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Reflections on Meetings with Language Partner

Posted by Kristen Harrison on December 1, 2010 at 1:39pm

Meeting with Yigit was so helpful to me. I knew where I wanted to start in my exploration of Turkish -- numbers, the alphabet, colors -- but having a language partner was really nice because I could make sure I was learning things correctly. He didn't directly teach us grammar or anything, but he laid out some of the basic foundations of Turkish so that we had some building blocks that we could start teaching ourselves from. We started really basic, like days of the week and colors and counting and the alphabet. And it was very helpful to start from here, because at least for me, I need to be able to visualize and pronounce a word to remember it. So I needed to learn the alphabet accurately and early on before anything else would stick. I had looked up the alphabet and numbers on youtube and other sites that gave pronunciations, but it was nice to have a language partner because I could repeat it back and make sure I was saying it right too, rather than just listening to someone else say it. It was the same case with learning other words -- It's easier to hear a word and learn it if you hear it from someone in the same room rather than an online recording.
One thing that we went over in the Language Partner sessions that helped immensely, that I think I would have had a really hard time trying to teach myself, was the organization of the vowels by Front and Back and High and Low. I didn't realize that Turkish was set up that way when I started learning it, but it's pivotal for understanding other grammatical constructions like making the vowels match in words and verb conjugations. Certain vowels correlate with other ones, and this comes into play when a word changes in one the 5 States.
After the first few sessions where we learned the basics to start on, I used the meetings mainly as a way to ask any questions I had with what I was learning. I also asked to clarify some specific things, like how to refer to family members, or more complex phrases that I wasn't sure I was translating correctly. This kind of set-up was ideal, I think, because I could tailor my learning specifically to what I wanted to know, and yet I also had someone to ask just to make sure I was doing it right.

Original Learning Plan Goals

Posted by Kristen Harrison on December 1, 2010 at 12:58pm

Because I don't think this ever was digitized:

Learning Plan:

Know greetings
Be able to introduce myself
Carry a simple conversation --> like where I'm from, pleasantries
Understand some words from songs

Be able to read with correct pronunciation
Understand some of the concepts from children's book

Correct pronunciation
Greetings, small talk
Colors, foods, household objects

Knowledge of alphabet
Talk simply about an object
Write small, simple correspondences and descriptions

Learning Journal #12

Posted by Yazmeen Nunez on November 29, 2010 at 5:30pm

I very much enjoyed the Culture Shock video, and felt that it had a lot to offer anybody who watches it. I personally have gotten to know many international students at the University of Richmond, and have almost more international friends than I do American friends. I converse with them and really enjoy spending time with them, and I imagine that they feel likewise. Although some of the ideas that were expressed in the video I have heard from my friends, there were some particular concepts that were shared amongst the many international students in the video that I had never attributed to those that I have met.

In the video the example was given of international students banding together and making friends with one another more easily than they can with American students. Something that I unfortunately hear often on campus from American students is that they think international students think that they are "better than" American students because they don't associate with them as much as they seem to with other internationals, or that they don't want to be friends with American students. They address this very well in the video and note that international students would really like to interact more with American students, and vice versa, but that cultural divide is far too significant, and the culture shock far too intense, for the two parties to truly become close to one another.

Another important aspect of the culture shock is the educational aspect. School is the reason why the international students come to the University, and unless they went to a United World College, each nation has its own educational guidelines and expectations that are very different from one another. In the video, some of the students talk about their experiences with these differences, particularly in class. The instance of the Asian student who was uncomfortable with speaking in class, but whose grade relied on her in-class participation, struck me while I was watching the video. She was never asked in her home country to speak out in class about her opinions or the subject matter because the way that her classes were structured were different in that respect; it is mostly lecture-based, if I remember correctly. Yet she forced herself to adapt, despite how uncomfortable she felt and how hard it was for her. I think that a lot of domestic students do not understand the significance of this difference in culture that international students feel every day, because for some students from particular cultures, every interaction they have with American people is different from what they would have done had they been at home. This immense pressure and culture shock must be incredibly overwhelming for them.

