The Exposure to Other Cultures - Research Paper Example

Cultural Identity Journal I. WORLDVIEW/RELIGION I believe I am on planet Earth to live according to the will and purpose that God has destined for me. I am predominantly a Roman Catholic, whose beliefs encompass following God’s commandments and adhering to the Golden Rule: to love others as oneself. I believe in God as the Supreme Being governing one’s life and where I was destined to follow a path to righteousness. I am also convinced that life’s challenges and trials are allowed to enable me to be a stronger person, to develop my knowledge, skills and abilities, not for myself, but more to be of assistance to other people. Having been in the United States for nine years now, my job as a yoga instructor paved the way for me to belief in the benefits accorded by meditation. I feel yoga sets us on a journey of self discovery, where we no longer need to continue searching for happiness, we realize it is already within us. Still, I do not lose track of my purpose for living and that when I die, the life I lived would be judged and would be decided on the fate of my eternal existence. II. VALUES I value relationships more than any material blessings. I treasure the times I spent with my family in Poland, especially the bond that we shared and the happiness felt by the mere presence of family members. My primary values are sharing my talents to others so that others’ lives would be enriched by their interaction with me. This would enable me to attain a sense of worth through my personal contribution to life: by doing good in the tasks and responsibilities as an interpreter and a yoga instructor. I honestly believe that relationships are worth dying for: that we strive hard in life for the benefit of those we love. The people we love dearly are worth protecting more than any material things, which we ultimately leave on earth when we die. III. CULTURAL PATTERNS A. Application of Hofstedes's Five Dimensions I am basically a COLLECTIVIST. Poles often form extended families - with grandparents who take care of grandchildren while parents are working. In many instances children live in the same town or neighborhood where the parents and grandparents live. Polish people, especially young, are very attached to their parents, family and home in Poland and feel unsecure on their own. As explained in Hofstede’s dimension, collectivism manifests finding “societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended families (with uncles, aunts and grandparents) which continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty” (Itim International par. 2). B. UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE Poles are basically averse of taking risks and therefore manifest high levels of UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE. Polish society is not that mobile as American or western European societies from many reasons and partly because of this cultural dimension, therefore the unemployment is high in some areas of Poland but people are not willing or cannot move somewhere else. I believe that I am more than an exception to the rule since I bravely took the risk of living away from my family and pursuing opportunities in America. C. POWER DISTANCE I also believe that there are inequalities in societies but that the roles that each person plays determine their power. Therefore in terms of the POWER DISTANCE INDEX, I believe that power and inequality are matters of perspectives. I treat people of higher authority with due respect but I do not acknowledge that they are better or more authoritative than me. I contend that it is their roles and responsibilities that require people to classify them to belong to higher or lower levels in an organizational hierarchy, for example; but their inner self and category as a member of the universal world is just the same as mine. D. MASCULINITY versus FEMININITY In terms of defining MASCULINITY versus FEMININITY, I still believe that although contemporary societies exhibit more equality in gender, still more societies are predominantly masculine. As supported in Hofstede’s discourse, “the assertive pole has been called 'masculine' and the modest, caring pole 'feminine'” (Itim International par. 3). Since I migrated to the United States, I believe that I exhibited more of the masculine dimension in terms of asserting my capability to live, adapt and adjust to a new culture and new environment and be able to ASSIMILATE to the way of life. E. LONG TERM ORIENTATION For the dimension of LONG TERM ORIENTATION, I think I exhibit mixed characteristics. As indicated in Hofstede’s article, “values associated with Long Term Orientation are thrift and perseverance; values associated with Short Term Orientation are respect for tradition, fulfilling social obligations, and protecting one's 'face'” (Itim International par. 5). I believe I manifest both values of perseverance and respect for tradition, which I realize and recognized more when I lived in America and I had been away from Poland for almost a decade now. F. HUMAN NATURE ORIENTATION I honestly believe that my culture’s HUMAN NATURE ORIENTATION is more of good being a country with a