girls, I mean boyfriends and girlfriends, we are not so close like that. You know what I mean?

What would you like TWU students to know about your culture/country?
Usually, Cambodians are soft and gentle. Every time they see people they always smile, most of the time. As a culture we are truthful in appearance. And sorry to those who might be offended, sometimes when you are fat or skinny or so, the people will say right away that you are. But, it is not out of meanness but from love. It’s an expression of being friends. One thing is a normal Cambodian would be superstitious about things around them. But, most of all, Cambodians are lovely people as you all are.

Satoko Nishimuta
Studying: International studies
Home country/culture: Japan
How long have you been in Canada? One year
What is one of the biggest things you’ve noticed about Canada/TWU that is different from your culture/country?
Canadian people and Canadian culture are more easygoing than Japanese or Japanese culture. I like it!
What would you like TWU students to know about your culture/country?
In the Japanese language, there are three different alphabets and two of them have 48 letters each. The third one we use is based on Chinese characters; there are more than 2,000 characters. If you are studying Japanese, you’re really brave!

Adriana Salcedo
Studying: Business major, psychology minor
Home country/culture: Venezuela/Latin American
How long have you been in Canada? Two years
What is one of the biggest things you’ve noticed about Canada/TWU that is different from your culture/country?
It is a Christian community that follows biblical values, which helps to keep it a very safe community to be part of.
What would you like TWU students to know about your culture/country?
In my country we do not usually eat spicy food. Instead, we eat food that is cooked from scratch, and chopped vegetables give most of the flavor to our food. 

Larry Sun
Studying: Business
Home country/culture: China
How long have you been in Canada? Five years
What is one of the biggest things you’ve noticed about Canada/TWU that is different from your culture/country?
People are whiter here.
What would you like TWU students to know about your culture/country?
Clarify the confusion: not many of us eat dogs.

Danielle R. K. Smith
Studying: Linguistics
Home country/culture: Colorado, USA/Kunming, China
How long have you been in Canada? Three years
What is one of the biggest things you’ve noticed about Canada/TWU that is different from your culture/country?
Mindset!  You wouldn’t think that the US and Canada were that different but the societal values are quite different at times. National pride tends to be a lot stronger in America (almost to an ethnocentric extent), but here, it’s a little hard to find.  When I went home for the summer, I went to visit my brother in Texas and I had a slight case of culture shock going from BC to TX within a few weeks time!  I don’t want to offend (that’s a Canadian trait I picked up), so I’ll say no more and leave you to figure out the rest.

As far as how different China is from Canada, I’d have to say completely. Vancouver, though, has a lot of Asian culture mixed in – that’s actually one of the reasons I came here.

What would you like TWU students to know about your culture/country?
I’m not fully American, and I’m definitely not fully Chinese.  I feel comfortable in both places, but at home in none. This gives me the ability to look at both the good and bad in each culture: because of this perspective I tend to find my identity in people rather than places. (Let’s just say I’m looking forward to heaven.)

Kidus B. Tadesse
Studying: International business and accounting
Home country/culture: Ethiopia 
How long have you been in Canada? Two and a half years
What is one of the biggest things you’ve noticed about Canada/TWU that is different from your culture/country?
I wouldn’t say there isn’t much difference, but there isn’t something specific that I have noticed regarding the culture. But TWU has a welcoming community that is not hard to get used to. I have met amazing people here that I wouldn’t have met elsewhere. 
What would you like TWU students to know about your culture/country?
One unique feature is that Ethiopia is the only country in Africa aside from Liberia that was not colonized during the scramble for Africa. Thus it was an independent state throughout.

Also, more than 80 different languages with over 200 hundred dialects are spoken in Ethiopia. The massive number of tribes has never resulted in civil unrest.

Another interesting thing is that Ethiopians have their own calendar and a separate new year from the West. Ethiopia also has 13 months of sunshine. It took me a while to adjust to the weather here.