When I was offered an opportunity to spend the academic year 1979-80 as a student at the University of Cambridge, I went to a Harvard junior faculty member who was from England, and asked for advice. He told me:
No one in the Cambridge maths department will speak to you, for three reasons:
- The first is that you're a woman. The other students are reserved Englishmen who are shy about speaking to women, so they won't speak to you.
- The second reason is that you're American. They're not accustomed to speaking to foreigners, so they won't speak to you.
- And the third reason is that they don't speak to anyone. So they certainly won't speak to you.
This was both a good joke, and good advice. I did become friends with some of the other students, but it helped to know in advance that I would have to try harder.
When I returned for a brief visit a year after I left, I was surprised that I was greeted warmly by faculty who had seemed oblivious to my existence when I was a student. Some of the people I met in my year there are friends to this day.
There are many communities in the world, with different customs, values, and traditions. It makes life interesting. Some of my richest experiences come from living in another culture.