Cultural Training
Robert Kohls, a renowned author of intercultural literature, defines culture as "an integrated system of learned behavior patterns that are characteristic of the members of any given society ... the total way of life of particular groups of people. It includes everything that a group of people thinks, says, does, and makes, its customs, language, material artifacts and shared systems of attitudes and feelings. Culture is learned and transmitted from generation to generation." It is important to recognize your own "cultural baggage" when you go abroad.
In the ninth inning of an Olympic baseball playoff game, the batter on the Japanese team cracked a towering fly ball deep into left field. It dropped just short of the low fence but then bounced over. When the runner pulled up at second base, half the crowd rose to its feet, screaming for him to keep going around the bases.
He stopped because he knew that the ground rules limited him to a double. Think how foolish he would have appeared if he had kept running or argued with the umpire. In the same way, it’s the job of every traveler to learn local ground rules.
"Study abroad is not a process of gathering credit in another country but of being part of another academic and social culture while continuing the work of being a student," writes Margaret (Peggy) Pusch, of the Intercultural Communication Institute and SIETAR USA. "Through the experience abroad, students [learn] to steer their way through a place significantly unlike 'home.'"
AV's resource section will guide you toward books and websites that can help you learn about your host culture and culture shock before you leave home.
Articles
GENERAL
Tastebud Tourism: Exploring a country’s cuisine to learn about its culture.
By Carolyn Beeler
AFRICA
Heroes and Healing: Colin Smith tells the story of South African literature.
A community garden in Senegal reaps far more than vegetables for Karin E. Dahlgren.
ASIA
: A study guide that will tell you to get lost—and why you should listen. By Liz Lyon
Internet Evolution: China’s Youth Culture Grows Up in Cyberspace. By Erica Schlaikjer
A-thousand-mile pilgrimage ties Japanese people to their traditions.
By Brooke Schedneck
The Costs of Development: Cynthia Whitman weighs the costs of development on Vietnam's people and culture as the country transitions to a market-based economy.
Crossing the Road: Lessons learned from a Vietnamese family. By Carolyn Smith
A Microcosm of Vietnam: Embracing Vietnamese culture bump by bump.
By Julie Ginsberg
EUROPE
A Taste of France: Discovering the joys of food and friendship in Paris. By Jennifer Crystal
Bon Appetite: French dinners are not only delicious; they also provide family time, as Bridget Walsh finds out.
Working Class: A service industry job puts Erin McEvoy in touch with London and its locals.
Insights from Tuscany: The art of simplicity. By Sonu Purhar
Off the Mark: Perceptions of Diversity in Scotland. By Jongmi Kim
Finding a Rhythm: For one dancer, the fears and uncertainties of living in Madrid fade with the beat of salsa music.
Swiss Miss: Embracing culture, family, and chocolate. By Anika Gupta
LATIN AMERICA
I Love Meat: A vegetarian's cultural explorations with Argentine beef. By Rebecca Plevin
Walking with Goats: Dan Blair joins goatherder Efrain Castillo on his daily walk through San Isidro, Ecuador, selling local delight, leche de chiva.
Cultural Immersion: While in Ecuador, Molly Beer finds that her richest experiences come from living with a host family.
Finding Common Ground: The soft clinking of dishware and stirring of coffee were among the sounds filling the backroom of El Maple hostel in Quito, Ecuador and that night would be our first away from the group, away from speaking English, and away from all things America. By Shalene Jha
A Motorcycle Diary: Havana from an insider’s perspective. By Danielle Drobot
Teaching at an Orphanage in Mexico: Service-learning in Mexico provides an International Relations major with a valuable lesson on the dangers of imposing your values and solutions on another culture.
By Julie Falbo
Consensus at Huehuecoyotl: Building solutions for an ecovillage in Mexico. By Danielle Connor
MIDDLE EAST
Perspectives on a Cultural Divide: Timothy Gutmann writes about being an American studying abroad in Cairo; while Tasneem Chithiwala shares what it was like to study in Cairo as a Muslim-American.
Birthright Israel: It's Shabbat on the Orthodox Jewish farm village near the Sea of Galilee. Outside, in the setting sunlight, girls skip rope in ankle-length skirts. I am wearing one too, but this is a one-weekend deal for me. For the people who live here, it's a way of life. By Susannah Dainow
OCEANIA
Bouncing Stones: Living with Kuku Yalangi elders in Mossman, Queensland, Jenna Kochmer gains insight the sacred ways of Australia's endangered Aboriginal culture.
No Worries, Mate: Fulbright fellow and biochemist Rebecca Diane Levit finds her work ethic turned upside down as she learns the difference between the American and Australian psyche.
ON THE BEAT: Rising American reporter Jeff Fleischer learns to write for an Aussie audience at The Sydney Morning Herald.
THE SACRED SITE: Find out why climbing Ayers Rock was not an option for Netanya Stutz
Respecting the Land and Community: Nina Hoe and Putnam Ivey find New Zealand is a conscientious nation protecting its environment and its people.
