Christiaan Burger

Christiaan Burger reflects on his global journey that didn’t go according to plan — and turned out better for it.  

From South Africa to Japan to a small liberal arts college in the U.S., Christiaan traces how each new context reshaped who he was, often in surprising ways. What stays constant is his instinct to lean into the unexpected. 

The Baret Scholars year emerges as a turning point: a crash course in uncertainty, adaptability, and saying yes to what the moment offers. Along the way, he discovers something simple but powerful: connection gets easier when you remind yourself to connect with others on a deeply human level.

Christiaan also speaks candidly about the disorientation of returning home, the seeming loss of an intense shared world, and the effort it takes to hold onto those relationships across distance. 

Follow Christiaan on Instagram @christiaaniss or on LinkedIn here.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Hello and welcome to Young Global Leaders, where we get the chance to hear from young people hailing from all around the world, sharing about themselves, their accomplishments, and their vision for a better world. Recently, I had the privilege of leading a group of about 100 young people from over 40 countries to seven global regions on an eight-month global gap year program. Most of them had just graduated from high school, though we also had a few older students. During our eight plus months together, the students formed a deeply loving and supportive community. Anyone could see that they had built something unique and inspiring. Through my eyes as a teacher, coach, and global leadership consultant, what I saw was unlike anything I'd seen before. When the program ended, I desperately wanted to keep in touch with these students and to share their example with the world. So I started the Young Global Leaders podcast. Today we hear from Christian Berger. Christian Berger, welcome to uh to Young Global Leaders. Hey Jason, so nice to see you. Very excited. Thank you. Yeah, really nice to see you too. It's it's been a few months now. The time just keeps flying on by. What is it? Uh January 23rd, we were recording this, and it's now been just over eight months since our program ended, and it's just hard to believe. But here we are. Uh could you start by letting our listeners know where you're joining us from today and what has brought you there?

SPEAKER_03 1:36

Yes. Um very interesting story, actually. So I'm I'm calling from Canton, New York, upstate New York, um, where this week it will reach temperatures of minus 20. So um yeah, very cold. Um it's very interesting because I never actually really wanted to go to the US. I remember when I first applied and I was talking to Farhad, I was studying Farhad that there's no chance of me going to the US. I'm uh I'm going to Europe or I'm studying in South Africa where I'm originally from. And now I'm ending up, I ended up here very happy.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

So um so how did that that's especially counterintuitive in this particular historical period uh because I know a lot of students who had originally planned on coming to the United States decided not to because of all of the issues around visas to given the current administration here in the United States. So what what can you share with us about how how you ended up kind of doing the inverse of what so many other students are doing?

SPEAKER_03 2:32

Yeah, so um ever since I was a kid, I had this, had I had this idea that I wanted to go and study in the Netherlands because um I actually got my Dutch passport just last year. Um I'm a dual uh national now, and I wanted to go to the Netherlands. That's where my grandparents are all from, and I had that idea. So I studied in Japan for three years to finish my high school, and my plan was I'm gonna go to Japan, and then after that, I'm gonna go to the Netherlands. And then I applied to the Netherlands, and even though I could study for almost free, uh, living in the Netherlands is not what I thought it would be. Um and then I spoke to Nico and Kaina, two other students in our Gapier program, and they told me about the school, and I reached out to the admissions counselor. Um, they have a specific admissions counselor specifically for UWC students, and I reached out to him. I called him quickly, and I was wowed. I yeah, I was I was wowed with myself first because it's something that I never thought I would want to do. I I had this idea that I never wanted to go to the US and I never even considered it then. And then I talked to him and I was like, wow, Christian, why have I not considered this? And I applied and I got in, and yeah, it worked out to be the best option for me. And so far, so far so good? I loved it. I loved it. I made a lot of friends. It's it's a liberal arts school, so it's about 2,000 students. And I love that because everyone knows everyone. Um I'm very close to the teachers, and it almost just kind of feels like a high school because my classes are what um my staff does today. We had what 12 students, and we're super close with the professor, super close with everyone. And yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_00 4:17

Excellent. Well, I'm really happy, really happy to hear that. And it's great that you and UN Beret scholars student Nico are roommates. And then Kainot. So our listeners will know Kainat from an earlier episode of Young Global Leaders. I think she was our fourth guest. Um anyway, wonderful story. Thank you for sharing all of that. Uh Christian, moving on to the next question. What can you share with us about what makes you you?

