His Story, Her Story 

What

A good way to learn about someone's culture is by "actively" listening to that person speak. By doing so, you do not only get to experience the visible part of that culture but also experience the deeper beliefs that make up that culture. In my first semester in college, I was fortunate to read Strength In What Remains, a book about the life experiences of an African immigrant in the United States. I am currently reading I am Malala, another book on the life of a Pakistani girl (Malala) who stood against the Taliban in Pakistan. The stories in the two books have given me an opportunity to learn about the individual and collective cultures of the main characters in the book. Malala is a young girl raised by parents who value education and religion. However, she grows up in a region where some groups are strongly against education, especially education dealing with Muslim girls. She tells stories of her young days in school, her friends, her successes, her failures and her fears. The fact I could relate to most of her stories brought a smile to my face. I was again reminded that not only was she (Malala) a Nobel prize recipient and an advocate but  also an individual like myself and everyone else. I was also astonished that she acknowledged the beauty and significance of some Buddha statues in her region and her disapproval with the Taliban for destroying them. The book also got me thinking about my purpose of education with quotes such as "Teach him it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat" and "Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes". 

So What

In my previous blog post, I explained why I was found it important to understand "deeper" aspects of culture. Well, the culture discussed in I am Malala has further given me a reason to do so. Malala explained that it is very rare for a Pashtun to say "Thank you" as they strongly believe every good deed deserves another instead of just a mere expression like "Thank you". This is important to note as I have observed that in the Minnesotan culture and my Nigerian culture, it is very important to say "Thank you" after a good deed has been done to you. It is therefore likely that a Nigerian could get mad at a  Pashtun because of a two word expression (Thank you). Even though a Nigerian might understand the dressing , language and religious beliefs of a Pashtun, there are chances that conflicts may still arise between both parties. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the deepers aspects of both cultures, is required for the two cultures to peacefully co-exist (Pluralism). Malala also shows an example of pluralism as she was totally opposed to the destruction of the Buddha statues in Afghanistan and Pakistan even though she was Muslim. Finally, both "I am Malala" and "Strength in What Remains" dew my attention to the individual stories of immigrants. Sometimes, I find it easy to just mentally classify immigrants into a category and treat them similarly . However, I again was reminded that there is more to just "the immigrant story". Behind the general immigrant story that might include war, death and a corrupt government, there is story of an individual. It is this story that I have to understand to better interact with culturally diverse people. This fits with levels 4 of both the "Knowledge and Understanding" and "Communication" sections of the global citizenship rubric. 

Now What

In order to achieve this level of competency, I will take opportunity of the Immigrants panel that will be coming to class and also my service learning at the Minnesota Literacy Council for adult education. I hope to use this level of competency to serve my patients as a medical doctor. I will also use it to better understand and seek for solutions to the various conflicts in African nations. 

Extra Note: I was quite impressed by the attitudes that Malala and her father have towards education. It reminded of how much (sometimes) I am interested in getting an "A" in a class than actually understanding the content of that class.