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Growing up abroad shapes senior’s outlook
September 21, 2007
Before beginning her freshman year, Emily Dooley was apprehensive about her decision to attend PLU. But unlike most freshmen, her fears didn’t stem from leaving home for the first time. Instead, Dooley (pictured here, far right, with her family in Vietnam) was concerned about fitting in with American students.
Dooley’s parents are missionaries, and prior to starting college, she’d spent only one year living and learning on American soil. Her growing years were spent abroad in Southeast Asia, in places like Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam. Her family currently lives in Ho Chi Mihn, Vietnam.
“I would say I’m white on the outside but Asian on the inside,” Dooley said. “There’s this whole other part of me that’s a conglomerate of Asian cultures.”
An American citizen, Dooley spent her sophomore year of high school in Gig Harbor when her family took a sabbatical from missionary life. It was the first time she’d interacted with peers who had never lived abroad.
“It was an interesting experience to go to school in America. It was a cultural experience,” Dooely said. “I realized people really don’t know what’s going on in the world.”
For example, she met high school students who thought Vietnam was simply the name of a war and didn’t realize it was actually a country. Others assumed she had lived abroad because her parents were doctors or in the military – neither of which was correct.
Her family returned to Vietnam the following year, where she was one of three students in the first graduating class of Saigon South International School. She opted to take the plunge and come to America for college, choosing PLU both for it’s global focus and her family connection to it – her dad is a 1983 graduate.
“I’m always up for an adventure,” she said. “And PLU felt like the place I was suppose to be.”
PLU isn’t the “typical college experience,” Dooley explained. The university appealed to her because of its extensive study away programs, concentration on world issues and the engaged student body.
Growing up in the international community enabled Dooley to be more aware of current events happening around the globe. Most of her friends hailed from other countries, and it was from them that she learned of the big and small issues facing people around the world.
“Students in general are really informed on big international events,” she said, citing the Iraq War and conflict in Darfur, Sudan. But the less prominent events, especially those not covered in the media or those lacking a direct connection to the United States, tend to be overlooked by American students, she said.
“It’s our duty as world citizens to know what’s going on, even if our government is not involved,” Dooley explained.
Each year, Dooley returns to Vietnam for Christmas and summer break, spending time with her parents, three sisters and a brother. Every time she goes home, the city has changed.
“Asia is constantly changing, constantly evolving,” she said. “I grew up knowing things change.”
The high rate of change stems from the constant turnover of businesses in the region, she explained. Ho Chi Mihn, formerly Saigon, is the largest city in Vietnam with 7.2 million people. She described it as a jam-packed, bustling place, where traffic rules are merely guidelines and tourism is huge.
Dooley credits her upbringing in Asia with shaping her into an accepting, adaptable person who welcomes change and makes friends quickly.
Families are constantly moving within the international community to new places. Dooley’s family moved almost every year when she was younger, though they’ve been settled in Vietnam for nearly 10 years now. To help navigate the unfamiliar landscape at each move, Dooley learned to make close friends quickly.
“When you’re in the international community, you make friends fast, really close friends fast,” she said. “It’s why the international community is so close.”
Though moving often was tough, it was also one of the best things, Dooley said. By the time she was 16, she’d lived in five countries and been exposed to a variety of people and cultures. It helped her quickly adjust to college life, to make friends and find her niche, she said.
Dooley will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in English writing. While she’d eventually like to return to living abroad, either as a teacher or working for a nonprofit organization, she plans to stick around the U.S. for a few years after graduation.
“I need to know what it’s like to live in America not as a college student,” she said. “I’d feel like I’ve wasted four years if I don’t. I need to have this experience not only as a student in my native country, but also to live and work in it.”
“I would say I’m white on the outside but Asian on the inside,” Dooley said. “There’s this whole other part of me that’s a conglomerate of Asian cultures.”
An American citizen, Dooley spent her sophomore year of high school in Gig Harbor when her family took a sabbatical from missionary life. It was the first time she’d interacted with peers who had never lived abroad.
“It was an interesting experience to go to school in America. It was a cultural experience,” Dooely said. “I realized people really don’t know what’s going on in the world.”
For example, she met high school students who thought Vietnam was simply the name of a war and didn’t realize it was actually a country. Others assumed she had lived abroad because her parents were doctors or in the military – neither of which was correct.
Her family returned to Vietnam the following year, where she was one of three students in the first graduating class of Saigon South International School. She opted to take the plunge and come to America for college, choosing PLU both for it’s global focus and her family connection to it – her dad is a 1983 graduate.
“I’m always up for an adventure,” she said. “And PLU felt like the place I was suppose to be.”
PLU isn’t the “typical college experience,” Dooley explained. The university appealed to her because of its extensive study away programs, concentration on world issues and the engaged student body.
Growing up in the international community enabled Dooley to be more aware of current events happening around the globe. Most of her friends hailed from other countries, and it was from them that she learned of the big and small issues facing people around the world.
“Students in general are really informed on big international events,” she said, citing the Iraq War and conflict in Darfur, Sudan. But the less prominent events, especially those not covered in the media or those lacking a direct connection to the United States, tend to be overlooked by American students, she said.
“It’s our duty as world citizens to know what’s going on, even if our government is not involved,” Dooley explained.
Each year, Dooley returns to Vietnam for Christmas and summer break, spending time with her parents, three sisters and a brother. Every time she goes home, the city has changed.
“Asia is constantly changing, constantly evolving,” she said. “I grew up knowing things change.”
The high rate of change stems from the constant turnover of businesses in the region, she explained. Ho Chi Mihn, formerly Saigon, is the largest city in Vietnam with 7.2 million people. She described it as a jam-packed, bustling place, where traffic rules are merely guidelines and tourism is huge.
Dooley credits her upbringing in Asia with shaping her into an accepting, adaptable person who welcomes change and makes friends quickly.
Families are constantly moving within the international community to new places. Dooley’s family moved almost every year when she was younger, though they’ve been settled in Vietnam for nearly 10 years now. To help navigate the unfamiliar landscape at each move, Dooley learned to make close friends quickly.
“When you’re in the international community, you make friends fast, really close friends fast,” she said. “It’s why the international community is so close.”
Though moving often was tough, it was also one of the best things, Dooley said. By the time she was 16, she’d lived in five countries and been exposed to a variety of people and cultures. It helped her quickly adjust to college life, to make friends and find her niche, she said.
Dooley will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in English writing. While she’d eventually like to return to living abroad, either as a teacher or working for a nonprofit organization, she plans to stick around the U.S. for a few years after graduation.
“I need to know what it’s like to live in America not as a college student,” she said. “I’d feel like I’ve wasted four years if I don’t. I need to have this experience not only as a student in my native country, but also to live and work in it.”