SPEAKER_03 4:41

That's so interesting. When I was thinking about this, um I was I was thinking, what made me me in South Africa, well, okay, before I started traveling, and then now. And then I was thinking who I was then, and then who I was in Japan, and who I was in my gapier, and who I am now are four completely, completely different people. Um, and it's funny how it kind of went up and down. Uh, not not like a straight line or or anything. So I think when I was in South Africa up until I was 15, I was very, very outgoing. I was super confident, I was a huge debater, public speaker. And then then I went to UWC and I I got very, very introverted. I got very, very overwhelmed with a lot of people. And it's funny because it was like a complete shift of who I thought I was and how comfortable I felt going out and speaking. Well, uh well, that was the first environment where I really spoke English. So for me, that was also um, I don't know, that kind of challenged me a bit, and I think that completely changed my personality. And then after three years, I got a bit more confident, and then I went on Baret, and it was the complete opposite again. I felt so comfortable with all of these people, I didn't have any stress, and I feel like that was um yeah, my outgoing self again. I feel like um, yeah, I got that uh debater, the debater public speaking um me again. And I think that really helped me because I think one of the things that I loved most about this year is just speaking to as many people as I could. And for me, it was really, really important to be outgoing this year. And I think, yeah, that was one of my main qualities that I loved. And now that I'm in uni, I feel like it's going the other way around again. I am enjoy having my solitude and doing my own thing. So very interesting. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:35

It is interesting, and I I I love the uh the um the insight about how we change with the context that we're in and we respond in different ways to different contexts. Um so I'm gonna I'm gonna probe just a little bit and ask you if you have detected any consistent through lines through those four different versions of you.

SPEAKER_02 7:00

That's interesting.

SPEAKER_03 7:01

Um I think I think I think the goals of what I wanted w has always been the same. I feel like when I was in South Africa, I knew that I wanted more and I wanted to go to UWC. When I was in UWC, I knew that I wanted to do something big. And then I got the Ray and I took a whole gap here, something that I never thought I would do. And then again, when I was in UWC, I came to the US, something I never thought I wanted to do. And now I'm at that stage of okay, what am I gonna do over summer? What am I gonna do after this? And it's probably gonna be something that I thought I'd never want to do. And I think that's a pattern that I would like to continue for the rest of my life.

SPEAKER_00 7:49

That's great. Sort of endless, endless discovery and endless surprise. Exactly. Yes. Fantastic. Well, moving on to our next question. Uh we'd love to hear more about your story and what brought you to Beret Scholars. So, what can you share with us about your background and how you came to be a part of the program?

SPEAKER_03 8:08

Yes. So I spoke a bit already about how I um how I ended up at UWC. So I was 15, and one of my friends applied. They told me about the program. And I the United World Colleges, um, I don't know if Kaina had explained, I know she she went to one too. Is it's this program that I have 18 schools all around the world, and then you apply to the program, and then they sent you to a country you can't really choose. So again, I wanted to really go to the Netherlands to have a school there, and I applied, and I got sent to Japan. And it's something that I didn't choose. It's something that I I think Japan was my sixth option. So I never even thought of it really. And then I went there completely thrown in the deep. And um, yeah, I absolutely loved it. And then again, I wanted to go to the Netherlands after, and my um in grade 11, I applied to this program, which was called Rise for the World. Um, yeah, I think three of uh or two of the uh Paris Colonel students were actually winners of this program. And this program, uh I believe the first year was a$500,000 prize, and they pay for your university and everything. And I had this idea that if I win this program, I will go to Europe, I would um either in the Netherlands or Spain, because I fell in love with learning Spanish actually in grade 11, which is very interesting. Um and I had this idea that if I win this, I'm gonna go to Europe and I'm gonna study there. And for a whole year, I worked really, really hard. I ended up being a finalist, and then in my grade 12 year, I unfortunately didn't get it as a finalist. And I thought this is the end. I worked so hard for this, I sacrificed most of my grades just working on this project, and I didn't get it. And then my guidance counselor told me about Baret. And I fell completely fell in love with the idea. And then I called Farhat, and I loved my conversation with Farhad. I was actually so invested that um, okay, the first interview I asked Farhad what was his favorite book, because in in the Baret book, they I don't remember what the book he said was. And then he says, no, no, no, that's not my favorite book at all. My favorite book is In Search of Lost Time. And I was like, okay, I'm gonna make it my mission to impress Farhardt at our next meeting. I'm gonna read In Search of Time. In Search of Time is like one of the longest series books ever. So uh I used to work as a snowboard instructor then, and every morning and every afternoon I would listen to a podcast of In Search of Time just to know what it's about, so I could impress Farhardt in the next meeting. And I and it made a Baret Scholars shirt, I made a Baret Scholars background. I was like, okay, Christian, you're gonna get this. And yeah, I was lucky enough to have gotten it along with my best friend Darius, who also went to UWC. It was funny because um at that time various scholars said that they would only give one scholarship to a UWC student. And I was hesitant of whether to tell Darius because he would be my competition. I ended up telling him to reboot guys. So um we got lucky. And yeah, that's how I got to Barray.