All in all, the culture shock video was not only informative but also helped me to relate to the international students a lot more. I can understand a lot of the frustrations that they hold when coming into a different culture, whereas before I knew I thought that I could simply never understand. I feel as though understanding the differences between culture definitely helps you to learn a language, as we have covered before in previous discussions. Understanding the way that the culture works is a large part of being able to utilize your acquired language skills, as you must understand non-verbal cues as well as colloquial phrases, something with which many of the international students in the video seemed to have trouble. The video shows me that above all, even if I wanted to try to go test my language skills in Turkey right now, I would still be lost; I could ask for directions and food, but even international students who have been studying English for years still become overwhelmed every now and then.

Learning Journal Reflection/Summary

Posted by Kristen Harrison on November 29, 2010 at 1:24pm

I went into this course thinking that the purpose of it was to teach mehow to teach myself Turkish. So I found the readings frustrating atfirst because they seemed so irrelevant to what I thought I was supposedto be learning. The book discussed the history of language, the sensoryexpressions of it, and how they interrelate to each other. I found allthat fascinating because I love language and studying it, but I keptwaiting to really get to the heart of the class because I thought itshould be structured differently. Then, about halfway through, Irealized that this class wasn’t about teaching me to learn a language;it was about the cultural dimension of language.

The readings dealt with a society’s relationship with language, andincluded things like how one society’s body language can unwittinglytranslate wrongly into another’s body language. This was very usefulbecause differences in body language or gestures can be the differencebetween a compliment and an insult. It’s necessary to know what NOT todo when in another country as part of the basics of communication. Ialso found it very useful how we looked at the characteristics ofcultures like different perceptions of time, and explicitness versusimplicitness. On the whole, I found it very rewarding, and I feel betterprepared to know what to look for when studying cross-culturelanguages.

Turkish Culture Project Sources

Posted by Kristen Harrison on November 29, 2010 at 11:46am

Sources:

Androutsopoulos, Jannis. “Sprachbewegungen: kanaksprakk, ‘mischmasch’, ‘hiphop-slang’”
Fluter. (2003). http://www.fluter.de/de/sprache/lesen/1833

Byrd, Brenna Reinhart. “Media Representations of Turkish-German and Hip-Hop Language
as a Uniform Ethnolect.” (2009). http://studentorgs.utexas.edu/salsa/proceedings/2009/
08_TLS53_Byrd.pdf

Eryılmaz, Aytaç. “Forty Years in Germany; At Home Abroad.” (2002). http://www.tusiad.us/
content/uploaded/pw11At_Home_Abroad.pdf

Gogolin, Ingrid. “Linguistic Diversity and New Minorities in Europe.” (2002). http://
www.coe.int/T/DG4/Linguistic/Source/GogolinEN.pdf

Gregson, Julie. „Immigrants Help Create New Type of German Language.“ Deutsche Welle.
(2007). http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,2989308,00.html

Jenkins, Emily P., “Ich rede, wie ich mich wohl fühle: Language and Ethnic/ Cultural
Identity among German-born Young Adults of Turkish Descent in Berlin“ (2004)
IS Collection. Paper 512. http://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1509&context=isp_collection

Sautter, Ursula. “Losers in the Language Gap” Time Magazine. (2001). http://
www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,107344,00.html#ixzz15NHAe4YW

Turkish Culture Within Germany --- Almanya'daki Türk kültürü

Posted by Kristen Harrison on November 29, 2010 at 11:45am

There are an estimated 3.5 million people of Turkish origin living in Germany. Most live
in urban areas; the vast majority live in West Germany. This group is known collectively
as “Almanya Türkleri” or “German Turks”. That’s the formal term, and a more common,
slang term is “Almancılar.” -- connotation of a Turkish person who has something to do with
Germany.
Turks in Germany are a much younger population overall than Germans. A quarter of
the mainstream German population is older than 60, compared to only 5% of the Turkish
population.

Their first major presence in Germany came in the form of foreign guest workers, or “yabancı
misafir işçi.” Large-scale immigration (göç) of Turkish workers began in the beginning of
the 1960s due to high population growth and mass unemployment within Turkey and labor
shortages in north-west Europe.

