I enjoyed the excerpts of Figuring Foreigners Out. Some of the best advice I have ever received about culture was from an expatriate living in Bangladesh. He told me “Every culture including America has its good parts, bad parts and neutral parts. So when dealing with people of another culture you must learn to appreciate the good parts and the neutral parts, and never condone the bad parts.” I really enjoyed the section in this reading about the universalist and the particularist. I definitely lean more towards being a universalist, and have to learn how to let some of that go without compromising truth.
The section of assigning meaning to behavior also intrigued me. I forget that when I am interacting with people of other cultures here at the University of Richmond or somewhere else in the world behavior does not also signify the same thing. This principle is particularly important when learning a language. Many times expressions or slang will not make sense until the culture aspect is understood and entered into.
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