SPEAKER_00 11:11

Wow. I love the intentionality that you brought to that. Like I'm I'm I'm gonna impress Farad. Were you actually able to talk about the book with him when you spoke with him the second time?

SPEAKER_03 11:23

Um a little bit, yeah. I I don't remember much now, but I remember that time I definitely had my notes. Yeah. Nice, nice, nice.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

Well, yeah, when it comes to programs like Beret Scholars, we often talk about learning as a really central outcome of the program. Can you share with us anything that you might have unlearned during your travels with Beret Scholars?

SPEAKER_03 11:46

Yes, definitely. I think um something that I unlearned that that's also kind of related to what I talked about in the past of how life is so unpredictable is how you can't control your day. So I I think an example that really stood out to me was when I went to when we went to Argentina, I applied to Minerva University, um, which was also another big goal of mine, and I really wanted to get it. And I think there was one day left before the deadline. And um I knew I needed to do a bunch of uh uh interviews this day. I needed to do a bunch of challenges still. And okay, my plan was we arrived at 6 a.m. in the morning, I think. We get to the hotel and I'm gonna spend the whole day doing it. And I got to the hotel and they told us, um, sorry, but we can only check in at two. And this is in Oshua, the bottom of the world, and there was no Wi-Fi, and I just had to let go. And then that day, without any gear, um, me and three of my friends we we went hiking. Um, me who was coming from South Africa was basically not used to snow at all. Um, we hiked one of the biggest mountains in Oshua in my in my sweatpants, in not waterproof shoes, and it ended up being one of my best experiences with Bray. So I think yeah, the this this happened so much that I learned to not to be okay with not controlling your day. Uh or unlearned that part of yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:24

Nice. Uh yeah, I just just a quick comment.

SPEAKER_00 13:28

What a magical place. Yes. Have you been yourself? So I I snuck down there for one day, literally one day, at the invitation of our fellow um Daniel Weiser, um, who had a hike that he wanted to do and he knew that I that I run long distances, and so he's he he invited me to come down, and so I I planned a couple of days in Buenos Aires and then and then ducked down to Ushua for one day. Um and just wow, what a stunning, what a stunning place. Yeah. So anyway, beautiful story. Thank you for sharing it. So, yeah, as I mentioned, we've been this has been eight months now since the year concluded. Uh and as you've been reflecting on the year, what would you say are some of the main ways in which you have grown?

