International students are prone to experiencing culture shock as they cross boundaries. On their arrival to the U.S., displaced students from the Third World often feel isolated, afraid, inferior, and insecure. The intention of this project is to support these students, as they adapt to their new cultural context.
Digital collections can serve as a medium for sharing sensations and experiences, through the form of personal stories. By sharing stories, we can help overcome the sense of isolation and culture shock. One can see how others have similar experiences. We are building a digital community space to support this exchange of experiences.
Among the Ewe people of Southeastern Ghana, a special greeting is offered with enthusiasm by a host when a guest comes to visit. Woezo can best be translated as, "You are welcome! My house is your house." We have named our collection in honor of the spirit of sharing and mutual support that woezo creates.
What you are viewing now is an interactive prototype version of the Woezo collection. The stories here were collected through first ethnographic person interviews. The interviews were most effective when conducted informally. Our intention is to develop this into an online community, in which participants can contribute stories and pictures, and contact each other through a social network. We would also like to make digital cameras available, to help participants gather pictures to illustrate the stories.
Please discuss how you feel this can support your own experience.