Metaphorical Self-Reflection Exercise

Metaphorical Self-Reflection Exercise 

I feel like a glue stick in my Masters program because I am gaining valuable knowledge and experience here, at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, which I am going to take back home and apply (or "glue") to the Russian educational system. I feel like I am going to serve as a glue between the two universities. When I return to Moscow, I am going to use what I have learned and experienced here to improve the quality of education at the Russian State University for the Humanities and share knowledge with Russian higher education practitioners. On the other hand, here, at UH Manoa I am bringing my own values, beliefs, perspectives and experiences to the table, introducing students and faculty to Russian educational system and providing them with insights into organizational and campus cultures of my home University.  

I feel like I am between two cultures and two educational systems, and I feel responsible for carefully translating my experiences and perspectives both ways. It is my responsibility to share my perspectives which could be unique to the American point of view, and to make people really understand and value what I am trying to communicate. At the same time, I feel responsible for collecting as much information as I can in order to bring what I will have it back home and inspire people to generate new ideas and approaches. 

When I look closer at the glue stick, I see a happy glue-guy with spread hands and a writing saying "Welcome to my world!". Interestingly, this is indeed how I feel. I am so excited about being here, but I feel even more excited about introducing people to my culture and life. I feel it is mutual, and they want to learn about me, my culture, my values, my experiences as much as I want to give them this information. This glue-guy looks happy, he is smiling, and so am I...