SPEAKER_03 14:15

Yeah, I think for me, the biggest thing again was it was really, really important for me this year to talk to as many people as I could. And I think one thing I learned that is that everyone is just human. Um I think uh in the beginning or in the second part, I uh I went out a lot with Karen, one of our fellows, and Eduardo, which is one of all also one of the staff of Barre. And I was talking to them just like one of my friends, and I was learning so much. And I feel like before that I was so scared to just talk, talk to adults, learn from them and go out with them. That was something that I don't know, I never thought of doing. And I think that's something I really learned this year, that everyone's just a person. You can talk to anyone you want to, and everyone has so much to teach you. I learned that in Brazil when we went to the Favalas and I played uh football with some of the kids. I in Rio, in Argentina, when we went to the school. The kids taught me some Spanish, something that I never never even thought of doing, that they could teach me something. So I think that's something that I really learned. Um, I also learned that uh, or I believe I got better at being or yeah, learning to actually be where you are and not think of I think in Bahrey it was so easy to think of the next place where we're gonna go because there's so many exciting things that we're gonna do. So when we were in uh Brazil, uh next we were going to Oshua, and it's so it's so easy to think that okay, if something's not going perfect right now, it's okay, at least we'll go to Oshua next. Or in Oshua next we're going to Paris, which is the best city in the world. Um so I read this book, The Power of Now, which I think really, really changed my mindset of really trying to enjoy what you have now. And not thinking of the past, not thinking of the future, and living in the moment, actually trying to understand what people are saying. And yeah, I think those are two of the main lessons that I know this year.

SPEAKER_00 16:23

Those are pretty powerful lessons. Uh I mean, starting with the second one, but being able to locate ourselves in the moment is often sort of held up as this ideal. It's also the, I mean, think about certain many spiritual traditions. It's like there's a the there there's an emphasis often on getting ourselves into the moment and not getting hung up on past mistakes or uh you know super stressed out about the future. So wonderful that you uh that you were able to grow in that way during the Beret year. And then the one before that is this recognition that humans have an unlimited capability of connecting with one another.

SPEAKER_02 17:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:05

And it sounds to me like you really expanded your ability to do that and your belief in your ability to do that. Is that accurate?

SPEAKER_03 17:12

Yes, definitely. Um I'm curious how much you guys as fellows or or um as the dean actually got to go out and talk to a bunch of different people. I know for us it was kind of the idea, but you guys had to look after us and you were very, very busy. How much how much of the travel did you guys actually get to do?

SPEAKER_00 17:30

I think it I think for the fellows, they they got to do a lot more than I did. Yeah. Because, you know, um and that was built into their to their job description. Um fellows-led fellowships, and uh I I did not have a well-defined role when it came to fellowships, which really was the fellowships that was the main opportunity to get out, have a smaller group, uh have more intimate connections. You know, from my perspective, have more intimate connections with students, but then also, of course, with members of the communities that we were visiting. And so I I went on fellowships whenever I could. And it was during those times that I mean, those are the times that I remember most fondly because that's when I really got I don't were you I don't think you and I were ever on fellowship together. Is that right, Christian?

SPEAKER_03 18:13

Um, I I remember seeing you the one day in or hearing about you the one day in Oshwa, but I think we missed each other, so no.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

Yeah, I don't think I actually saw you there. Yeah. So um I was able to do a fellowship in North America and in Europe and in Africa, I was able to go to Rwanda, and then and then in China, I was able to go visit, uh, could go on the Inner Mongolia Fellowship. So those were those were great. Um other than that, I you know, I that was and I I knew going into this position, right, that it was not, it was it wasn't designed for me to go and have these connecting moments with folks. It was designed for you all to have those opportunities. And um I just uh seized every opportunity that I could when it came along. Yeah. Yeah, and and it was wonderful. I mean, every single time I was able to do that, I just it was just the the the learning that I was able to then uh undergo was was was pretty profound as well.

SPEAKER_02 19:08

Um thank you for asking.

SPEAKER_00 19:14

Okay, so now I want to ask you about the re-entry process. So where did you go right after the program and what was the album? What was the re-entry process like for you?

