An intercultural journey on the yellow brick road

Purpose This article details the intercultural journey of an Israeli Arab college student spending a semester at an American college. Design/methodology/approach The single case study captures the experiences of “Amal” in real time, through analysis of her extensive reflective journals and three interviews. The theoretical lenses through which the data are viewed are intercultural competence, intercultural mirror, and culture as home. Findings For Amal, food represents a tangible difference between American culture and home culture. Amal also finds that her communication style, direct and vocal, is a mismatch with the style of the American college students. Seeing in a kind of cultural mirror how others see her and her Israeli Arab culture advances her self-understanding and her cultural competence. Navigating with the help of her reflective journal, she comes at the end of her sixteen-week journey to feel almost at home, having made new friends, learned about her own strength and resources, and determined to take home with her the more process-oriented teaching and learning style she experienced during her American studies. Originality/value The study shows the deep connection between food and home, and how eating together forms social bonds that break barriers. In addition, it highlights the power of journaling for personal growth and as data in a research study, and the importance of following an intercultural journey in process, not just after a student returns home.