Importance of Understanding Cultural Differences - Essay Example

A very close American friend of mine was getting married that bright sunny day. However, I discovered to my dismay upon reaching the venue that I was the only Chinese guest invited to the event. This marriage got organized not long after I first landed in the US which meant that my experience in fluent English conversation was quite raw then. To worsen the issue, my naivety began to get the best of me as I could not decide on the best approach to handle cultural differences scattered all around me.

Being a hardcore Chinese raised with good old traditional values, bowing to everyone I came across was just second nature to me. This proved to a problem in the American culture because I felt that instead of accepting my way of paying respect, other guests ridiculed it behind my back. This made for an uncomfortable experience because it made me feel lonelier. Fortunately, a very kind guy came to rescue me soon after and attempted to teach me the ropes in Chinese. He told me how some years ago he went to China to study Mandarin and how he witnessed their cultural differences which made him just as uncomfortable at the start as I was feeling then.

He told me how one good approach to cultural differences is assimilating with foreign people and conforming to their customs. This is called the foreign country approach (Martin and Chaney 6). It made me realize that my gesture of bowing spoke volumes about me not conforming to the local customs. It is true that intercultural communication depends on learning a new language to be able to converse easily (Cai 6). But, it is also about respecting other people’s way of communication, their customs, and to research on them to avoid misunderstandings.

Feedback to the classmates’ essays:Classmate 1:This essay is quite enlightening because it attaches undue importance to the matter of gaining acquaintance with the social norms of a country before going there. It stresses that travelers going to foreign lands should be deeply familiar with all types of social norms to create a positive impression on the people there. Nothing can annoy those people more than if one refuses to respect or observe their customs. The approach taken to intercultural communication in this essay makes great sense.

Classmate 2:This essay’s take on intercultural communication stands in agreement with my response and the other classmate’s response. This is because the emphasis is laid on gaining knowledge about the social norms of people from other cultures here as well. Only after educating oneself about these norms can one become able to communicate effectively without causing any trouble. However, one unique aspect of this response is that it speaks against relying on a stereotypical version of a foreign culture.