SPEAKER_03 19:29

Yeah, so again my plan was to go to Japan. Um so I wanted to go to my friend's graduation because yeah, I completed high school there, and I think eight of my best friends were all going to Japan right after the program. And then last minute I couldn't get a visa, so I actually went to Hong Kong for three days. Um and then I returned home to South Africa. Um and yeah, I think going home to South Africa was really, really, really hard for me. Um yeah, I think you never really process what you're doing until you're past it. I think I learned this when I was in Japan. And most winter breaks I stayed on campus. And when I went home for the summer break, I I felt like I was a completely new person coming back because then I actually had to got to process everything that I did this year. Um, compared to where a winter break where I just stayed on campus and all my friends got to go home and they came back and saying, like, wow, like I learned this and this and this, and I just felt like the same person. So I think that really took place for me about Barre when I went home in South Africa. Um yeah, it was also really tough because I um, well, I bought a camera this year. My mom was a photographer, and I just took as many pictures as I could. And I started looking through my photos. I I was making a book, and I realized how much I had already forgotten. I I looked at photos from what, five, six months ago that I thought I'd remember forever. I was like, wow, I did this, I completely forgot about this. So that was also a really hard reality to accept. That yeah, what we did this year is over, and in a year I'm probably gonna not think about this anymore. So that was really, really tough for me. Um another thing that was also really tough was me going home and seeing all of my friends that we live together every day have their own lives now. They went back to their their own friends in their own countries, they went to their own universities. And yeah, it it didn't really hit me that hard in UWC because I went straight into something uh more exciting that was super excited about Barre, but after Baret, it really, really hit me hard that all of us have have a different life. And yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:51

How did you meet all of these different challenges that you faced? Um I eight of us

SPEAKER_03 22:00

try to really really stay in contact and I'm I'm a really really bad runner um and we we came up with challenges for each other to every day just stay in contact so every day during uh during the summer break I ran a 5k and that really really helped me first get out be active and yeah I think really get over things. So it's something that at first I hated doing and after the summer I I think I what ran 8, 9K which I'm a really really terrible runner. So for me that was yeah I don't know it really really helped me take my mind off things I think grow as a person doing something that I hated doing and also keep in contact with yeah everyone that was my closest friend and yeah I think even get us get us even closer helping us stay in touch. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:54

Good I'm I'm really glad that you've taken the opportunity to stay in touch with folks and I mean you're even living with you whatever. Right, a fellow Beret scholar. I feel like um really any intense experience but something as extended as Bray scholars how do we even convince ourselves that it was real that it actually happened that that's very interesting.

SPEAKER_03 23:20

I I I want to stop you there as yeah me living with one of my Bray scholars I feel like um a bunch of my friends pointed out that for us because we we had each other I had Nico and I had Kainat it didn't feel like when we came back here that Barray really ended. It felt like after a winter break and we got back together and our bond was still there because we were all really close in the program. Whereas my friends that were all alone at their university it was completely over for them. They they didn't have anyone from Barraid it was a completely new life for them. I feel like we in the beginning were still kind of living in that dream world of okay, wow um we have all of these friends we have each other we can yeah travel anytime so yeah I think that's also a very very big difference between us and the people who didn't have any of the Barray people around them.

SPEAKER_00 24:11

Yeah that makes a lot of sense because I mean we we create real we we create reality in relationship with people yes exactly so traveling the world with peers from over 40 countries you know a thing or two about how to communicate and collaborate across cultures what insights have you gained in this regard as a result of your experience um that's interesting I feel like this year I really realized to first I want to start with with me.

SPEAKER_03 24:46

I feel like I really started to think for myself. I feel like when we grow up it's so easy to believe what my parents believe what my grandparents believe what my friends around me believe. And then I travel and I speak to all of these people and I realized okay well maybe that's not what I believe anymore. I want to um yeah make these decisions for myself so in the beginning I feel like was very very tough at least in the beginning of Barray and it was it was completely different in UWC it was also uh I think it was 80 international students I was 200. So um I also had some challenges there but it was very very different from Bahrain uh it was like completely starting over again and in the beginning of Bahrain um all of us had these very very very different ideologies that um yeah I don't know came from our parents that came from our countries and I feel like seeing most of my friends what they believed in the beginning and what they believed in the end is incredible how much we have all changed as uh as people and as what we believe in. And I think that comes from speaking to most of these people. Yeah I I think it's so hard to believe something when you haven't been to a Favala in Rio and see how they actually lived or yeah in in Sri Lanka and see these kids who basically don't have a school a school without a roof going to these schools and yeah without speaking to these people it's so hard to actually understand where they come from and see why they believe what why they believe what they believe. So yeah I think that was really interesting in yeah why we changed what's what we believed. I think um which let me go we go back to the questions the question. Oh yeah go ahead no no no I'm just thinking um in in terms of how or how we uh bigger than just what we believe in in the actual language I'm thinking of when I was a snowboard instructor in in Japan um I didn't speak any Japanese and uh finding a way to talk to these little kids I tried to find what what we had in common. So my surname is burger and all Japanese students uh knew burger so I was I was just trying to yeah see what we had in common and then make use of that. So as a stalwart instructor I would teach them a burger flip and they would die laughing. They would fall on the ground laughing and I think that's what make made our lesson so great just finding what we have in common and then working from there.

