Week 9: Chapter 12, Intercultural Communication

● Pick one concept from the assigned readings that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

I particularly like the concept of intercultural identity and how it can enhance one’s awareness of other cultures. I have never lived outside of the United States, but have had many opportunities to become familiar with other cultures and the rules that guide them.
A particular example comes to mind when I think about stepping outside of my norms and traditions and being open to another’s way of life. My neighbors are from Jordan and Palestine and had just moved to San Jose and introduced themselves to me in broken English and invited me over for tea. I was so happy to have such nice neighbors and was completely interested in getting to know my new friends. Over time we became very good friends and on many occasions I was treated to home made dinners and desserts.
We worked through our communication barriers and talked openly about our cultural difference and similarities. We even laughed about the ways in which I violated their traditional rules. I was welcomed into their family and they were welcomed into mine. I feel so lucky to have had a chance to somewhat experience a culture very different than my own and feel that I can only grow from such an experience.

Happy Blogging:)

Week 9: Chapter 12, Intercultural Communication

● Do you believe in the rationality, perfectibility, and mutability premises? What social institutions and practices are based on these beliefs?

This is a tricky question because yes I do believe that everyone possesses the capability to discover the truth through logical analysis, however, not everyone uses the best judgment when called upon to make a decision. Take for instance our judicial system that makes a rape victim defend themselves as if they were the guilty party. (And yes, there are the few instances where a person cries rape and it is proven that it wasn’t rape.) Another example is how corrupt some police officers are like when they beat Rodney King and were acquitted a year later.

The perfectibility premise is completely absurd and based on religious beliefs that state that humans are born in sin and can achieve goodness through effort and control. I guess if you hold these values than you would agree, but for me I do not believe humans are born in sin. The institutions that uphold this belief would be Catholic and Christian churches, and individuals who personally hold this value in their culture.

The mutability premise is one I do believe in and have spent many years working in the Social Service sector to enable all human beings to improve their lives and circumstances. Public schools are also based on these beliefs and allow anyone to get a free education for their children; however, there are flaws because many public schools in poor neighborhoods do not get the same funding as wealthy neighborhood public schools.

Happy Blogging:)

Week 9: Chapter 12, Intercultural Communication

● Do you agree with anthropologist Ruth Benedict that we are “creatures of our culture” and that our habits, beliefs, and impossibilities are shaped by our culture? If so, how can we break through the limits of our cultures?

I do believe that to a certain degree we are creatures of our culture because as babies and young children are thoughts, habits, beliefs, and impossibilities are socially created for us by our parents, guardians, grandparents, or whoever raises us.

However, I do believe we can break through the limits of our cultures because I did. I was raised to think one way, act a certain way, dress a certain way, talk a certain way, and to view the world in a very specific way. By opening my eyes and seeing through different lenses the different cultures and venturing out of my family circle I began to explore new ideas and gained such a respect for other cultures that were different than my own belief system. Another way to break through the limits of our cultures in through education.

I must admit it wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but it was the best thing I ever did.

Happy Blogging:)

Week 7: Chapter 5, Encoding Messages: Nonverbal Communication

~Pick one concept from the assigned reading that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.
I especially like the concept that Desmond Morris addressed about dress as it pertains to nonverbal communication and how dress serves three major functions. I am most interested in the function of cultural display and how we as individuals will go to great lengths to dress a certain way to show belonging to a specific group or class.
What comes to my mind when I consider dress as a way to identify with a certain group or class is how sad it is for teenagers in school who try very hard to adjust to being a teenager (which in itself is tough) and then they want to fit in and be liked by their peers at school. One of the ways in which they achieve acceptance is by the clothes they wear. Unfortunately, we all know how expensive name brand clothes are and how many families cannot afford to buy their children name brand clothes. I have seen and heard the cruelty of teenagers towards one another when other teenagers does not wear name brand clothes and how they are given labels and most importantly, they are not accepted. It is so hurtful and damaging to these kids who feel rejected and made fun of:(
My hope is that we as a whole will learn to accept people for who they are and not because of the way we dress.