Most Turks believed they would only stay in Germany temporarily and would one day return
back to Turkey to build a new life for themselves. But many have now been expatriates for
generations (“Gurbetçiler”).

Many took advantage of the right of family reunification to have their families join them in
Germany. And as a result the number of Turks in Germany nearly doubled between the 1970s
and 80s. This also created a much younger age profile than the German population because of
the larger numbers of children in Turkish families.
_________________________________________________________________________

Citizenship (yurttaşlık or vatandaşlık) laws have tended to favor legitimacy by descent
rather than place of birth. Reforms have been made extending opportunities for German
citizenship, but restrictions on dual citizenship are still high. Since the year 2000, children
born in Germany are entitled to adopt German citizenship, and increasing numbers of second-
generation Turks have opted for this. Foreign citizens, which many Turks still are, are known
as yabancı vatandaşlar.

__________________________________________________________________________

Most Turks in Germany live in two conflicting cultures with vastly different behavior codes.
At work or school, German culture tends to dominate, but during free time, social networks
divide along ethnic lines of Turkish culture (Türk kültürü). The social networks are still
overwhelmingly Turkish.

__________________________________________________________________________

The Turkish language is Germany’s second language. Second and third generation Turks

often speak Turkish with a German accent or modeled on a German dialect. The majority use
Turkish in their homes and neighborhoods.

Interestingly, Turkish in Germany is often used not only by members of its own community
but also by people with a non-Turkish background. Especially in urban areas, it functions as a
peer group language for teenagers. There’s a German creole called kanak sprak or kanakisch
or turkdeutsch where Turkish is modified by adding German grammatical and syntactical
structures. It's also sprinkled with Arabic or Turkish words, such as Yalla (Arabic for let's
go), Wallah (a compressed form of the Arabic for by Allah which is used to mean "really")
and lan, short for Turkish "ulan" and used to mean "guy" or "dude". The Turkish langauge
has been used as an expression of solidarity and identity for Turkish youth, especially in
Turkish rap and hip-hop.

_______________________________________________________________________

Turks are the biggest foreign population, and they’ve left their mark on most German cities.
One of the most referenced cultural transfers is Döner kebabs, which have become traditional
German food. But there are problems of integration, as immigrant communities tend to form
cultural enclaves within Germany. Rejection of the strange and unfamiliar on the side of the
Germans and a strong concentration on religion and tradition on the side of the Turkish can
create a vicious circle of alienation.

One of the biggest problems is language gap. -- "Most third-generation Turks in Germany do
not have a sufficient knowledge of German even though most of them have been born and
raised here," says Ali Ucar, a professor of pedagogy at Berlin's Technical University.
There was a study of 273 preschool children from immigrant families in Berlin's Kreuzberg
district, most of whom were of Turkish origin, which found that 63% of the children spoke
little or no German and therefore "didn't meet the linguistic requirements for primary school."
This is because there is little reason to speak German outside work or school. Almost three-
quarters of German Turks live in urban enclaves with extensive Turkish networks of shops,
restaurants, mosques and professional services. They can even watch Turkish TV on more
than a dozen channels available via cable or satellite. One such television company is called
Türkiye Radyo Televizyon Kurumu, and broadcasts in Berlin.

Many politicians and other public figures have called attention to the problem of integration
for German Turks, and some local schools offer classes in Turkish, and many German
schools now offer courses to take Turkish as a foreign language.

______________________________________________________________________

Cultural Project- Political Influence on Iranian Cinema

Posted by Haley Harris on November 20, 2010 at 12:33pm

MLC pres.pptx

Voki

Posted by Melanie Waligura on November 15, 2010 at 3:00pm

Click here to comment on this Voki.
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Learning Journal #11 and #12

Posted by Haley Harris on November 9, 2010 at 12:43pm

HLW

I liked the short part in the book where Crystal talked about the differences between a monologue and dialogue, mainly because I have my own movie review site. He talked about how many people who write blogs are evidently writing monologues but the act of putting it online shows that the writer is intending to make it public - and this results in an opportunity for someone to respond. So is my website a monologue? Or is is a dialogue because people can comment on my reviews? Crystal suggests that it is a "monologue masquerading as a dialogue." I know that by writing my reviews and I am expressing my thoughts to everyone else. I think that the overriding idea behind blogging is (a) anonymity, (b) the fear of speaking in public, and/or (c) spreading your ideas to a mass audience in a cost effective way.