SPEAKER_00 27:32

So um yeah. Yeah well you've hit upon a a well-known strategy for bridging across differences which is finding commonalities to um actually there's a brain chemical called oxytocin that gets generated through discovering commonalities with other people and binds us together uh whereas you know the brain might naturally want to see somebody else as a threat if you can find commonalities that's a great at least an entry point into a deeper and more meaningful relationship.

SPEAKER_03 28:06

I'm so curious about you because I know you're a linguist and you went you you worked a lot of time in in China. How was it for you going into China for the first time working with people who have ideologies so different to you? What's what's your experience there?

SPEAKER_00 28:21

Yeah so one of the main motivators I didn't know it at the time but when I look back one of the main motivators for me getting into international education and specifically intercultural leadership development was my failures in my first year in China and the fact that I did not I mean so I I was an East Asian studies major as an undergrad. I had two years of Mandarin I could recite all the Chinese dynasties and then I showed up there completely unequipped to deal with what my brain was doing to me which was completely freaking out. Oh my God, this is so different. Oh my God what the heck these dah da da da da da da da and um I didn't know what the heck had hit me. I mean yes I understood culture shock was a thing but you know we didn't have any meaningful like workshops before we went over um and so it was really that crucible experience of that first year that I I I feel like I suffered so much in my own mind and I just didn't want I mean it was it was a great year too, right? I wouldn't change anything about it because you know it was an absolutely amazing year. And I it was it became clear to me that it didn't have to be that painful that yes, of course there should be you you're not going to learn anything if you're too comfortable. And at the same time there is too much discomfort. And so that you know that's that's now the there's there's fancy theories they call it the ch you know balancing challenge and support. I don't know if I ever introduced to you all the the comfort zone learning zone panic zone model or not but but I was in my panic zone for a good part of that year. And so you know since then I have done a lot of different things um and have just tried to consistently get better at the brain management strategies. So you know when I'm when difference and unfamiliarity are present, recognizing the, you know, that's a trigger for my for my threat detection mechanism in my brain. So then you use strategies to calm that down, learn as much as I can about how to adapt my behavior in culturally appropriate and culturally helpful ways and then and then try to do so. So um it's definitely gotten better over the years. And then of course as as you know I want to do as much as I can to kind of pass this on to others as well as uh continue to learn and grow in this way in this way myself. Yeah. So that's a the the probably the briefest possible version of my my long career in this realm. But thank you for asking that too Christian. Very interesting. Thank you Tyson yeah no problem. So uh you are now at university your first year uh you you're planning on being there for four years at St.

SPEAKER_03 31:04

Lawrence um uh well at the university for four years yes but um I'm I'm doing a Spanish minor and our school has really good study abroad programs so I'm on the next year I'm going to Spain for a semester and then in my third year I'm gonna go to Costa Rica. That's also what I kind of wanted to ask you uh about your time in China and how you adapted and uh how you made the most of learning the language because uh as a Spanish minor I'm I'm gonna have to do that in Spain and Costa Rica. So yeah I'm really really excited about that. And then I'm also doing a major in uh economics and math. So yeah the rest of the three years I'll focus on that.

SPEAKER_00 31:46

Very busy busy young man. What uh what part of Spain will you be in next?

SPEAKER_03 31:51

You said next fall uh yes yes yes next fall I'm gonna be in uh sorry next spring next spring uh yeah January 2027 yeah okay I'm gonna be in Madrid for yeah five months um and then we're in Costa Rica um I'm not sure I'm not sure yeah because I I have to spa I have to pass an advanced Spanish class before I can go there all the classes are in Spanish so if I pass that then I can go then I can focus on that but that's the goal for now.

