The way a person learns is through their own personal experiences, not through the experiences of others. By taking Global Understandings as my Freshman Seminar, I’ve learned so much about others as well as myself. Not only has this experience informed me on cultures of other countries but has opened me up to interests that I didn’t know I had.
To me the most impactful aspect of our exchanges would most definitely had to be the intercultural communication, as we learned the ways of interpreting the factors that make up the cultures of the people we shared this experience with, each student in the class got the opportunity to attempt to step out of their comfort zone by learning about other cultural norms. This helped me solidify the idea of how an individual’s culture can be part of his/her identity because my culture has made me who I am and is a huge part of my identity, but from the outside looking in it really gives a good perspective.
Throughout this journey I’ve become fairly good at communicating with people of different cultures, acquiring a basic understanding of what it is that they believe in and how they do things. This has helped me so much communicating interculturally. It has also been very enjoyable to look in depth at my own culture, I’ve thought about how many great memories I have created with my parents and how much my upbringing has shaped me. The value of family and respect we ate dinner together as a family every night and visited family almost every weekend.
As I continue my final thoughts on my Freshman Seminar. I have discovered that communication in general is one of the more powerful gifts in this life. Being able to communicate within my own culture as well as across cultures has really helped me develop into the person I am today. I realize that the culture I grew up in is something that I am very proud of. It is a way of life for me. I am very proud of my family and the traditions we have. I want to eventually have my own kids and I want them to be a part of those same things that I was a part of, my same culture. I also know that there are numerous other cultures that are out there and the members of those cultures feel the same way about theirs as I do mine.
I believe that from here on I should value the culture that I’ve come from as well as have a mutual respect for other cultures. We should all take pride in our upbringing. We need to do our part in instilling our cultures in the upcoming generations, so that they know where they’ve come from. With that being said, it is critical for me to express that it is of the utmost importance of respecting the different cultures that are around us.
I see my future only being benefited from this course, intercultural communication has helped me establish effective leadership. Most organizations today are composed of diverse groups of people, and those in positions of power are expected to lead by creating an understanding of the rules while accommodating for the diverse views of the group. Being equipped with leadership skills across cultures that helps me progress in the business world. Not only does it help in a business aspect but also in the real world, natural leaders have an advantage in the real world but being able to communicate across cultures really helps sharpen those skills and allows for an even greater advantage.
Having these skills in my arsenal makes me extremely confident for whatever job I end up working, but even more so in my field of study. I intend to major in International and Comparative politics, my background of being an immigrant and already having to adapt to the culture of the U.S. have given me some experience, after taking this course and improving my intercultural communication skills via a culture that I am not familiar with at all.
I know that I have only scratched the surface as to my understanding of intercultural communication. The thing that will help me most in my pursuit of being more effective is taking the time to understand what other cultures represent. If I just believe that my culture is the way to go, those of different cultures will not relate to me. I just can’t begin to express just how informed that I have become on how important international and intercultural communications are to my growth as a student but more importantly as a person. The knowledge that I have gained will guide me through the future and help me decide what decisions I do and don’t make. I plan to continue this journey of intercultural development and to carry my own culture along with me. When we open our minds to the world outside of our cultures we will find a wonderful world of exploration awaits us.
I have had my share of struggling with communicating with people from different cultures as a foreign student immersing himself in a completely new culture and learning about the difficulties in class makes it normal and easier to overcome. I learned that in order to communicate with people from other cultures and express myself I should be myself and use the nonverbal and verbal communication skills that I have in order for others to understand me. However, I should not fall victim to the fear that I will not fit in or be accepted in the new environment and that I would have to change things about myself. After all everybody is unique in his or her own way and their own traditions, norms and values are what make them who they are.