Roman Catholic religion who believes in the love and governance of God, our Supreme Being and Divine Power. We adhere to following God’s commandments and we are peace loving and value extended family relationships. G. PERSON/NATURE ORIENTATION It is my personal contention that my culture’s PERSON/NATURE ORIENTATION is respect and cooperation with nature. We acknowledge that the calamities and natural disasters we experience today have been partly due to human’s irresponsibility to take care of our environment. In this regard, we have recognized the need to protect and preserve the environment by taking care of our surroundings and by personal contribution to avoiding pollution. H. ACTIVITY ORIENTATION My culture’s ACTIVITY ORIENTATION is more of doing. We are proud to be a diligently working society who appreciates the accomplishments of tasks. This trait is manifested by me in terms of supporting myself with two jobs: as an interpreter and a yoga instructor; while going to BCC to become a nurse. I never want time to pass without any productive activity being delved into. I. TIME ORIENTATION I practice the FUTURE-ORIENTED TIME perspective where I am forward looking and planning activities for the next few years. This fact is validated by Kosiu, Troncy and Golzhauser who indicated that “Polish young people keep the future a little bit more in mind, than the French. Polish teenagers know, that the future will not be very easy to handle” (Kosiu, Troncy and Golzhauser 5). In this regard, whatever activities I do now is done to prepare for the future. J. DEGREE OF FACEWORK I personally acknowledge the importance of face-to-face interactions and the ability to determine and enhance the messages that people relay through facial expressions. Therefore, the value of facework is given a high degree of relevance in so far as it reinforces communication through this nonverbal mode. IV. PROVERBS I live by the three most important proverbs: (1) Every cloud has a silver lining. This proverbs helps me go through the challenges I encounter by anticipating that they would soon come to pass and there is something positive to derive from these trials.(2) God helps those who helps themselves. As a Catholic, I believe that although God has provided us with talents and blessings, it is still up to us to cultivate these gifts to serve His purpose. (3) Try and try until you succeed. I believe that success can only be achieved with persistence and good work. V. IDENTITY A. RACIAL IDENTITY I belong to the Poland race, which I initially thought was of simple origin. My personal research indicated that Poland’s ethnicity and race is presented herewith in greater detail: “Polish 96.7%, German 0.4%, Belorussian 0.1% Ukrainian 0.1%, other 2.7% (2002)” (Infoplease 1). B. ETHNIC IDENTITY My ethnic identity is actually diverse as cultural orientations range from German, Belarusian, Lithuanian, Jew, Roma, Russian, Slovak, and Czech ancestries (U.S. English Foundation, Inc.); thereby, I share this identity with people from these various identified regions. C. NATIONAL IDENTITY Poland manifests a “liberal democratic concept of national identity which prevailed in Polish history through the ages” (Dybel 1). From the same discourse, the lessons learned from significant historical periods such as “the period of the old Rzeczpospolita, that of the Enlightenment and that dominated by Romanticism…became incorporated in the traditions which continue to characterize what is thought of today as the Polish National Identify” (Dybel 1). D. REGIONAL IDENTITY Poland has always belonged to a composition of four countries, itself included together with Hungary, Czech republic and Slovakia (considered as Visegrad Four). These regions share common characteristics such as the Latin Christian religion, with large Roman Catholic practitioners, speaking West Slavic languages, previously manifested common democratic underground movements, and are EU and NATO members (Sajda and Ekunet 2). VI. DEEP STRUCTURE COMPONENTS A. FAMILY My family has taught me that familial relationships are strong and close-knit, being considered the center of the culture’s social structure. Parents are the main source of holistic support giving children the basic knowledge in terms of values, traditions, religion, respect and adherence to God’s commandments and love for fellowmen. B. HISTORY The difficulties of life in Poland cause people to build stronger bonds than somewhere else. Life in Poland was uneasy during the communism, during the transition time when there was a deficiency of food on the market. This has remained part of one’s perspectives in working towards a better future and in recognizing that I need to be appreciative of what I have in terms of relationships and personal talents and capacities. Since I moved to the USA, I miss the atmosphere of Christmas in Poland. I am not trying to say that the traditions of Polish Christmas are any better than the American Christmas. It is just that my childhood memories of Christmas with my family are dearest to me and cannot be replaced. Our Christmas was less commercialized than it is now, both, in Poland and in the USA. Christmas was more about "being" than