Description of Personal Primary and Secondary Culture - Assignment Example

Description of my primary and secondary culture My full name is Maria Fabiola, but I prefer to be called by my middle name since it is the custom in my country. I would prefer to be called Fabiola or Fabi. I am originally from Caracas, Venezuela of which I was born and raised there until I was 7 years old. My mom at the time was working for an American company and was transferred to Miami, Florida where we relocated. I began the first grade in Miami, and like most children I adapted really quick to the change. I recently graduated high school where I was involved in the newspaper committee, president of a volunteer organization for a battered women shelter called lotus house, yoga, and art. My dad is an economist in Venezuela, and has been travelling back and forth from Venezuela to Miami since we first moved to the States 11 years ago. The rest of my entire family still remains in Venezuela other than my sister, my mom, and I. I began the first grade in Miami, and like most children I adapted really quick to the change. I recently graduated high school where I was involved in the newspaper committee, president of a volunteer organization for battered women shelter called Lotus House, yoga, and art. Our family is also big on traveling as we usually go overseas every summer to somewhere new. So far we have visited Spain, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, Greece, France, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Portugal, Bora Bora, Mexico, Costa Rica and Argentina.  Currently I am an undergrad student studying International Relations, with a passion in learning about social and behavioral sciences and the humanities. I am also very intrigued in possibly studying intercultural and cross-cultural communication. Having stated my ethnic and cultural background, I am more inclined to interpret my cultural background as an iceberg. The iceberg model of culture states that the visible part of culture which is on the surface is little compared to what lies beneath it (Weaver, Chapter 1). Except that my interpretation of my own cultural is somewhat odd compared to the traditional interpretation of culture. Using the iceberg model, I would like to think that the tip of the iceberg or the façade that people see as the mere secondary culture and my primary culture is what is hidden beneath the façade. Or in short, what people see on the outside does not really represent the biggest cultural aspect of me. One has to really know me to understand that the biggest part of my cultural component is the one that is not obvious. At the onset, I appear to be a typical American teenage girl. I speak and carry myself like an American girl, dress like them, and even look like them. My extra-curricular activities and hobbies are also no different from the typical American girl of my age. I enjoy listening to American music such as pop, R&B, country as well as watching movies. Just like the average teenage girl my age, I also like American celebrities. I also eat American foods and in a way, every bit American except that I am not. I came to America at a young age of 7 and as most kids would, I easily adjusted to my new cultural environment which is America. It does not necessarily mean however that I totally changed. At home, we are still very much Venezuelan. We still speak the vernacular and still practices the norm and tradition of Venezuela as if we have not left Venezuela. We also visit Venezuela often because most relatives and friends are still there. We also keep in touch with the events that happen in Venezuela as if we still live in that country. So my core being is still Venezuelan while my exterior that has adapted to my new environment is American. I figured that I am still very much Venezuelan at heart when I measured my cultural orientation through Hofstede’s country comparison. In Hofstede’s country comparison, there are six components which are power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, pragmatism and indulgence (www.Geert-Hofstede.com). And in every aspect of these cultural components, I could say that I am still very much Venezuelan in my core values more than American. For example, I scored high on power distance which is typical among Venezuelans to be respectful of authorities such as parents. If I were Americanized already, I would have been short on this but I am not. In individualism, my Venezuelan core again showed up scoring low which is very much Venezuelan. As a people, we are very much collective and this explains why we still go home to Venezuela as often as we could. Americans on the contrary are very much individualistic. With regard to uncertainty avoidance, I am again high on this and this explains why we are close knit as a family. Family shields us from uncertainty of life. Probably, the only thing American about me in Hofstede’s dimension is the pragmatism aspect as I tend to prepare for my future by doing some sacrifices today. This is a product of my acculturation to the American values which I find to be very useful because it makes me better as a person and as a professional in the future. I can also surmise that my different ethnic background and my exposure to different cultures due to our frequent travel subconsciously influenced my choice of study which is International Relations. I am very much interested in learning about social and behavioral sciences and the humanities. I am also very intrigued in possibly studying intercultural and cross-cultural communication and this could be due to my exposures to different cultures other than mine. This also explains why I do not find it difficult dealing people from another culture because I have already accepted the fact that perception of values, attitudes, behaviors and communication style differ from one culture to another. Having known this, my actions are already informed and could adjust accordingly to be able to interact smoothly with other people. Understanding the values, expectations and beliefs that drive behaviors in different cultures should inform our actions towards an individual. In my opinion, culture does not determine anything, but it shapes everything and this makes understanding other people from different cultural background easier. Works Cited Gary R. Weaver Intercultural Relations: Communication, Identity and Conflict (3rd Edition), 2014 Hofstede, Geert. "THE HOFSTEDE CENTRE."Venezuela. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. . Read More