Crystal states that when we are having a conversation with someone, we make eye contact about half of the time. Which makes sense, to me. I wonder if it is the same in Iran. Or it expected that when you are talking to someone that you always make eye contact. I guess that holds the same truth here in the U.S.; when I am talking to an elder, I generally tend to make more eye contact.

I thought it was somewhat interesting when Crystal talked about how babies learn conversation. It seems kind of common sense though. I can see how this could apply to someone who is just learning and language and has a person that they can talk with that speaks the target language....but what if someone was capable of having a conversation (they knew the grammar and vocabulary) but they had no idea how to actually converse. When to start talking, if it is ok to interrupt the person...yes in today's society the media provides an excellent source to learn these small details but aren't people highly likely to make fools of themselves. I don't know...I'm rambling at this point.

I thought the chapter "how we choose what to say" was the most interesting...not because I really learned anything but because it made me think. For the most part, I found myself asking what people in Iran do when Crystal stated something.

Cultural Shock Video
I really liked the video. Even though it could benefit from an update, I think that much of the content is still very relevant today. It takes a lot time for a society to change and I don't think that students' experiences are much different today. However, I think that the video could benefit from incorporating more students' perspectives, particularly of those students who are from the US. Even though they are unlikely to admit that, they, themselves, can be ignorant, it it highly possible to find students to interview that opened themselves up to meeting new people. An updated version can show, to an even greater extent, that everyone benefits from opening up and not closely yourself off.

Learning Journal Entry #12

Posted by Nicolas Dacey on November 9, 2010 at 11:13am

I enjoyed learning about past international students' experiences at U of R academically and socially. A lot of what they talked about is still around today. One of my close friends was an international orientation adviser this year, and through her I have gotten to hang out with a lot of students studying abroad here. They continue to struggle in the same ways students did in 2004. For instance, many of them have a hard time in the classroom writing papers in the style the teacher demands. They also still think that American students have no idea what the rest of the world is like. They almost all believe that we are full of ourselves and our country. I enjoyed one conversation with a student from Australia who was quizzing me on the populations of random countries. Even though I have never studied this type of thing, I was able to closely estimate each country he asked. He was astounded by my ability to do so. He claimed that anyone else he would ask had no idea how many people were in other countries, and some would make outrageous guesses that were not even close. I was happy to be able to prove his theory wrong about American students, but for the large majority of us he is correct.

I was glad to hear from the video that a lot of international students can build a strong relationship with their teachers. I know that most of them have a difficult time connecting with American students, so it is good to hear that they are connecting with someone from here. I don't like the fact that international students flock together, but it makes sense. They are going to relate more to each other than they will with me. I cannot join one of them in a conversation about how tough it is dealing with jetlag or how strange someone's expression about how they are feeling is because I don't notice this stuff like they do.

Not everything is bad though. I see a lot of cross-cultural relationships on campus that help build character in both parties. I myself enjoy doing so as well because I know how important it is to understand other cultures.

Learning Journal 11

Posted by Rebekah Yowell on November 9, 2010 at 10:55am

Language and culture are related in many ways. Why else would a nation such as Israel go to the lengths it has to resuscitate the Hebrew language? For many nations and people groups, language is one of the main forces holding them together.

The way a culture uses language is often reflective of the actions and speech patterns that are socially permissible in the culture. Going back to the German student from the Culture Shock video, she was confused by the way Americans avoided speaking explicitly when they did not like something. From this, we can assume that German culture is more outright and explicit in meaning when they speak. However, if German students in the US always commented explicitly when they did not like something, Americans would see them as abrupt or even rude. Thus Americans, by a manipulation of language, hide their honest feelings beneath subtly constructed sentences. A culture is exemplified by what its members express or chose to withhold.

