This chapter on Intercultural Communication was different to me. I agree with parts of it and really disagree with others, I know these are my own bias coming into play. I was raised to adapt to the scenario that I am placed in, so if I was to go to Japan I would work to try to follow all of their customs, and would not expect any of mine to be catered to. In my family that was respect. The same thing applies to going to a friends home, follow their rules since it is not my space. I think this is where the idea of the guest comes into my own upbringing. The guest works to understand and gain knowledge about a new culture, by focusing on it and not oneself. I personally think that this is the proper role to take when encountering new cultures, because of my culture. I am not quite sure if that makes me a stranger though, since there is a focus on following my culture even when within another. But the example of going to a friends house is a good one for this.
The friend and their family are the indwellers in the situation, they know all of the customs both spoken and inarticulate. Coming into the home I have to chose to either be a stranger or a guest, by deciding to adapt to their rules and customs or to focus on how to get the needs of mine fulfilled. This may not be the giant intercultural exchanges we have, but it is one none the less, since the cultures vary from home to home. Does one wear shoes? Do you need to say sir and ma'am? Are certain topics open or closed? All of these questions are the same ones a person would face going to another country. Which makes this topic very important since we have to navigate the issues everyday.
I think what you have to say is really interesting and it relates to something I said in my post about hoe some people and cultural groups may be raised to be more open minded and less culturally closed-off, which could alter the idea of "norms". I, like you, was raised to understand that my norms are not superior and not to expect others to cater to my norms or expectations. But I do think that "adapt" is an interesting word to use. I think it is important to adapt within a situation to whatever will make the communication and interaction more ethical and efficient, but I am not so sure one's culture can be adapted. While I would not expect all of my expectations to be met, I would not necessarily only be interested in the other culture. I am not saying this is exactly where you were going with your post, it is just something I thought of when reading what you had written. I like what the book had to say about knowing and learning when it came to culture. Know your own culture (to the extent one can) and also learn about others while sharing your own is what I took away from that part of the chapter and I think it really applies to your example of being a traveller in Japan. I think you make an excellent point about not expecting to be catered to, but I think I would approach it differently in regard to what you say about adapting by following all of their customs. I think the point of these types of scenarios is a meeting of two cultures, not a dominance of one. In the scenario you gave, I would certainly act in a way that is seen as acceptable or ethical to Japanese culture, but I would not follow all of their customs if it meant losing my own sense of culture. I think it is important to still display my own culture because it allows others to learn about my culture in the way I am learning about theirs. I think there is a lot of give and take and that it is important to share and learn, but not necessarily fully transform or adapt. I may just have an issue with the word "adapt" because we talked about it being problematic in my intercultural communication class, but these are just some thoughts I had in response to your post.
ReplyDeleteI also just want to say that I really liked how you mentioned that your thoughts and ways of approaching these situations is based on your upbringing and are how you personally would behave. I think this really shows that culture and the idea of "norms" are very subjective. I agree with this because I don't think that if you chose a culture you could give one explanation of what it means to be part of that culture and what is considered normal. Another person of the same age, race, gender, religion, etc. as you could see things very differently and I think this shows how flexible and diverse culture is. I also think your acknowledgment of what you call your own bias shows that you are very conscious of your cultural influences, which I think the book would consider a good thing because you seem to understand your own norms but not expect them to be the norm for other people and places.