Cross-Cultural Communication-5/21/22

As one would expect, people act, say, and live differently in different cultures. The interesting thing is, even with this knowledge, we are thrown off when we come into scenarios where someone is reacting differently than we would expect. We often perceive these communications as strange or even rude. We don't usually stop to think that possibly there is a cultural miscommunication that is occurring. 

In America, there are a few things that are taboo for white people to say about black people. Referencing their color can be a touchy subject, so the media says. So when I was helping a beautiful black family from the Congo to fill out forms, I had to ask them their skin color and they just laughed at me, because obviously, it was black. I didn't want to be perceived as rude, this was my culture getting in the way of reality. 

As I teach I want to make sure to be sensitive to the cultures of others and even celebrate those differences. I don't want there to be "taboo" topics. There is no reason for that, just because we have differences does not mean they are bad. To avoid barriers that are created by cross-cultural miscommunication, we need to step out and explore our differences and learn to love them.