One thing I have noticed in my experience with Spanish culture is how little they apologize. Of course, they say "perdon", (excuse me) when they bump into someone, but the word for "I'm sorry" (lo siento) is used only in cases of a very serious nature to convey sympathy, such as the loss of a loved one, or to atone for a very serious offense. In my Spanish classes, American students will use "lo siento" all the time for very trivial offenses. This is in part because they have an incomplete understanding of the meaning of the expression, and partly because it is very natural for them, in American culture, to apologize almost excessively. Not understanding how Spanish culture uses the expression can lead to confusion on both sides. The Spanish people may think the American is being sarcastic, when "lo siento" is used for inconsequential offenses, and the American may be confused because what he said did not have the effect he expected. Thus, the meaning of expressions does not always translate directly from culture to culture, and the characteristics of a culture are shown by what means, and how often, they express feelings and communicate ideas.

Learning Journal #12- Reactions to the Culture Shock Video

Posted by Melanie Waligura on November 9, 2010 at 10:48am

I really enjoyed watching the Culture Shock video. I thought it was very
interesting and it also opened my eyes to a lot of the hardships and
problems that international students encounter while they attend our
University. I went abroad so I know how it feels to try to immerse
yourself within an unfamiliar culture. I remember when I first arrived
in Australia, I was scared and alone and above all, I felt extremely
uncomfortable and intimated. I did not know anyone and I did not have
any idea what to expect. However, I told myself before I left that it
was important to always keep a positive attitude and to try to find the
best in every situation, regardless of how the situation made me feel
and that is exactly what I did.

Oneof the things the students in the video mentioned was that they were
surprised about the amount of participation that was required in
certain classes. Many of them were used to big lecture halls, with
class sizes ranging from 40 to 200 students. Well, I am not at all
shocked that the class sizes here took them by surprise considering
most of our classes have between 10 and 20 students. However, while
this system ensured that they were prepared for every class and
actually encouraged them to do their readings, many of the
international students noted that it was difficult for them to
participate in class. They were intimated by American students and felt
that they would not be accepted or that they would be judged for the
comments they were making. I can definitely say that I know exactly
where they are coming from. I remember in one of my lectures in
Australia, class participation was worth 40% and yet, it took me at
least two weeks to make one comment. Believe it or not, I stood out
like a sore thumb for being American and I was worried that the
Australian students would criticize my opinions and beliefs. However, I
soon realized that this was far from the case and that most Australians
actually liked hearing about American culture and the American way of
life :).

Anotherpoint that the international students made on the video was that they
thought American students were disciplined and hard-working. I cannot
say that I was not flattered when I heard this remark. I love living in
America and having the privilege to attend the University of Richmond.
There is always something to do and as one of the students mentioned on
the video “life here is accelerated” and I do not think this statement
can be more accurate. When I went to Australia, one of the first things
I noticed was how slow-moving everything was and how people did things
at their own pace, at their own time. This was something that I was not
used to. Fast-food restaurants were anything but fast and dinner at
restaurants took an average of two hours, even if there were just two
of us eating! I definitely would not give up the fast-pace lifestyle of
America. I enjoy doing things quickly and getting to where I need to
be, when I need to be there.

Overall,I learned a lot by watching the Culture Shock video. It goes to show us
that maybe we need to reach out more to international students, not
just us, but the University as a whole. I do not think many students
here realize how hard it is for international students to adapt to our
culture and our way of life and it is up to us to help them with that.
After all, I know that I would want the same courtesy if I were to ever
visit their homeland.

Learning Journal 12

Posted by Rebekah Yowell on November 9, 2010 at 1:39am

I really enjoyed the Culture Shock video. Not only did it open my eyes to the hardships experienced by the international students at the University of Richmond, but in some respects helped to prepare me for challenges that I will face when I study abroad. The importance of keeping a positive attitude about the new culture I will be experiencing and really desiring to learn about the culture is one point I thought was really good.

