Roommate Appreciation Post
I came to Croatia excited and eager to learn -- but I wrongly assumed that my lessons would come directly from my internship or Croatian culture. Of course, I have learned a massive amount from my internship and from being exposed to new cultures. But at the same time, I never could have guessed how much my roommates (technically flatmates but I like the word “roommates” better) would teach me during the short 6-7 weeks we have spent together.
During my first few days in Zagreb, we did several Escape Rooms (which I think I mentioned in a previous post). During one of them, there was a point when some classical music started playing. Immediately, both of my roommates knew the song and the composer, each for different reasons, whereas I don’t know any classical music beyond what I was forced to play in high school band. Looking back, I know that this was the start of an era.
Since then, I have learned about the proper pronouns for drag queens and expanded my knowledge of the lgbtq spectrum. Did you know that communities such as the “foot fetish” community is trying to join lgbtq spectrum? I sure didn’t. I have learned about having parents who are immigrants as opposed to the immigrants in my family who were several generations ago, and about the vast variety of dynamics possible within a family. I have learned a significant amount regarding pop culture and global politics instead of the small bubble of pop culture and politics I usually follow. And of course I have learned significantly more about classical music as well.
I could go on and on, but I know reading that long laundry would be no fun for anyone other than my roommates and I, and I don’t even know if my roommates will ever read this. Besides, the point of this post isn’t to rub how cool my roommates are in your faces (even though they are pretty awesome). Instead, I want to emphasize that I learned so much from a source I had never even considered. I had this horribly incorrect assumption that my roommates would be minor in my experience abroad compared to work.
Which brings me to the most important lesson that they taught me is that in life: education can come from unexpected places. You can’t ever count those around you out; everyone has different upbringings, perspectives, interests, etc. -- which is fairly obvious -- but that means that everyone knows something you do not. And the sooner we all realize that and search out the lessons we have for one another, the better we will all be for it.