#4 What should we do when we are confronted with other cultures?

When I was little, I didn’t know what to expect to live in America. I simply landed in New Jersey and I was voiceless for about a month at school. It wasn’t because I didn’t have a voice. I really wanted to make friends and be like the “Americans.” Only there was one gigantic obstacle: I didn’t know the language.

One way to confront a new culture is to learn the language. Well, that’s at least what I did when I moved to America. Learning the language really facilitated my life and eventually parts and bits of American culture came with it. When one knows the language, he or she can communicate and interact with other people to experience the “real” culture. By “real” culture I don’t mean the culture that we understand by reading information off of internet, but the culture that is described from a primary source. I believe that getting to know a new culture is an amazing experience that we don’t get too often. We should be open-minded and perhaps take a bold step to encounter the other side of our world.

I strongly object to those who have such negativism towards meeting new culture. How bad could it be to learn new things about different parts of the world we live in? Does it hurt to take a glance at a new culture? Well, I think each individual is too unique to be ignored. Everyone on this planet has his or her own culture that deserves respect. Thus what should we do when we are confronted with other cultures? We should nod and recognize the fact that there is such a thing. Don’t ignore it, but respect for its being.





Pictures:


http://www.helponechild.org/images/Families%20and%20Kids/Girl-Lonely-on-bench.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oscar_pereira/3022162111/