Also, I was not aware of how difficult it is for some international students to become accustomed to the colloquialisms of Americans. I think it will help me in the future to be more sensitive when I am conversing with international students, and to avoid sentences that tend towards slang or 'non-textbook' constructions. However, this is an aspect of culture, and I suppose one of the things everyone experiencing a new culture has to deal with. One example I thought was particularly good was the German student who mentioned the use of the word "nice", and how Americans use it in contexts where they don't really like what they are describing, but don't want to cause offense by being honest. Inconsistencies such as this must make learning a new language even more difficult; words that by definition mean something specific may be used in a way that does not convey the same meaning as the definition states. This is an intimidating fact, and one that I suppose will never be overcome until one has had extensive exposure to the new language.

I have noticed, among my friends, some of the characteristics of culture shock such as excessive stereotyping of the host nation and the picking out of faults and negative aspects of the culture you are experiencing. However, it has not been only among my international friends, but also among my friends from the United States that are from an area that doesn't have a lot in common with Richmond. Growing up only two hours from Richmond, I have experienced very little culture shock, aside from the usual transition from home to college. But for my friends coming from areas as far away as Washington state, I have noticed a definite propensity to stereotype the city of Richmond, the state of Virginia, the South, etc. It doesn't cause a very positive reaction with me, because growing up in the area I know that much of what they say is untrue. This has helped to make me aware of what I generalize about cultures I visit, and how stereotypes can often be quite offensive to the host nation.

Movie about International Students at UR

Posted by Pete Minassian on November 8, 2010 at 1:45am

This was a very interesting movie. I definitely enjoyed getting an inside look into how international students and professors here at the University see us Americans. For the most part, I was not surprised at what everybody said about us; however, there were some aspects of the movie which I did not like. I do not mean to criticize one individual, but I was kind of hurt when one of the faculty stated that Americans like to have power in the conversation. She stated that they used silence in a conversation to dominate their presence and that while silence may seem awkward to most Americans, we also use it in order to prove that we are superior. Which I find to be utterly false. For me, I am a quiet, more reserved individual, especially when I am in a group setting. So when someone tells me that I am a power monger, I take it as an offense.

Although, the rest of the film was great! I enjoyed being able to relate to the students and others being interviewed since I live with an international student, and I understand the troubles that he went through when he first came to this country. It is definitely interesting in my opinion how different everything can be from the way teacher's communicate with students to how students interact with other students on the weekends ;-)

Overall, I didn't learn THAT much new stuff from the documentary; however, I did for the first time, experience someone directly say to me that Americans are these social dominant people who have a very distinct way of speaking. I think that such a generalized claim is a horrible stereotype that I cannot tolerate.

Some sentences in Turkish

Posted by Kristen Harrison on November 3, 2010 at 3:08pm

Merhaba.
Benim adım Kristen.
Ben yirmi yaşındayım.

Ben Amerikalıyım ve Vircinya’da yaşıyorum.
Ben University of Richmond’a gidiyorum.

Ben politika okuyorum.

Kardeşimin adı Becky.

Arabam beyaz.

Türkiye’ye gitmek istiyorum.

Kedimi seviyorum.

Evde televizyon izliyor.

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRVKYnqeyH0yFxGHGIdBrxwtgDdkFwUw1CKk0JTUCCeoMiSxQ8&t=1&usg=__o8FeQcx51N_ZufMyNfFhOCk4gGs=

Kitaplarımı okula getir.

Görüşürüz!

Language cues + Cultural shock

Posted by Kristen Harrison on November 2, 2010 at 10:17pm

The reading focused mainly on cohesion and comprehensibility in language. Not all conversations and dialogues work as neatly and clearly as they are supposed, as people interrupt each other and go off on tangents or carry on multiple conversations at the same time. Language relies on all parties understanding the implicit rules configured in order to let conversations run smoothly. These could include listening to the other party speaking before replying, or paying attention to subtle cues to see when the conversation should end. Ignoring conversation etiquette generally would result in very awkward dialogues and confusion.

Actually reading all this reminded me of Asperger's syndrome, which is on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum, but still can involve some social awkwardness and disconnect because those affected generally are less able to comprehend the normalities of conversation, so they might not understand when it is their turn to speak, or to look at the other person when speaking, or be able to figure out the other person's moods or facial expressions. In general, though, most of us can interpret these signals more or less accurately, so conversation generally is not impeded significantly.