Happy Blogging:)

Week 7: Chapter 5, Encoding Messages: Nonverbal Communication

~Although nonverbal messages are more universal than verbal messages, nonverbals do not always carry the same meanings in other cultures. Can you give examples of some of the nonverbal displays that take on different meanings in other countries? If you have moved around within this country, have you ever encountered regional differences in nonverbal meaning?

Yes, it is true that nonverbal messgaes are more universal than verbal messages and yet, they do not always carry the same meanings in every culture. Examples I can give to support this are, when I was at Starbucks waiting in line to get a coffee there was this man from India standing behind me and he was standing very close to me. I was bothered, frustrated, and a bit nervous that he was standing so close to me, so I turned around and asked him if he would please move back a bit and he politely did. What happened was that I wasn't used to a stranger standing so close to me and invading my personal space. Our personal space rules were evidently very different.
Another example was when I was attending De Anza Community College and I was sitting in my Intercultural Communication class listening to a lecture from my speech teacher and then we each had to get in groups and discuss our cultural norms and traditions and there was a Japanese student who wouldn't make eye contact when he was addressing our teacher. He simply stated that in his culture it is out of respect that he doesn't look at people directly in the eye especially someone of authority like a teacher. I was thankful that he had shared that piece of information because in American culture we are taught that you are to look every individual in the eye to show respect.
Unfortunately, I have not moved around this country and do not have examples regional differences in nonverbal meaning.

Happy Blogging:)

Week 7: Chapter 5, Encoding Messages: Nonverbal Communication.

~Because nonverbal messages can be ambiguous, they are open to misinterpretation. Have you ever been wrong about the meaning of someone's nonverbal message? Describe what happened. How can people increase the accuracy with which they interpret nonverbal messages.

Nonverbal messages are taught to us as we grow up from our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and the community that our family identifies with. With that said, each community of members will have a somewhat shared view of the meanings of nonverbal messages. Learning how to understand someone else's nonverbal messages can be in my opinion one of the most difficult things to do and causes many fights, judgments, and misunderstandings.
Yes, I have been wrong about the meaning of someone's nonverbal message and it was so frustrating when it happened, but we laugh about it today. I am from a big Italian family who greet each other with big hugs and kisses. When I met my fiance' I went to greet him and gave him a hug and proceeded to kiss him. He froze like a deer in a cars headlights and I felt like he didn't like me and for days I was left to interpret his nonverbal message. I did consider the fact that maybe he thought I was being too forward by kissing him and giving him such a big hug when I first met him, but I always fell back on the worst case senario of interpretations. I thought maybe he didn't like being hugged, I thought maybe he wasn't raised in a touchy kind of family. After a few days of agonizing assumptions I finally asked him if I had invaded his personal space, scared him, or if he just didn't like hugs. He laughed and said he didn't know how to interpret my nonverbal messages of hugging and kissing him and that he felt a bit nervous and uncomfortable. He also explained that he had talked to my cousin and found out that our Italian family greets everyone with hugs and kisses.
People can increase the accuracy with which they interpret nonverbal messages by being aware of different cultural practices, understanding that your cultural nonverbal behaviors aren't the way everyone expresses themselves, and by simply asking if their is confusion or misinterpretation.

Happy Blogging:)

Week 6: Chapter 3, Lisrening and Perception, Chapter 4, Encoding Messages: Spoken Language

~ Pick one concept from the assigned reading that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

I particularly liked the concept of active listening in chapter 3 because even I am guilty of not always being an active listener and I am aware of how it makes me feel and by reading about the importance of active listening in chapter 3, I began to consider the dimensions of perception, interpretation, hurt, and confusion that a speaker and often myself may feel and I was able to give my own feelings an identity.
When I would talk to someone and they would not actively listen, it made me feel like I wasn't important, it hurt my feelings, and I felt taken advantage of because I would divulge personal, vulnerable, and/or intimate information and get almost no response. It feels horrible!
Reading about active listening reminds me to constantly do a check to make sure I am listening with all five senses, with my heart and soul, and most importantly that I am present and being active in the conversation.

Have a great weekend:)