Cultural Understanding

Eleni Panagiotopoulou
Culture is the shared ideas, ideals, and artifacts of a people that they create and sustain
for mutual survival and the perpetuation of their way of life (Grace 2015). Learning about
different cultures around the world is vital for an individual. Through experiencing different
cultures individuals are able to better in multiple aspects of their lives. There are various ways in
which someone can interact with world culture throughout their daily life. Cross-cultural
experiences, small and large, help us form our opinions on global affairs. Additionally, learning
about world culture affects our future in a global environment. It is important that we consider
our definition of culture through the books, A Moveable Feast, Becoming World Wise, and
Palestine Speaks, and they influence our worldview.
The idea of performing in cross-cultural Situations is the ability to get things done in
different environments. The development of skills at working with people from different
backgrounds and to adapt and live in different environments (Grace 2015). There are a
multitude of cross-cultural experiences that I have personally had in my life. One cross-cultural
experience is that I have in my life is that I am a part of Sigma Epsilon Phi at the University of
Cincinnati. This club is a organization for students of Orthodox religion at the University of
Cincinnati. This organization focuses on connecting the students together through religion. This
organization has bible studies, social events, and they also attend church together. Through this
club, I am able to connect and understand more about religion and individuals. Many of the
Orthodox students in the group are Greek, but recently there has been many more Egyptian
students joining as well. I personally never knew that there were so many Egyptians that were of
Orthodox religion. But, through this club I have been able to connect on such an extensive level
with my peers. I have learned so much more about the Egyptian culture. During meetings, we

have been able to try Egyptian foods, we learned new Egyptian words, and we were able to learn
more about Egyptian current events by simply just hanging out and communicating with each
other two times a week. This experience really helped me understand more about a culture that I
never knew about. Additionally, it also helped me create a friendship with some of the most
wonderful people that I have ever met in my life. Another cross-cultural experience that I have is
that I have been taking a Spanish since the sixth grade. Through this, I have been able to learn
much about the language, food, history, and geographies of Spanish speaking countries such as
Spain, Mexico, El Salvador, Peru, etc. This experience helped me connect on a different level
with cultures that I never knew much about. Even though I have not yet visited any Spanish
speaking countries, through my Spanish classes I have already gotten to know much about the
Spanish culture. Another way that I have a cross-cultural experience is by going to many
different restaurants during my free time. I try at least twice a month to go to a restaurant that I
have never been to before. Many times, these restaurants are ethnic restaurants. Ethnic
restaurants provide an easy way for individuals to get a taste of a different countrys food and
overall culture. I have many ethnic restaurants that I really enjoy going to in Cincinnati. But,
some of my favorite ethnic foods include Italian, Mexican, and Greek foods. Additionally,
another way in which I have a cross-cultural experience is through my peers. Most of my peers
that I have made from high school and from college are not American. For example some of my
best friends have ethnicities that include Vietnamese, Cambodian, Japanese, Chinese, Hungarian,
Egyptian, El Salvadorian, Nigerian, etc. By having friends with such different ethnicities I am
able to learn so much about their cultures. An additional way that I have a cross-cultural
experience is simply by traveling. By visiting different countries around the world, it is the
easiest and arguably the best way to emerge yourself in a culture. I have learned so much about

other cultures by simply traveling. Traveling is a once in a lifetime experience, and it gives an
individual memories that can last a lifetime as well. Additionally, I am Greek. By being Greek I
am living in a different culture than my home culture. Because of this I have been able to
understand the American culture much more. It is very important to me that I focus on
understanding more about other cultures because it increases my overall knowledge of the world.
Through experiences like these I have been able to form so many opinions about global affairs,
most opinions being very positive. By learning cross-culturally I am able to identify, analyze,
use, and remember information foremother cultural sources and information (Grace 2015).
Learning about world culture will affect my future in a global environment tremendously.
By learning more about world culture, I will be able to increase my job opportunities. Being an
International Affairs and Political Science major, I focus much on international relations between
countries in relation to politics. By having experience of other world cultures, I will
automatically have an advantage over many other people in my major. I want to work as a
Foreign Service Officer. Foreign Service Officers travel across the world all the time. By being a
Foreign Service Officer with experience of world culture, I will be able to help many individuals
with their needs as well as understand individuals to a much higher degree due to having
knowledge of cultures. Additionally, I will be much more comfortable and I will adapt easier in a
global environment. Another way in which world culture will affect my future in a global
environment is that I will be more prepared as a traveler. Being a tourist is not very attractive.
By being a tourist a person abroad does not truly get a sense of a country completely. It is vital
that an individual does things that most tourists would not do. Some things that travelers can
do that are different is go to an little restaurant, go to smaller cities, etc. By being able to
experience more of world cultures, I will be able to be more myself and more of a true traveler

