Experiencing Culture

What:

What does it feel like to be placed in a culture that is different from yours? Last week , my course mates and I got to experience practicing a culture and also living in a different culture. We were able to do this through a culture simulating activity called BaFa BaFa. In the activity, we were divided into two teams and each team was giving a booklet containing a description of their proposed culture. My team's culture was one that relied heavily on trading. To us, trading was the most important part of our lives. We practiced a unique language that enabled us to trade effectively. We were given some time to practice and become familiar with our new culture after which two of our team members were sent to the experience the culture of the other team. I was one of the two who were sent. Upon visiting the other culture, I realized it was extremely difficult to fit in. They were very different. Their culture was a very happy culture that enjoyed chatting about life. They were more communal and the students were always groups. I was also quick to observe that this culture was sort of a "masculine" dominated culture were males were always the topic of discussion. In general, it was very challenging to live in the culture and after 3 minutes of my visit, I just wanted someone to tell me what was going on.  

So What:

My experience with the culture simulating activity was very similar with my first few weeks of living int the United States. When my team needed someone to visit the other culture, I willingly volunteered with very little hesitation. However, when I finally arrived at the new culture, I realized it was quite frustrating to decode this culture (even with the fact I knew it was just a game). I realized that if I live in that culture for a long time, I would have gone into culture shock. When my classmates reassembled to discuss the activity, I found out that the other team had a lot of problems deciphering my teams culture as my team did not communicate in English. Something I found interesting was I considered it somewhat "wrong" that the other team's culture was "masculine dominated". The questions I later began asking myself was "why did I see this as wrong?" and "Should I judge that culture as a foreigner?". The whole activity showed the importance of pluralism as a the two cultures would require mutual understanding if they were to live together because they were quite different. As I interacted with the other culture, I became more aware of  my team's culture. This aligns with level 3 and level 4 in the Self-Awareness category of the global citizenship rubric. 

Now What:  
I believe I could move further from my recent level in the Self Awareness category of the global citizenship rubric is by participating in real life activities that are similar to the cultural simulating activity. I will also reflect on my experiences in these activities on my e-folio. 

Culture and Leadership Styles

What

It is Sunday and it feels sad to admit that Spring Break is finally over. I spent most of my break at home preparing for African Night, an upcoming cultural event at MSU. Since I will be participating in this event, I spent my week attending dance practice sessions with the Nigerian and Ethiopian dance groups. The two dance sessions were usually held at different times of the day in one of the dance studios on campus. The dance sessions consisted of groups of students learning a dance routine and a leader who most likely choreographed most of the dance routine. During the dance sessions, I was able to observe some differences in the leadership styles of the dance leaders. In the Nigerian dance session, the leader was quite stern and "professional". The dancers were very focused and the general environment was somewhat serious. The Ethiopian dance session was quite different. First, it was initially difficult to identify the leader of group. The dance environment was also less tensed and calm. The difference between the two dance groups got me wandering if there was a relationship between the cultures of the two countries and the dance leadership styles/environment.

So What
Being a Nigerian myself the dance leadership style and the dance session environment exhibited during the Nigerian dance session wasn't new to me. In fact, it was what I had expected it to be. I had been involved in several dance activities in high school and the dance environment was exactly the same. To us, a strict and "professional" environment was necessary for learning. How about that of the Ethiopian dance session? To be honest, when I attended the first session of the session, I was quite angry with the entire group. I felt the dancers weren't ready to dance.  However, after attending three dance sessions, I was surprised that we had made great progress. I later realized that the dance environment and the leadership style exhibited by the Ethiopian dance group wasn't unusual to them. When I compared both dance leadership styles, I realized there were advantages and disadvantages to both styles. I hence tried to relate this experience to pluralism.  Now that I am aware of the different dance leadership styles and environment, I can work better with other dance teams. On the global citizenship rubric, this experience can be linked with level 4 of Self Awareness as I beginning to see some of my inner personal styles in contrast to other cultural styles around me. 

Now What
I plan to better understand culture by participating in more interactions/activities with other cultural groups on campus. I hope to use this knowledge currently to strengthen relationships between members of the African Students Association. In the future, I also hope to utilize my understanding on culture to work with increasing diverse communities in the United States and in Nigeria. 

A Global World.

What:
       Last week, I had the opportunity of participating in an Ethnographic interview with some of my classmates. In this activity, we (students) were divided into groups of three. Each group was giving a set of questions relating to our beliefs on human relationships, friendships, female/male relationships, family, social values, social etiquette and time. During this activity, I realized I shared a lot of my beliefs with other classmates. This got me wandering "Have we always been this similar or is the world indeed becoming a global village?" For example, I found it surprising that the culture regarding marriages in my country was very similar to those of two of my classmates. Although, there was so much similarity, there was also some differences, For example, I found it very interesting that my one of my classmates said that marriages are becoming quite rare in his country. 
So What: 
     The ethnographic interview showed an example of how diverse the world is. In just a small classroom like ours, there are so many different beliefs and ideas. I believe this again shows the importance of pluralism in our society. If we do want to live together peacefully, we need to learn about the different cultures and ideas around us. The Ethnographic interview provided an opportunity through which my classmates and I could understand our cultural differences through actively engagement. This greatly aligns with level 2 and level 3 of the global citizenship rubric.   
Now What:
     In order to keep developing my global citizenship skills and knowledge, I will need to participate in more activities that will allow me to ask deeper questions about culture. I currently participate in a weekly French Conversation Table where I am able to ask questions about the French culture and the culture of other Francophone countries. Hopefully, I will be able to have a deep understanding of the French culture by the end of the semester.