Immersion In Another Culture: Paradoxical Experiences Considered For Teachers And Students In University Classrooms

Abstract

We have worked, learned, and lived in Indonesia. These experiences prompted Roger’s PhD dissertation entitled: Expatriate Managers’ Immersion in Another Culture: A Phenomenological Study of Lived Experiences. The findings of this research uncovered eight paradoxical experiences that were lived by persons who were immersed in another culture. We have shared these paradoxes with others and have found that they, too, have experienced similar situations and feelings. We believe that these paradoxes are universal and could be viewed from the perspective of teachers in university classrooms and their students, each of whom may or may not “come from away”. By taking the opportunity to illustrate these paradoxes from individuals’ perspectives in this paper, understanding will ensue about what it is like to be immersed in another culture, thus transcending understanding -- to seeing the phenomenon (being immersed in another culture) in a new light. This insight will assist teachers and students from different cultures to feel understood and supported in classrooms.