I found the video about culture shock really interesting. I only experienced a mild degree of that when I went abroad to Scotland and Jordan. The first was because the UK university was English-speaking, (if with an accent :D ) and also because English society is not all *that* different from American society, compared to other regions of the world. The second was because when I was in Jordan (and also in Egypt and Jerusalem for a few days), I was only there for six weeks, and we were twelve Americans all in a programme together, so we stayed clumped together instead of fully integrating. While we did make some Jordanian friends there, and there were plenty of cultural differences in the way life was run (and most difficult for me, the expectations of woman there), we weren't really deeply affected by the cultural divides because we had each other, and we got closer for it. I can imagine how hard it would be to start over completely in a different country. To be honest, from what the video was describing, I experienced more of that in my freshman year than I ever did when I went abroad. I was still pretty introverted my first year, and it was hard to get to know people and make friends and feel integrated into the school. It must have been even harder to do all that in a different country where your language wasn't even the one predominantly spoken... :-O

Journal Entry #10 - Cross Cultural Experiences

Posted by Alexis Witt on November 2, 2010 at 2:36pm

For being only 18 years old, I have had a lot of experiences with people from other cultures. I spent a week in the Caribbean, three weeks in Tanzania, and tons of time with people who visit the United States,

When I was in 7th grade, we went on a family vacation to St. Lucia, a small island in the Caribbean. At the time, it wasn't a popular island for Americans to visit, and since it was a territory of the UK, there were many British visitors to the island. My brother and I became good friends with two British girls. We loved their accents, and they thought our American accents were so cool. It was the first time I ever really thought about having an accent. I had heard "southern" accents and British accents, but I never heard of an "American" accent. Looking back, I probably should have realized that to other people, I have an accent, but I had never been around people from other places before, so I guess it was just something I never thought about.

Also, in the Caribbean, we did travel off of the resort to the other places on the island. We visited a Cocoa Plantation and we spent some time in a few of the villages. Although I don't remember much, I remember that their lifestyle was very different. Every Friday night (I think...), they had street parties. They didn't have a lot in the towns and villages, but they still made sure that they had time for each other. We rarely do things like that here, and when we do, it certainly isn't an event for the entire town or city (at least I haven't experienced anything like that before).

It was also the first time that I truly saw poverty. Once we traveled away from the resort, we saw people living in make-shift houses made out of left over scrap-metal. Entire families lived in one or two room houses. It was shocking to me. But they were such happy people, and I never felt that they resented their position in life.

During my three weeks in Tanzania, I saw even more poverty. The children didn't have shoes; the children didn't have store bought toys; people sold their extra goods for a few extra Tanzanian Shillings; people didn't have indoor plumbing, or electricity; people worked all day in the fields, more for subsistence than anything else; people don't have good medical care; entire towns were so poor, etc. Yet they were happy. The children were so smart because they had to make their own toys. It kept them busy. I never saw an unhappy Tanzanian. Here, we always seem to want more. There, they are so thankful for what they have. It is such an incredible difference to me.

Tanzanian culture is so incredibly different than our own, and it is hard to put it well into words. Their mindset is more on the community, and generally, for the religious more on God than themselves. They aren't ever focused on themselves. They look to what God would want them to do, which would lead to more of an involvement in the community. I always tell the story of Mama Allen to illustrate this. She makes about $1 per day from the Diocese, when they can afford to pay her. Yet, on one of our last nights there, she had all of us from America (about 8 people) plus three people from the Diocese plus her own family to her house for a dinner. It was a normal meal of chicken and rice, but since she lives in a more urban area, she wouldn't have been able to grow the food or raise the chickens herself. She had to buy all of it. She probably spent nearly her entire monthly salary on us because she believed that is what God would want her to do. She also had the faith that God would provide for her and her family.

