Learning Journal Entry #9

[Nicolas Dacey]

I found the verbal communication packet very interesting in thinking about how I communicate, and how communication across cultures could create awkward / rude moments unintentionally. The first section talked about direct and indirect communication. It is clear that our culture is more on the direct / low context side. We tend to be our own individuals, as defined later in the packet as "individualist." People who speak Hebrew are most likely not like this at all. Their rich history and collective tendencies suggest the indirect / high context side. The next section discusses people's use of time. I found this section really interesting because American culture is probably the most monochronic of any culture in the world. We always are in a rush, trying to use time in the most efficient way. Don't get me wrong, not all Americans are like this. There are some places that are the exact opposite, such as southern states outside of cities. People from the country don't care about time like northerners do. I know that I need to make plans, and am extremely annoyed about interruptions. I am always trying to make the best use of my time. As far as the Hebrew culture goes, I would guess that they are more relaxed and on the polychronic side. I know that Europeans tend to be on that side of the spectrum. My sister told me about people in Greece (where she studied abroad), and they would definitely be the exact opposite of a New Yorker. They take time off of work in the middle of the day, and will literally sit around for hours doing nothing. This created a cultural barrier for my sister when she was there. She needed to chill out and compose herself to not stick out and look like a freak.

The other cultural difference I found most applicable to Hebrew culture is the collectivist one. They strive to work for the good of the group, striving to help others with the belief that by doing so they in turn will also be better off. This means that every single cultural difference mentioned in the packet has opposites between my culture and the one I am studying, because my culture is individualist. I would say that for me, my family has created a collectivist bubble to help each other. the majority of people I know are not like that though. They create their own path and work on their own to accomplish things.

I have not yet figured out what kind of nonverbal communication people who speak Hebrew use, but in the next few weeks I plan to try to notice what kind of nonverbal communication they use. This would probably be just as important to figure out as actually learning how to speak the language.