Discussion 2

[Unitha Cherry]

I will say that I was suprised with the Figuring Foreigners Out article. I expected a perspective that was much more them versus us based off the title and I got a well rounded essay in cultural relativism. The first memory that came to much was the idea of personal space. In Chile it is customary to kiss people on both cheeks when you are meeting them but in America if someone were to do that I would feel like my personal space was being invaded. It also reminded me of a poll I did when I returned to the states. I was asking if people would rather be greeted with a handshake or with a kiss, all of my abroad friends chose kiss while my friends stateside were disgusted at the suggestion. I think exposure to other cultures opens our eyes to new possibilities/ ways of living and you sometimes even find new habits that you are more comfortable with. I think this is especially important in language learning because more often then not things like idioms and little language quirks can only be understood in the context of the language. For me I think that understanding an of both Judaism, and Jewish  culture, along with understanding Israeli culture will help my understanding ad even acquisition of the Hebrew language. I was doing some outside reading of Israeli culture and I found that because of how direct the Hebrew language is people are sometimes seen as rude but that isn’t the case and additionally small talk can actually be seen as rude and a sign that one isn’t close to the person you are talking to.  I think the assessment of how the different cultures value various areas of their lives is along important as a kind of gateway into another culture.

[Lidia Amanuel]

Those nuanced cultural differences in personal exchanges are something I still have to get a hang of in Spanish culture especially since spanish speaking countries have such variety in culture. Though I’ve studied it for years I only had 5 weeks of an immersive experience abroad. In my target language this semester, I don’t need to focus that much on cultural differences since it is very similar to my native Tigrigna culture. I am excited to hear more about your experience with Hebrew and how you plan to immerse yourself in it :)