Poly Global Scholar Program - Reflection

After several years of French, I could read and write, but struggled to speak, feeling awkward with the strange sounds. French does not come as easily to me as math or computer programming. To challenge myself beyond my comfort zone, I decided to apply to become a Global Scholar through the Global Initiatives Program at the Polytechnic School. The Global Scholars Program is by application, and to complete the program requires taking four years of a foreign language, completing extra coursework with a global focus (such as International Relations and Economics), participating in events hosted by the GIP (some of which are outlined in this blog), attendance in a cultural exchange/study abroad program, as well as a Senior Capstone Project.

As part of GIP, in my freshman year, my family hosted an exchange student named Elias, and I then stayed with his family in Paris. Elias’s family introduced me not only to Parisian but also to Algerian culture. We cooked couscous and drank mint tea. Sometimes I was at a loss for words or “Je donne ma langue au chat” (I gave my tongue to the cat), but I doggedly used whatever French I knew, improving quickly.

Just as I had adjusted to Paris, I left for my service project in a countryside town of fewer than a hundred people. At first, the students were shy and my lessons fell flat. To break the awkward silence, I blurted “Gooey gopher guts!” The class struggled to repeat this tongue twister, giggling, and asking me what it meant. Noticing one student looking down silently at his lap, I asked him to give me a French tongue twister.  As I stumbled repeating “cinq chiens chassent cinq chats” (“five dogs chase five cats”), the entire class laughed. 

Through GIP and the Global Scholars Program, I have not only improved my French and understanding of global issues, but I have also learned how being vulnerable and trying a skill that I do not naturally excel at can reveal possibilities I had not imagined. Now I am more motivated in French class because I can picture studying abroad in France in college or during the summer. Whatever I do, I hope to be a global citizen, exchanging ideas on science and technology with researchers around the world.