Anna Bergman
Sophomore
Intercultural communication
Daily Lobo: Why are you majoring in intercultural communication?
Anna Bergman: Because I've been all over the world in so many countries. I have linguistic skills - that was my previous focus in Europe. I'm a polyglot, which means I speak a lot of languages.
DL: How many languages do you speak?
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AB: It depends how you define "speak." I would say maybe 10.
DL: What's the most exciting country you have been to in
Europe?
AB: They have different advantages depending on where you are. France for the food and the art, especially the area around Provence on the coast. Italy - I would love to live there. It has perfect climate. It has perfect everything. Spain because I speak the language - southern Spain, especially. Greece is good because of the olives and the feta cheese.
DL: What's the most exotic place you've been to?
AB: Probably the Andes in South America or Taiwan. I guess that's exotic for some people. Exotic is what's most strange for you. Probably, the United States is exotic because it has so many subcultures.
DL: What did you like about the Andes?
AB: The untouchedness of it. It hasn't really been touched by exploitation, at least where I've been. The genuineness of it. Despite what all the people say about Colombia with the guerrillas, it has a lot to offer if you go. You have to dare. That's the bottom line.
DL: Did you have any problems with that when you were in Colombia?
AB: Of course. I have problems when I'm in New York and New Jersey, too. It's about how prepared you are and what you know about the place. If you prepare, you can be proactive. It's like when I was hitchhiking in Sicily when I was younger. I dyed my hair black and suntanned a lot. I practiced a few Italian phrases that could be good to know. You have to be proactive and prepare. Then you can do anything you want. If you can't get into a country because of some legal issues, there are ways around that, too.
DL: Have you ever had to go into a country illegally?
AB: No. I had some problems getting into the United States as a tourist, back in the '80s before the Berlin Wall came down. I had some issues because I had a lot of eastern stamps. So I went and got a new passport, went back to the American embassy, and I had no problems.
DL: Do you think there's a lot of Cold War sentiment left in the United States?
AB: No. People seem to be much more educated today. I went to college in New Jersey in the '80s, and you couldn't even say the word communist or Marx.
DL: Is there anything else you want to say?
AB: I love this place. I love this weather. I think all the people who live here should take a year and go live somewhere else. Don't just go on vacation. While at that place, go outside that place to see neighboring countries. Just remember, there's nothing that's impossible.
~ Jeremy Hunt