while in the global environment. Overall, there are many additional ways in which world culture
can improve my future in a global environment.
It is essential that we consider our definition of culture for this semester---the shared
ideas, ideals, and artifacts of a people that they create and sustain for mutual survival and the
perpetuation of their way of life (Grace 2015). This definition is one that should always be
remembered. Through this definition, my worldview has altered. Additionally, the definition of
culture is described in all of our readings for class. Exploring Global Studies. A Moveable
Feast by Don George, Becoming World Wise by Richard Slim Bach, and Palestine Speaks by
Cate Malik and Mateo Hooke, are all great examples of world culture. In A Moveable Feast by
Don George, George focuses on food adventures around the world that changed an individuals
perspective. An example of how A Moveable Feast portrays the definition of culture, is
through one of my favorite stories of the book. This story is the story of Laura Fraser. Laura
Frasers excerpt portrays how culture is understood through food and eating. Laura is in Italy,
and in Italy she eats some pasta that she thought was absolutely delicious. Because of this, Laura
asks her cousin how to say the word delicious in Italian. Lauras cousin replied that in Italian
delicious is buono, buonissimo (George 278). Lauras cousin shared language with Laura.
Through this, Laura was able to understand more of the culture through food and eating by
learning some of the language. Another example in A Moveable Feast that provides some
cultural understanding through food and eating is the story that Ruth Rabin wrote. When Ruth is
in Cairo, she meets a man named Nasr, and Nasr talks to her about many things in terms of Egypt
and the Middle East. During the time they are together in Cairo, hummus is a large part of the
conversation. Nasr explains to Ruth that hummus is the most important food in the Middle
East, and one of the oldest(222). Through this, Ruth is able to understand more about the

culture by simply eating a piece of pita with hummus. This simple artifact shared between the
two instantly gives Ruth a better view of the Middle Eastern culture. Learning a little about a
culture of a country can be as effortless as that. Additionally, Becoming World Wise by Richard
Slimbach, provides an example of cultural understanding when he describes the people, also
known as returnees, that come back from being abroad. To Slimbach, education is vital while
abroad. The most important artifact from traveling is what [the people] bring home (Slimbach
210). By being educated while abroad about many aspects, individuals are able to learn more
about culture, people, themselves, etc. Because of this travelers have a much more widened
cultural understanding of the world. Slimbach explains a returnee that is successful during their
trip abroad is known as an integrative returnee (Slimbach 211). He explains that, They speak
of new world understandings and self-discoveries (Slimbach 211). Being an integrative
returnee provides the individual with the greatest potential for personal change (Slimbach
211). Personal change is vital for every individual. By learning about culture while abroad and
bringing it back home, an individual is able to fully make use of their trip. Furthermore, in
Palestine Speaks by Cate Malek and Mateo Hoke, the definition of culture is also portrayed
very well in a multitude of stories. One example of a story, and personally one of my favorites
from this book, in this book is when Abeer Ayyoub narrates. In Abeers story, Abeer explains that
the Westerners Should give themselves the chance to see the picture from outside and stop
having this preconception when it comes to Gazathey will see that for most of the people, they
are harmed by whats going on rather than being a part of it (Malek/Hoke 57). I think that this
was one of the most vital quotes in the book because it really causes the reader to think about
how we perceive others, and if the way we perceive them is always correct. Because of Abeers
story, it is important to remember that even though a country could be experiencing many

difficulties including war, poverty, etc., under all of the negatives, there is still a culture there.
Culture can be seen if an individual tries to uncover it. These three books influenced me heavily
on my worldview. These books portrayed to me that even the simplest things can change a
individuals view on something. It is important that we look more deeply into things, and that we
actually try to understand a culture to a larger extent. It is important that individuals emerge
themselves in as many cultures as they can during their lifetime. By doing so, an individual is
able to find so many new and amazing things. Like Andre Gide said, Man cannot discover new
oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.
The definition of culture is a very important one to understand. It is important for
individuals to get out of their comfort zone in order to understand more about world cultures.
Widening your knowledge of cultures around the world is vital in order to ultimately understand
more about the world in general. By emerging yourself in a different culture, you are able to see
that culture through the eyes of its people. Everyone is always going to be uncomfortable at first,
but it is important to not let that from stopping you from experiencing a culture. What is
important is what you learn from your experiences, good and bad. Global knowledge a base of
facts about international and transnational situations and issues, and an understanding of changes
and trends in the globalizing world (Grace 2015). Thus, through all of these experiences and
through books like, A Moveable Feast, Becoming World Wise, and Palestine Speaks, I am able to
better my knowledge of the world. Like Bill Bryson said, To my mind, the greatest reward and
luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a
position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.

Works Cited
George, Donald W. A Moveable Feast: Life-changing Food Adventures Around the World.
Footscray, Vic.: Lonely Planet, 2010. Print.
Grace, Kevin. University of Cincinnati. 2015. Lecture.
Malek, Cate, Mateo Hoke. Palestine Speaks: Narratives of Life Under Occupation. 2014. Print.
Slimbach, Richard. Becoming World Wise: A Guide to Global Learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus
Pub., LLC, 2010. Print.