SPEAKER_00 32:20

Great so by the time you get to Costa Rica your Spanish should be at a at a pretty darn high level and you'll you'll be you'll just be using it every single day. The advice that I have for you is actually not advice that I have followed myself because I didn't really become aware of this advice until after my Mandarin had gotten pretty good. But there's a there's an author an American author named Peter Hessler who's written a lot of books about China and he shared in the very first book that he wrote about China called Rivertown he was a Peace Corps volunteer and he shared about his strategy for studying Chinese. So as a teacher he was Peter Hessler, the the foreign expert American teacher but as a student of Chinese he was a different person and he recognized that. And so he he had a Chinese name Ho Wei and what he actually did in his apartment is he got a second desk. And when he was preparing his teaching lessons he was at one desk and he was Peter Hessler and when he was working on his Chinese at his other desk he was Ho Wei. And whenever he was out practicing his Chinese he was Ho Wei. And what that enabled him to do is one of the things that I know has impeded my language learning and that I think is a fairly common obstacle to people wanting to become proficient in languages that aren't their first language is the sense is the ego. It's and sense of identity like I'm I I I am this person in my own language that I can't it's like a this standard that there's no way that I'm possibly going to reach in this language this this new language for me. And I don't want to come across as like a fool or an idiot. So I'm just not going to speak. I'm just not gonna try that that fear of of of of looking incompetent to others I think can be a real obstacle. And he just by creating this separate identity for himself just cleared that issue completely out of the way. And he was able to that enabled him to just take risks and experiment to try new things and he ended up learning Chinese really fast. So um like I say it's not advice that I followed so I don't know what it's like what I would say is is just you know if you could do something like your peace with the fact that your Spanish is your Spanish and that you are a different version of Cristian maybe you have a different name even right a different identity. And hopefully that you know that could free you up. Yeah so I'll stop there. I hope that's helpful.

SPEAKER_03 34:50

Yeah very much that's an interesting um I I yeah I think for for me when I was learning English too when I went to UWC it was so difficult for me to start thinking in English. I I was thinking in Afrikaans and then translating everything. And then it's interesting that now I kind of do it the opposite way I'm I'm so used to speaking English it's kind of become my first language and now when I when I go home I speak English with my mom. But but yeah yeah I liked what you said about the separate personality because I think that kind of forces you to not only speak the language but kind of start thinking in that language and that's how you actually learn it. To not think in English, think this is an Apple and then have to translate it to Mandarin or Spanish or whatever. So that's interesting.

SPEAKER_00 35:30

Thank you Jason Yeah you're welcome I I appreciate you asking me the question because I really could I could talk about this stuff forever but you know this is this is this is ultimately about you this conversation well that sounds like you've got a lot of really exciting things planned and I guess maybe not too surprisingly more global travel and global learning.

SPEAKER_03 35:51

Last question I have for you is we live in a world that is full of suffering and a lot of that suffering is caused by human beings and it can be easy to feel overwhelmed to lose hope to tune out disconnect have you got any words to encourage us about the future yes um I feel okay there's there's this quote that that I heard um that really stuck with me when I was at at UWC it's it it says it's not what you have but what you make of what you have so when I was traveling during this year I saw all of these horrible places. I saw the Favalas in Rio and yeah the school in in Sri Lanka and in Argentina these kids who barely have a home and they're winning these science no science prizes at this incredible school that helps them and I see them laughing and I see them having fun and I I recognize that there's a lot of suffering in this world but I really feel like each of us have the ability to do something great with what we have. So yeah I think that really really stuck with me. It's not what we have but what we make of what we have and um yeah I think um that's my that's my words of wisdom for today. Excellent good thank you for sharing that Christian is there anything else that you'd care to share with our listeners before we wrap up um not to share but I'm I'm very curious you you asked me a lot today about um what what we what we learned and how we grew I'm I'm curious you as a dean how uh how you see all of us changing I know you spoke to a lot of us in in in New York and I think by China come by China we were all very very very different people. I wonder how how you see us grew and how you think we changed as a person maybe the ups and downs that's a good one.

SPEAKER_02 37:54

That's a good one and I think it's hard for me to it's hard for me to kind of assess that for a couple couple of reasons.

