Saturday, November 13, 2010
The big OE
A very Kiwi thing to do is the Overseas Experience. This means more than just studying abroad for a semester. It's more of an independent experience. The typical scenario has a recent college grad living and working in London for a couple of years before returning back home. It's almost assumed that everyone does an OE, even if it's just going to Australia for the summer. I wonder if that's why Kiwis seem so much more aware of world current events-- because they feel more like a part of foreign countries? Like they're more intentionally and acutely aware of the rest of the world outside the borders?
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I think you're right! I also think that every young adult has an innate desire to "see the world" before they settle down. You did it, Dad and I did it....and we've never regretted it. I think for my father, enlisting in the Marines and being a part of the big battle in the Pacific during WWII was his big "OE". Many young adults with no financial means join the military for just that reason, I think, not out of a sense of patriotism.
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