Cultivating Perspective Consciousness : Is A Great Way For Anyone You Become Educated About Different Cultures?

There are over six billion people on Earth today. Each of those people has countless relationships, which extend further into an immense network of relations among thousands of individuals. These relations can be romantic, professional, unconditional, mutual, or the strongest of all, friendship. Friendship is a term used to denote co-operative and supportive behavior between two or more beings. In this sense, the term connotes a relationship which involves mutual knowledge, esteem, and affection and respect along with a degree of rendering service to friends in times of need or crisis. Friends will welcome each other's company and exhibit loyalty towards each other, often to the point of altruism.

The chapter continued to discuss how people experience other cultures when they are removed from their area to a different place. This occurs in the form of culture shock people experience new traditions that are unfamiliar to them when the come to a place that is home to another culture. Human development may also include joining the ideas of various cultures and forming it into a new concept. It puts heavy emphasis on learning other cultures in an unbiased form in order to compare and make observations. This chapter also studies of culture have been able to advance over time and how change is an essential aspect of

Friendship is one of the most valuable components in life. Friendship has the ability to change lives in a positive way. Friendship changes people’s views on life to a more positive outlook. “True friendship is when someone knows you better than yourself and takes a position in your best interests in a crisis. Friendship goes beyond sharing time together, and it is long lasting.” (Friends.com). As we spend a lot of time with our friends, friendship opens our minds to different ways of viewing the world. Unfortunately, sometimes strong barriers may be placed by those who see two people’s friendship as a threat; since people are influenced by their friends, friendship could make people question what

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive” (Mahatma). Our culture identifies who we are and how we behave in social environments and provides us with a foundation in which to live our lives and raise our families. Each individual culture has certain customs and courtesies that are important. Exposure to the cultures of others can be intimidating and can leave a person feeling confused and unsure about how they fit in (Schaefer 60). Culture shock can leave a person feeling out of place in an unfamiliar culture (Schaefer 60). Our diverse societies demand understanding and acceptance of other cultures. Learning and understanding these cultures before being

Throughout this essay I will be evaluating the contribution of an ethnographic approach to research on friendship. I will be looking at, and including evidence to support both sides of the argument as to whether or not this research method is in fact useful when it comes to gaining knowledge about friendship. As well as evaluating this method, I will compare it against others to reflect on the strengths, weaknesses and the typical data collected. I will look at some of the questions about friendship that have been addressed, and then whether this is the best method or if there are others that could have been more suitable.

Cultural immersion is an essential part of the education experience. It has been used throughout time to allow people to understand those whose ideas and beliefs differ from their own. The experiences gained through immersing in an unfamiliar culture allow the mind to grow in ways that are beyond comprehension. Because our nation is advancing, and merging ides from other cultures, this process is more important than ever. Cynthia Kratzke and Melissa Bertolo (2013) state that if we only teach concepts and language from other cultures we are limiting the ability of future generations to be able to work with other cultures (p.1). Cultural immersion is a way for one to reach a new insight they may not have otherwise gained. Jesus Nieto (2006) says there are main goals to these experiences: 1) to interact with people of a different culture 2) to gain insight into aspects of others 3) to be of a minority group in a setting 4) to gain a new perspective on one’s own beliefs and values (p. 77).

Being born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, I was exposed to many different cultures. A few of which were Hispanics and German. They both had different languages and customs. My mom would take us to a festival in San Antonio yearly that was called the “Texas Folklife Festival”. There, our family would experience many different cultures with singing, dancing, food, art, and language. Our family enjoyed learning about the different places others came from and how they celebrated their heritage. Learning to appreciate where others came from and their back ground, gave me a better appreciation for differences.

An individual's surroundings affects their daily interactions, even though it could be blinded by their own beliefs. Using personal experience, readings, and texts supports the claim that culture has a big impact on how the world is perceived through different lens. Within these pieces of evidence, ethnicity and tradition affects their destinations and method living. In “An Indian’s Father’s Plea” by Robert Lake there are several examples of how you grow up effects how you see the world.

Exploring different cultures as well as your own in order to understand the various ways they do things compared to our own can be enlightening as well as challenging. The main challenge comes from being used to your own culture that it is difficult to view a different culture without any personal bias. Being born and raised in a culture and getting used to those norms of everyday life contributes to the bias that one may show, believing that their own culture is superior to another. This type of thought process is called ethnocentrism. But with the use of an etic and emic approach to analyze your own culture and different cultures will help eliminate ethnocentrism. Using an outsider’s

Through intercultural learning and experiences, we can begin to see ourselves and the others around us not by our race, ethnicity, religion, or nationality but by the fact that at the end of the day, we are all human and only have one chance in this life.

As a student, I want to promote a worldly view to my peers and, by being open-minded, I hope to create an environment where my peers and I can view everyone as a culmination of unique and diverse experiences. I truly believe that, especially within the realm of education, people’s distinct stories and backgrounds can contribute to everyone, whether through exposing others to new ideas or providing a new outlook towards problems and discussions. As a Vietnamese-American, I am proud of the qualities that make me unique and I want to use the philosophies I have gained as an immigrant to contribute to those around

Thanks to my upbringing in Hawaii and growing up in an international missionary community, I have expanded my worldview. I have interact with the travelers and the missionaries from every country of the world. I have listened to the stories of the bombing of Pearl Harbor from a Hawaiian, American, and a Japanese. I have been molded in a priceless learning environment that teaches me new things every day.

Realizing we have more in common than not, when I meet new people, I look at them as individuals. I take into consideration the concrete, the behavioral and the symbolic for they all have their place in a person being who they are. Yes, I wish others could see and gain understanding for other cultures through my eyes. For example, “it is possible to acquire a new culture by becoming disabled, moving to a new country or region, or by a change in our economic status. When we think of culture this broadly we realize we all belong to many cultures at once” (Community Tool Box, 2013).

I am able to reflect on my past experiences and coming to figure out who I was within my culture and relate to others. Accordingly, it has taught me respect for others who are still uncovering who they are within their life. More importantly, it has allowed me to explore their beliefs, actions and values. For example, a good friend of mine from the Middle East worked with me this past summer. Everyday, on the way to work, we would discuss the differences in our religions and customs. She had to pray five times a day and was not allowed to date. Reflecting back to my Mexican roots, I explained why we only attend Church once a week but are to pray at least once every day. Learning from

Nowadays, we are living in the community that we are interacting with people who have different cultural background. When we interact with others who do not share the same values as us, numerous intercultural issues are going to emerge, such as language difference, nonverbal misinterpretation, preconceptions and stereotypes, and etc. Spanglish by James L. Brooks explores the difference between the North American and Mexican American culture by describing how Flor is an illegal immigrant from Mexico who does not speak any English and tries to integrate to an American family. Although cross-cultural can be a challenge or an obstacle to interact with others, we just need to put more effort by fostering more respect and acceptance against their culture. This is because it is a great opportunity for us to learn from others in order to enrich our knowledge and widen our vision toward the world.