Cultural Project and Reading

Posted by Pete Minassian on November 2, 2010 at 1:51pm

Another great, quick read from HLW! I believe I read some of this chapter before school started, just so that I could get a feel for the book ;) But I still remember some of the elements that the author talked about. Mainly, the expressions, or visual aspects, of body language help to convey a meaning to words or phrases that would otherwise not be understood. For example, it definitely helps to understand that when someone flips you off and screams something like "f&@* you," you could understand what he meant just by their visual expressions. I seem to have developed some sort of skill around this concept, where just by looking at someone speak, I can figure out a little piece of the conversation or phrase, such that I understand the general idea.For my cultural project, I think I am going to focus on the new emerging Turkish music scene. I, above all else, am very passionate about music, and usually cannot go through my day without at least ten songs getting stuck in my head. So I think that I will focus on Turkish Rock and how they emerged and maybe compare the groups from America to the Turkish groups.Hopefully I will be able to find enough information to fill up the presentation. If need be, I can always talk about the father of Turkish Rock - Erkin Koray.

Journal Entry #10- A Reflection on Cross-Cultural Experiences

Posted by Melanie Waligura on November 2, 2010 at 12:00pm

I have mentioned this throughout many of my journal entries already, but just to reiterate, I have only been out of the United States once in all of my 22-years. Call me sheltered or call me fearful of taking on new cultures and to be honest, I do not think I can disagree with either of these criticisms.

When I was given the choice to decide where I wanted to study abroad for the fall of my junior year, hands down I wanted to go to Australia; no questions asked. I am not going to sit here and pretend that the fact that the Australian culture is very similar to that of American culture
had absolutely no influence on my decision; that would just be a lie. Therefore, when it comes to discussing cross-cultural experiences, I would not be a good example to use, and to be honest, I am not okay with that :( .

I would not change my decision of going to Australia for anything, but I do regret not giving Europe a chance. Many of my friends were privileged enough to travel to so many cities and experience so many different cultures and customs and while I still learned a lot from my experience in Australia, I cannot say that I had the opportunity to experience multiple different customs and cultures. Other than the fact that Australians are not as fast-paced as
Americans and that they find it rude to tip at restaurants and that their beer is nearly three times as expensive as ours, their culture is overall very similar to America.

In the future, I would definitely love to travel to Europe if I am ever given the opportunity. I think it is so fascinating to immerse oneself within a culture with which one is unfamiliar; you learn more than you could have ever imagined! I mean let’s be honest, the best way to learn a
language or about another country’s culture is essentially to visit there and experience it for yourself. I mean of course you can always read about these different customs and cultures in a textbook or online, but it is definitely not the same. I think it is fun to learn languages and to learn about how other people live, which is why I can only hope to one day expand my cross-cultural experiences and familiarize myself with different cultures and customs.

Learning Journal 10

Posted by Rebekah Yowell on November 1, 2010 at 11:50pm

One of my first cross cultural experiences was when I went on a trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil. The most obvious difference between Brazilian and US culture was that the Brazilians were much more physical, with lots of touching, hugging, and kissing to show affection. Although this was foreign to me, I liked it because it made me feel very welcomed. It is possible I felt that way because in American culture people only behave openly and affectionately to that degree when they are very, very excited to see you, and even though it was a normal mode of conduct for Brazilians, only meant to portray an average degree of excitement, I felt more welcomed by them because I was contrasting their behavior with that of more emotionally reserved Americans. In this way, I can see how misunderstandings may occur between cultures; one culture may attribute more significance to a particular action than another, and someone unfamiliar with a culture may read more into displays of affection or anger than what is intended.

Another crosscultural experience I had was when I went to Spain this past summer. One thing I observed about the Spanish was how they have open displays of affection for family and close friends, but reserve when interacting with those they do not know. For example, when riding the buses and metro I rarely noticed a conversation taking place between two people that didn’t obviously know each other before, except when it was absolutely necessary. This made me wary about engaging in casual conversation with someone I did not know, for fear my actions might be interpreted the wrong way. However, it is possible this tension exists in cities in the United States, and I only noticed it in Spain because it was my first big city immersion after growing up in a small town. Even so, it is an example of a cultural difference, whether it is between US/Spanish cultures or just a small town/large city difference. When I observed this difference, it made me uncomfortable at times because I was unsure of my behavior, and what signals I may give off, albeit unconsciously, through my actions. One thing I know for sure, experiencing other cultures has caused me to be more sensitive to those from other cultures who are experiencing life in the US, because I have some understanding of the uncertainty that comes from being in an unfamiliar setting.

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