SPEAKER_00 38:03

One is I didn't know any of you before Beret scholars and then of course it took me quite quite a while to get to know each of you on different timelines as well. What I will say is as a group and um in my in my uh in the voice voiceover intro to the podcast I share about this a little bit as well which was the community that you all formed with one another was absolutely unlike anything that I had ever seen before. And so I'll talk about the essentially the end state of the group which I'm sure was different from I mean you all took really good care of each other from the start. And when you showed up in New Hampshire orientation it was clear that you were already wanting to come together as a group. I did have a front row seat to many of the conflicts in the group because I mean really m most of the most of the conflicts were handled by the fellows in the House structure but occasionally things would get bumped up to the to the deans to deal with and so I did have a front row seat to how some of the conflicts were unfolding um and I definitely noticed a trend throughout the year that um there's there was a greater ability to work through them I think more quickly and with more mutual understanding. Ultimately when I talk about the end state of the group what I mean is the I've never seen a community that was so unabashedly and unapologetically loving of one another and caring for one another I truly truly never seen anything like it and you know of course there that that's it's not a perfect or an ideal there's no such thing. We're humans, right? But as far as human communities go, it was pretty darn close to ideal is what I felt like.

SPEAKER_03 39:57

Did you feel that too Christiane? I I definitely I definitely agree yes yeah yeah um yeah I don't know I I also just want to thank you I think um in New York you well in in orientation you you gave us the speech um and you said that the low is definitely gonna come and in in New Hampshire I I didn't believe you. I called my mom that day and I was like yeah our dean told us like yeah the low is gonna come and I I said no way. And then in Brazil I I felt uh well end of Brazil I I started feeling that low and I think your speech really really motivated me to stay positive and know that the wheel turns and that the high will definitely come and I think that's helping me even now at university when I'm feeling down knowing that the high will definitely come. So I want to say thank you and know that your speech or your words really do have an impact even if it's just small sentences like these.

SPEAKER_00 40:58

So yeah thank you Jason you're welcome Christian and thank you so much for sharing that with me because there's really no way for me to know what the impact is unless somebody shares it with me. So thank you for sharing that with me. And it really truly is the honor and privilege of a lifetime to be able to spend time with young folks traveling the world. I mean that's why I signed up to do it in the first place. It's just like oh are you kidding me is this like is this real? Um so yeah it was an absolute absolute privilege and honor to to for me to do it. Um I'm trying to think if there's anything else that I want to reflect on with regard to you all and how you grew. I guess there's one other thing about it which is that I don't think that I I've when I say I've never seen anything like it I've I've I've been in this field for a while. And I've had a lot of different roles in international education and I really have truly never seen anything like it. And that's meaningful because I feel like you all and again there is no utopia there is no perfect community but I feel like the way that you loved and cared for one another really truly is a model for humanity and and that is something that is absolutely priceless. And it makes me so happy to know that you know that that you and uh Nico and Kainat are there together at St. Lawrence and that you're still keeping in touch with other scholars because that is a real when I talk about you know we create reality in community with others that's a reality the the community is a is something real it's something tangible and it's something powerful and I dearly hope that you all will keep your community alive. And it sounds like you are you are definitely doing that. And that makes me very happy and very excited and very hopeful.

SPEAKER_03 43:00

Yeah that that's that that's so interesting because I think something a lot of us worried about at the end of Barray was that we lived the best year of our lives when we were 19. And a while ago we I talked I we had a call with our house our my my fellow was Karen and she told us to make sure that this wasn't the best year but that was the standard of how we're gonna live for the rest of our lives. And I think so far we've really been trying to uphold that we went to Mexico City recently and we had a reunion of what 10 Barray scholars and we're already planning to go to Guatemala for the summer a bunch of us and I think that's so interesting to strive for that to let this year be the standard of how we should live the rest of our life something so incredible. Yeah I think that's a very ambitious and yeah very right way to live for all of us.

SPEAKER_00 43:56

That's a beautiful and powerful framing from Karen and I'm really glad That she framed it that way for you, and I'm really glad that you're bought into it. 100% agree.

SPEAKER_01 44:05

Thank you, Jason.

SPEAKER_00 44:06

You're welcome, Christian, and thank you for spending time with us today. I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Christian. If you did, please tell at least one friend about it. Give us a five star rating and follow the podcast. That will help others find this. Until next time, let's keep our heads clear and our hearts open.