about "having" or "possessing". It was also about its religious value. We had to protect Christmas' real name and meaning since the communists thought that religion threatened their ideology and power and tried to remove all religious symbols (16) and associations of this feast. They used the terms: "family day" or "star day" for Christmas so that the word "Christmas" which in Polish means "God's Birth" (Boze Narodzenie) would not be mentioned in the official newspapers. I cherish these memories and help me go through life with an optimistic outlook. VII. CULTURAL NORMS I have retained the traditional value of giving priorities to my faith and religion as the fundamental force that guides daily living. My appreciation for the legacy of Polish culture in terms of appreciating the arts is still being manifested and exemplified until today. My love for the theatre, literature, music, concerts and other artistic endeavors are continued to be recognized and practiced. By being an interpreter, I continue to be part of my culture by helping others learn of our language and enriching others through my personal experiences. VIII. LANGUAGE AND NONVERBAL BEHAVIORS I currently speak the Polish language, and English as my second language. I can therefore interpret English to Polish and vice versa with proficiency. For nonverbal behaviors that reflect my cultural orientation, the following are prominent: kissing of alternative cheeks three times especially for family members not seen for a long time; very demonstrative and expressive by touching and leaning forward during conversations; and using a relatively louder volume of speech in normal conversations, among others. IX. DOMINANT CULTURE Despite living in America for almost a decade and having adapted the American way of life, I still identify with the Polish culture the most because this has been my cultural orientation with beliefs, values and traditions deeply embedded in my personality, philosophies and outlook in life. Due to being accustomed to close family ties, when I moved to America, I missed my family and relatives so much that I immediately felt lost without them. In this regard, while I was abroad temporarily studying and working, I develop a serious relationship with somebody without realizing the future consequences. This was also due to my cultural orientation of manifesting expressive and demonstrative behavior that I always wanted to find someone to be close to and to share my thoughts, actions, sentiments with. X. CO-CULTURES Now that I have lived for a number of years in America, I consider this as my co-culture. I have learned to assimilate ways of live here, especially adjusting and adapting to the fast pace of life. I realized the need to support and sustain my daily living through maintaining as much jobs as I can accommodate and to maximize my time to productive activities. I realized that studying other cultures also allows us to learn new ideas and incorporate them to our own culture. The development of arts is an example where the influence of other cultures can help improve one's own creativity. The fusion of styles in cooking, art, dance and other disciplines has opened an array of possibilities and means of expression. I have learned to develop preferences for American food and to explore other meditative techniques which led me to recognize the benefits of yoga, a reflective approach not normally of Catholic background but which I learned to accept in the new culture. XI. BIASES Exposure to other cultures through study, travel and especially living in another country allows me to view my own culture from different lenses. First, I was able to better appreciate what my own culture has to offer. Often when confined to a certain way of life without exposure to the outside world, we take for granted the good points of one's culture. Secondly, I would not have learned of experiencing the value of independence from my family, if I was not exposed to living in another country. Further, would not have been given the opportunity to explore the benefits of yoga, if I were made to remain conservatively entrenched in the Roman Catholic religion. Most importantly, I learned that the exposure to other cultures teaches as how to be objective (p. 43), nurtures tolerance and an open mind. We increase our understanding of our own culture by viewing its interconnectedness (p.2) with the many cultures existing on earth. We learn that our values, goals are dynamic concepts that can be molded for the better or worse. It is essential to approach the study of other people with an open mind and without the biases (p.44) that one's own culture is superior to others.   Works Cited Dybel, Pawel. The Roots of Polish National Identify. 2000. Web. 7 July 2011 . Infoplease. Ethnicity and race by countries. 2011. Web. 7 July 2011 . Itim International. Geert Hofstede - Cultural Dimensions. 2009. Web. 7 July 2011 . Kosiu, Kasia, Cedric Troncy and Jorg Golzhauser. Time Perception in France, Germany and Poland. 2003.Web. 7 July 2011 . Sajda, Peter and Slovakia Ekunet. Globalization and Regional Identity. n.d. Web. 7 July 2011 . U.S. English Foundation, Inc. Poland. 2011.Web. 7 July 2011 . Read More