To experience and observe your reactions to the \"not-OK\" feelings of disorient
ID: 424671 • Letter: T
Question
To experience and observe your reactions to the "not-OK" feelings of disorientation in a strange cultural environment.Rationale:
This activity is based on two widely recognized premises: 1. That culture shock is endemic; we cannot inoculate ourselves against it, but we can improve our recover mechanisms, and 2. that "not-OK" feelings, once recognized have a tendency to disappear.
Procedure: Within your present cultural environment select a particular location which seems especially "foreign" to you, and plan to visit it. The location must meet only three conditions:
1. Your stay should be for at least two hours. 2. You should be able to be a participant- observer within the location you choose. Do not arrange a "guided tour". Attempt to involve yourself directly in the activities of your chosen location. 3. You must keep a record (notebook) of your experiences, thoughts and feelings in your foreign environment.
Examples of activities: assisting nurses in a mental hospital, if you are heterosexual: visiting a gay night club, participating in an unfamiliar religious ceremony, spending an evening with an unfamiliar ethnic group. There are many possibilities. The critical element is to choose something very different from what you are used to and which causes -- even as you think about it -- some sensation of discomfort.
Format for submission:
Your report should be approximately four double spaced typed spaces. In the report you should demonstrate knowledge of course concepts and address the following topics:
1. Describe the event, its purpose, the cultural group originating from the even, when it occurred, where it occurred. 2. Are their similar events in your culture? 3. What did you see and experience at this event that you feel confident you understood accurately? 4. What did you notice that was culturally puzzling to you? 5. How did you feel or respond personally to being in a different cultural situation that was not as predictable as communication in your own culture. 6. Describe an important conclusion due to your participation in this event. 7. Demonstrate that you have a thorough understanding of culture shock and its dimensions. To experience and observe your reactions to the "not-OK" feelings of disorientation in a strange cultural environment.
Rationale:
This activity is based on two widely recognized premises: 1. That culture shock is endemic; we cannot inoculate ourselves against it, but we can improve our recover mechanisms, and 2. that "not-OK" feelings, once recognized have a tendency to disappear.
Procedure: Within your present cultural environment select a particular location which seems especially "foreign" to you, and plan to visit it. The location must meet only three conditions:
1. Your stay should be for at least two hours. 2. You should be able to be a participant- observer within the location you choose. Do not arrange a "guided tour". Attempt to involve yourself directly in the activities of your chosen location. 3. You must keep a record (notebook) of your experiences, thoughts and feelings in your foreign environment.
Examples of activities: assisting nurses in a mental hospital, if you are heterosexual: visiting a gay night club, participating in an unfamiliar religious ceremony, spending an evening with an unfamiliar ethnic group. There are many possibilities. The critical element is to choose something very different from what you are used to and which causes -- even as you think about it -- some sensation of discomfort.
Format for submission:
Your report should be approximately four double spaced typed spaces. In the report you should demonstrate knowledge of course concepts and address the following topics:
1. Describe the event, its purpose, the cultural group originating from the even, when it occurred, where it occurred. 2. Are their similar events in your culture? 3. What did you see and experience at this event that you feel confident you understood accurately? 4. What did you notice that was culturally puzzling to you? 5. How did you feel or respond personally to being in a different cultural situation that was not as predictable as communication in your own culture. 6. Describe an important conclusion due to your participation in this event. 7. Demonstrate that you have a thorough understanding of culture shock and its dimensions. To experience and observe your reactions to the "not-OK" feelings of disorientation in a strange cultural environment.
Rationale:
This activity is based on two widely recognized premises: 1. That culture shock is endemic; we cannot inoculate ourselves against it, but we can improve our recover mechanisms, and 2. that "not-OK" feelings, once recognized have a tendency to disappear.
Procedure: Within your present cultural environment select a particular location which seems especially "foreign" to you, and plan to visit it. The location must meet only three conditions:
1. Your stay should be for at least two hours. 2. You should be able to be a participant- observer within the location you choose. Do not arrange a "guided tour". Attempt to involve yourself directly in the activities of your chosen location. 3. You must keep a record (notebook) of your experiences, thoughts and feelings in your foreign environment.
Examples of activities: assisting nurses in a mental hospital, if you are heterosexual: visiting a gay night club, participating in an unfamiliar religious ceremony, spending an evening with an unfamiliar ethnic group. There are many possibilities. The critical element is to choose something very different from what you are used to and which causes -- even as you think about it -- some sensation of discomfort.
Format for submission:
Your report should be approximately four double spaced typed spaces. In the report you should demonstrate knowledge of course concepts and address the following topics:
1. Describe the event, its purpose, the cultural group originating from the even, when it occurred, where it occurred. 2. Are their similar events in your culture? 3. What did you see and experience at this event that you feel confident you understood accurately? 4. What did you notice that was culturally puzzling to you? 5. How did you feel or respond personally to being in a different cultural situation that was not as predictable as communication in your own culture. 6. Describe an important conclusion due to your participation in this event. 7. Demonstrate that you have a thorough understanding of culture shock and its dimensions.
Explanation / Answer
1. I went to attend an Indian Wedding of my friend's sister a few days ago. It was a private gathering with approximately 100 people, most of being Indians(followers of Hindu Religion). The decoration was too colorful with loud music playing around.
2. Yes, there are weddings in my culture as well. But the mode of conduct is different.
3. Something I understood accurately is that priest was chanting the hymns, which is similar to the vows made during a wedding ceremony in my culture. The major difference was that of language. Ours is in English, whereas their's was in Sanskrit I suppose.
4. The thing I found puzzling was that my friend told me that groom was chosen by the bride's parents, instead of the bride herself. This is a prevalent practice in India and the term is referred to as 'Arranged Marriage'.
5. I felt being in a different kind of world with an entirely different way of celebration. There was a grand feast with most of the people dancing to the loud music. It felt nice to see their ceremonies and learn about the culture.
6. The conclusion was that I realized how in the same city, at the same time, different cultures have different ways of celebrating the same occasion. Although I have been to many weddings before but it was an altogether different experience.
7. Culture shock is defined as the change in mental state/feeling/response of an individual as s/he moves from known surroundings(his/her own culture) to completely unknown surroundings (different culture, different people, etc.). It has been famously said by Hofstede, “Studying culture without experiencing culture shock is like practicing swimming without experiencing water.” With this, he has given various dimensions which can lead to a culture shock:
1. Power Index - refers to the way in which power is distributed amongst different strata of society.
2. Individualism vs Collectivism - refers to the extent of social bonding within a community. eg: the USA is a country high on Individualism, whereas Asian countries like China, Japan, etc. are high on Collectivism.
3. Masculinity vs Feminity - refers to whether a society follows what kind of values more - masculine(heroism, achievement, etc.) or feminine(modesty, cooperation, etc.) e.g. Nordic countries are high on feminity.
4. Uncertainty Avoidance: refers to the risk-taking capability of a society. e.g: Greeks are highly risk-averse people.
5. Long-term orientation vs Short-term orientation: refers to whether a culture keeps in mind long-term view in mind and changes with time accordingly, or prefer to remain orthodox by sticking to the existing rules & customs.