Interview with Rahel Bosson, March 10, 2015

Interview Summary

Rahel Bosson, who was born and spent her first seven years in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, describes her childhood and education in Sweden and Belgium as the daughter of an Ethiopian diplomat, including the challenges of her brother's disabilities and loss of her father's position. She provides details about how she gained help to come to the United States to attend college and her surprise at rural Texas and cultural adjustment to Americans with little experience with international students. She explains how, after completing a nursing degree at Texas Tech, she came to the University of Louisville and decided to become a doctor. Now married and the mother of two children, Dr. Bosson is the Director of the Refugee Health Program at the University of Louisville. She describes differences in sense of private property, personal space, and meaning of friendship as cross-cultural challenges. Fluent in English and French, she is teaching her young children about their Ethiopian heritage and her language Amharic.

Interview Keyword

Amharic Amhura, Ethiopia Brussels Cultural differences English Family French Languages Lubbock, Texas Medical training Nursing Oromo, Ethiopia Plainview, Texas Refugees Swedish Wayland Baptist University

Interview LC Subject

Childhood Education Ethiopia Medical education

Interview Rights

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Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.