Experiencing Culture

Cassandra Lee
Cross cultural experiences are essential to understanding international cultures and
affairs. People often overlook the variety of cultures that surround them on a daily basis, falling
into the trap of familiarity. However, looking across socio-economic and international borders
can be a great learning experience for all parties involved, being both the person intentionally
crossing cultural borders and the people they interact with. It allows them all to appreciate and
understand the complexity of another culture as well as their own.
These experiences dont have to occur while abroad, there are many different cultures
just within the Cincinnati community. One of the things that made the greatest impact on my
opinion of different cultures was Bearcat Buddies. For Bearcat Buddies, we traveled on a
weekly basis to Taft High School, which is a part of the Cincinnati Public School District, and
we helped the students with homework and standardized testing preparation. Although this is not
interacting with international culture, it was still drastically different from the culture I was used
to.
Its well known that public schools in urban areas are not as high achieving as many of
the suburban schools. Anyone in the city can go to them, but it is usually families of a relatively
low economic class. I went to a small school in a relatively solid middle class area, and I never
bothered to spend any time with anyone from a lower income district, mostly because I felt out
of place and therefore uncomfortable.
When I started going to Bearcat Buddies, I was surprised how much I enjoyed my time
there. It didnt take long for me to realize that although the school atmosphere and general

location was different from mine, the students were still just kids going to school like anyone
else. Some didnt care about their educations, which is to be found at most schools, although it is
a more common occurrence there. What was more important to me was the number of students
who did care. Many of them have career goals and are striving to go to college, but they are
simply not in an environment that supports this.
The schools main objective is getting the students to graduate, not helping them succeed
after graduation. This isnt necessarily a bad thing, because the graduation rates definitely need
to improve, but it does mean that those who want to continue their education are at a
disadvantage because they are not being properly prepared. Not only that, but some of these kids
have problems outside of school that I never even had to think about dealing with. I didnt know
the extent of what was going on at home, but I was able to get a glimpse into what it was like just
by talking to them regularly.
I often hear people talk about how those who do not succeed just didnt try hard enough,
and I never had much of an opinion on it. Although this is true to an extent, I believe now more
than ever that situational obstacles can matter just as much as determination. Maslows
Hierarchy of Needs is based off of the idea that until basic physiological needs, belongingness
and a feeling of security are fulfilled, one is not readily able to work on self-esteem and selfactualization. Obviously there are people who excel regardless of circumstance, but it makes
sense to me that someone who is struggling with, for example, having enough food, would not be
as concerned as maintaining a high GPA as someone who has never had to deal with financial or
emotional hardship. Also, success is subjective, and people generally dont view success as
something drastically different from something theyve seen before because it seems
unattainable.

This debate applies in a global context as well. I previously didnt understand why
people in developing nations and less technologically advanced communities were okay with
living that way. Its clearer to me now that not everyone wants to be like us, and they all have
their own definition of success. When America decides to help poorer nations, it doesnt
always mean improvement. Making another country more like us doesnt mean its any better
than it was before. Plenty of people are perfectly happy with the way they are living, and are not
hoping for western culture in their own lives. I think one of our biggest mistakes as a culture is
assuming that being different is undesirable, when that is not the case at all. Slimbach mentions
in Becoming World Wise that we need to harness our desire to understand and potentially mend
the world, and look at was to protect and positively impact the cultures and environments we
visit. It is important that we do not over innovate to the point where there is nothing left of
what was there before.
Being mindful of other cultures is the only way we are going to be able to come together
as nations. We dont have to believe or agree with all cultures, we just have to be respectful of
them. People generally believe what the people around them believe, and this basic idea of
cultural enculturation is what keeps each culture together in the first place, serving as a form of
social cohesion.
During Worldfest, I spent time at the Explore Israel exhibit, which ended up being a
significant cross cultural experience for me. There was lots of food and information about the
country, but what really stuck out to me was the presentation about the Western Wall. The wall
surrounds a holy Jewish site called the temple mount, and was built around 19 BC. Today,
people write down their prayers and hang it on the western side of the wall to be answered. At
the presentation, you were able to write a prayer yourself that someone would later take to the

wall. I participated, not necessarily because I believe the wall has any power or anything, but
because I liked the idea of something I said going all the way to Israel. It gave me a sense of
social solidarity and togetherness, knowing that people all over the world, from all different
religions, had a prayer on the wall. I felt like I had a connection with all of those people, and I
soon realized that was the reason the Western Wall held such importance to the people of Israel;
It essentially kept them from feeling like they were alone.
Although it is not a part of my culture, the Western Wall is a very big deal to some, so I
feel the need to respect it. Often times, people, specifically Americans, are viewed as outgoing
but insular, largely unreceptive to sources of value and virtue outside themselves and their own
cultural traditions, (Slimbach 92) which only increases the distance between one culture and
another. Instead of ignoring pieces of other cultures that are different from your own, it is more
beneficial to look past your ethnocentrism and take an interest in some things that you are
unfamiliar with.
Learning about world culture effects not only how you perceive and interpret the world,
but how you actually behave in different global situations. So far, I have not had the opportunity
to spend much time outside of the United States, and I honestly do not know many people who
are from other countries. However, I do plan on travelling internationally in the near future, and
I expect that the knowledge Ive obtained will help me become culturally competent in these
places. It is painfully obvious if you dont make any special efforts to learn about the culture you
are going to be spending time in, and as a result you could lose some respect from the locals,
making them less likely to help you get the most out of your experience.
I do not have an easy time learning languages, they dont come naturally to me. This will
be one of the biggest obstacles I will encounter when travelling abroad. Its not likely that I will

become fluent in any language by the time I decide to go abroad, but its also not very realistic
that I will only spend time in countries who universally speak English. To help me interact with
the locals, I will have to put time into learning some basic phrases and mannerisms from that
country, as well as information on the topics that matter to them in everyday life, such as movies
or politics. In the course syllabus, global knowledge is defined as a base of facts about
international and transnational situations and issues, and an understanding of changes and trends
in the globalizing world, which suggests that to have global knowledge, we need to not only be
able to memorize and recite facts about the world, but actually understand the truth and reality of
what is happening.
In Becoming World Wise, Slimbach quotes Bernard Adney when describing the process of
cross cultural learning:
Truth is often bigger than any one persons ability to grasp it. By recognizing the
particularity of all our knowing, we are free to look for wisdom in opposing opinions
without compromising what is valuable in our own. As we begin to love people in
another culture, we can begin to identify with them and see the truth they understand. As
we make their truth our own, we become new people, formed by the meeting of two
cultures. (58)
Cultures dont have clear borders that separate them from everyone else due to
assimilation from intercultural interactions. People mix and share ideas during every cross
cultural experience they encounter, and it helps give everyone a greater amount of global
understanding. Learning to accept other cultures while still holding your own values is a skill
that will improve future global interactions and broaden your current view of the world.

Citations
"Cross-Cultural Experience Requirement : Education Department : Hanover College." CrossCultural Experience Requirement : Education Department : Hanover College. Web. 30
Apr. 2015.
Slimbach, Richard. Becoming World Wise a Guide to Global Learning. Sterling: Stylus Pub.,
LLC, 2010. Print.