How would you qualify or describe different aspects of your target culture? Reflect and your own experiences and expectations of the culture in question. How does your culture reflect various qualitative Hofstede dimensions of culture explored in class, e.g., body language, how people talk about time, etc. Also, have you ever experienced culture shock? If so, describe.
Bangladesh is a very interesting country with an amazing history. “Bangla” means the language Bengali and “Desh” means country; so together “Bangladesh” means the country where the Bengali language is spoken. Bangladesh was East Pakistan before becoming its own country in 1971 and prides itself on being independent. There are a lot of cultural differences in Bangladesh that distinguishes itself from the rest of the Southeast Asian countries. Bangladesh is predominantly a Muslim country, and Kolkata, an area in India where they also speak Bengali, is mostly inhabited by Hindus. By being a Muslim country, Bangladesh follows a lot of values of the religion. Men and women should not mingle too much before marriage and the food there is always halal (meat is sacredly sacrificed). The people even have their own ways to communicate with one another through non-verbal and verbal cues. For instance, Bangladesh has its own gift-giving etiquette where one has to give a gift with two hands, and if they only give a gift with one hand, it must be the right hand. Whenever some receive a gift, they must reciprocate. Additionally, Bangladeshis have their dining etiquette. Everyone must eat with his or her right hand, and it is disrespectful to not try the food when it is offered. When I went to Bangladesh six years ago I did feel cultural shock because it was so different than America. I had to take a lot of precautions so I would not get sick or taken advantage of in any way. Although it may have been a bit uncomfortable, having native people teach me the ways of the country really helped.
In order to keep up with my language, my fourth week will be mostly communicating with family members in Bengali. Speaking is a very difficult task for me, so I really need to focus on this early in my plan. My fifth week will be making a dish by watching a Bangladeshi cooking video on YouTube. I will also be learning about religions and festivals with my learning partner, which I am very excited about.
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