Questions. The majority of our day to day conversations have a plethora of questions. Questions as simple as “What’s your name?” to as difficult to answer as “What do you want to eat?” But what does one do if these questions just make no sense?

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Apparently, you don’t have to go too far for experiences like this. International students at Behrend often find themselves in similar situations, where the lack of logic behind the questions just throws them off. One of my good friends from Egypt told me that she once had someone ask her whether she goes to school on camels. I myself have been asked often whether India, where I come from, has cars? Or squirrels? Or internet? This may seem funny at first, but the issue goes deeper than just stupid questions.

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We slowly begin to understand that knowledge about foreign countries and cultures are just limited to stereotypes. Stereotypes that other countries may not have as much technology, fashion and things needed for life. However, the truth is that we may be more similar than most people give us credit for. Recently, talking about cultural exchange in my writing class, I realised that people from first world countries tend to coddle people from less developed countries. They think of us as confused, nervous people and that all of this development is foreign to us. Maybe some of it is. But does one really need to be “taught”?

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Some might argue that a little help never killed anyone. I personally agree with that statement. A helping hand is probably all an anxious international student is looking for. But how does one determine when that help turns into spoon feeding? By coddling, one not only make the person incapable of functioning by him/herself, one puts oneself into a position of superiority. And is that superiority justified? The international students definitely do not agree. A bunch of international students I talked to feel that. While they have a lot of local friends, sometimes they feel that they are being made to feel inferior, unconsciously, due to where they come from. I think is a very unfair predicament for someone to be put in.

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Similarly, due to this and a load of other factors like the current political climate of the country, people from outside America tend to think that all Americans are racist and hostile. Personally, I have not encountered one local person who has discriminated against people of color or other nationalities, genders etc. This unbreakable cycle of superiority and inferiority has lead locals to not only change their perception of people different than them, but has also greatly affected the people’s perceptions of them, and not in a good way.

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So how should one take on these issues? I guess the best way is to talk to the other person about it and start a clear conversation about this issue, so in the future, if the person starts getting intimidated by you, he/she can let you know. I think communication is key in any relationship and it is honestly the best way to help oneself and others.

By Maharsh Benday, Contributing Writer