One of the most meaningful parts of my study abroad experience in Bologna was my opportunity to volunteer at a local elementary school. I would go into the 2nd grade classroom once a week and give the students a lesson in English. During one of my visits, I led a lesson about American schools. I showed the students pictures and described things like school lunches, playgrounds, and classrooms. Almost immediately, their reactions shifted from curiosity to excitement. They commented on how the lunches looked “yummier”, how the playgrounds seemed more fun, and how the classrooms looked more colorful and engaging. Some of them even expressed sadness, saying they wished they could go to school in America instead of Italy. That moment stayed with me. Sitting in a classroom in Italy, which was a country I had always romanticized, I was struck by the contrast in how we were all perceiving each other’s worlds. To me, being in Italy felt like a privilege, an opportunity I was incredibly lucky to have. Yet here were these students, looking at my home country with the same sense of longing and admiration.
Their reactions forced me to reflect on my own positionality in a way I hadn’t fully considered before. As an American student, I realized I had taken many aspects of the U.S. education system for granted. I had spent years focusing on its flaws such as its inequalities, pressure, and systemic issues and while those critiques are valid, they had also shaped my perspective in a way that made it easy to overlook the privileges within my own experience. Hearing these students describe American schools as “better” or more enjoyable made me recognize that my ability to critique the system is, in itself, a form of privilege. I had the access, the resources, and the familiarity to analyze and question it. Meanwhile, the students I was speaking with were viewing those same elements, resources, infrastructure, opportunities, as something to dream of.
This experience highlighted the complexity of intercultural exchange. It is not simply about comparing which system is “better” but about understanding how different contexts shape people’s perceptions and realities. What I had seen as normal, or even flawed, was being interpreted by others as desirable and out of reach. It also reminded me that when engaging across cultures, especially in educational spaces, there is a responsibility to be mindful of how we represent our own experiences. Sharing my perspective on American schools required more nuance than I had initially brought into the classroom. It wasn’t just about presenting what exists, but about acknowledging the inequalities and variations within it, while also being aware of how those descriptions might be received. Volunteering at the elementary school ultimately became one of the most impactful parts of my time abroad. It challenged me to think more critically about privilege, to recognize the limits of my own perspective, and to approach intercultural engagement with greater humility.
