Edited Tasmiyah Randeree
Studying impressionist art at the Louvre, learning about ancient Rome in the ruins of the Coliseum, doing readings outside with a cup of gelato in hand; studying abroad sounds like a student’s dream. Many students venture on study abroad trips hoping to achieve Instagram worthy travel photos, lifelong friends, and a wealth of culturally diverse knowledge. However, some students report less than blissful experiences on their study abroad trips, as they encountered bullying, exclusion, and snobs abroad.
Often, students come into study abroad trips with high expectations. Naomi Litwack states her excitement leading up to her study abroad trip in connecting with her Jewish heritage and its tragedies and gems across Central Europe. In terms of the social aspects, she states “I imagined I’d make a couple of friends, we’d have cute group pictures and selfies in front of cool things, maybe I’d tell them some fun facts about the architecture and history in case the tour guides forgot anything. I really didn’t expect the amount of stress that came from the trip.”
However, like other students, Naomi and Julianne de Gara’s expectations proved to be harder to achieve than imagined. Naomi and Julianne both say they encountered “snobs abroad”, students mainly of high socioeconomic backgrounds who participated in bullying techniques such as microaggressions, exclusion, and outright rude remarks. Naomi recalls her roommate in Vienna, who similar to herself had Greek life affiliations. Naomi states, “Anytime I tried to use Greek life as a discussion topic, she wouldn’t engage and would roll her eyes. On at least four occasions, anytime I walked up to the girls taking a group picture, my roommate would look at me and say, “Um, could it just be the four of us?” Or whatever number minus me. She liked to interact with me as little as possible, it seemed.” Julianne states similar experiences stating “I didn’t imagine [the experience] would be punctuated by some really, really sh*tty people.” Similar to Naomi’s experience, Julianne blames the lack of socioeconomic diversity and sense of entitlements for her experiences of bullying and exclusion, stating “It was a toxic mix of privilege, entitlement, and social awkwardness— they were easily some of the rudest people I’ve ever met. When it was sunny, they would complain; when it rained, they would complain harder. Nothing was ever good enough for them— and certainly not my company.”
Both Julianne and Naomi encountered one “snobbiest” snob abroad. For Naomi, that was Todd*. During their visit to Auschwitz, Naomi talks about the difficulty of the setting as a Jewish American who owes her life to a man named Sir Nicholas Winton, who was able to get 669 Czechoslovakian Jewish children out before Hitler could murder them. Naomi recalls stepping foot in Auschwitz, walking under “Arbeit Macht Frei,” “was like being thrown into a nightmare in ice water. My body went cold as soon as I passed under the disgusting words. Every brick, every tree, and every window was screaming out to me, ghosts of my people were wailing and dying. The living people around me morphed into the skeletons of prisoners, their eye sockets watching me. Buildings transformed and the fence electrified, my mind was on fire. I didn’t shut it out.” This emotional experience was exacerbated by Todd who blatantly accused her of faking her tears and emotions. Despite his public humiliation, other students from the trip continued to associate with him, optionally sitting next to him during meals. Naomi and Todd’s travel mates demonstrated what is known as the “bystander affect”, failing to take action during another person’s experience of bullying or persecution.
For Julianne, her “snobbiest” snob abroad was a girl named Becky* who regularly repeated how she was applying to graduate school and refused to settle for anything less than an A in the course. She regularly kissed up to the professor, attempting to bribe her with gifts such as jewellery. Julianne recalls during a class outing how a dog barked in Becky’s direction and how she spent the entire week asking, “What did I ever do to dogs? Why the hell would it bark at me?” Clearly absurd.
What can be learned from Julianne and Naomi’s experience studying abroad? The importance of good travel companions. Although Instagram worthy backdrops and Europe’s decadent cuisines seem satisfying enough, even travels in the most beautiful countries can be spoiled by snobs abroad. For students considering studying abroad, students should look for good travel companions to join them on their journey and make it a goal to be inclusive of other travelers.