Travel to the USA - Essay Example

Interpersonal Analysis Introduction I have moved into the United s on a voluntary short time travel intended to last for three years. This is because I wanted to study in the United States. Upon arrival in the Unites States, I faced culture shock because I had feelings of discomfort and the lack of belonging because of an entirely new culture. Notably, there are evident differences between the Chinese culture and the American culture, explaining why I faced a critical culture shock. However, within some time, I began to understand the new culture and I moved to a comfort zone. As an international student, my classmates are from diverse backgrounds. During the first few weeks of study, we were required to work on a group assignment. This compelled me to work with individuals from diverse cultures. This is how I came to know one of my close friends today. The group assignment helped us to initiate a conversation. Since groups members are required to develop a measure of trust, we became closer as we worked on the assignment. The friendship has grown to the level whereby a higher level of self-disclosure occurs. The friendship has become irreplaceable and valuable to me. In this paper, I will present an interpersonal analysis of this close friendship with an individual from a different cultural background. Worth noting is the fact that proximity was one of the factors that contributed to the development of the close friendship. This is because we used to meet in class, and being in the same group we began to talk. I remember clearly, when I said the first, “hi” and received a positive response accompanied by a smile. Since we were required to meet for group assignments on a weekly basis, we got some time to interact after the group work. This moved us from the initiating stage, according to Knapp’s stage model to the experimenting phase. This helped us recognize that we shared several interests (Adler and Proctor 257). This similarity served as an additional attraction factor. It became easier to interact because we shared common ideas and interests. Our friendship developed in accordance with the social penetration theory. In the initial stages, our conversations were simple and very shallow. However, as we interacted more, we began to reveal our true selves. This concerned aspects such as education and other topics that affected us as students. We began to express our attitude and feelings towards such topics. After sometimes, we were able to engage in a higher level of self-disclosure and shared personal matters. It was at this point when we discussed about our families. The fact that we come from different cultural backgrounds; there was a lot for us to share. I remember explaining to my friend the societal expectation of me as the first borne son in accordance with the Chinese society. Evidently, the cultural setting of my friend who belonged to the American mainstream culture was entirely different. Whereas I expressed many collectivist views, my friend was more inclined to individualistic views. Through continuous self-disclosure, we recognized that our differences stemmed from the diverse cultural backgrounds. We were interested I each other’s culture and discussed some of the cultural issues in depth. This served as a critical part of our intercultural communication because we became more self-aware of our cultural identity and learned a lot about each other’s culture. In accordance with the social penetration theory, self-disclosure helped us to be able to discuss numerous topics and gradually increased the depth of the content shared. Worth noting is the fact that the increased self-disclosure about our cultures helped me overcome the culture shock I experienced in the initial days (254). This is because the close friendship helped me understand the American mainstream culture and appreciate its unique aspects. I was well aware that for three years, I needed to conform to the mainstream culture. Being a border dweller, the close friendship with my friend provides me with the required social support that has helped me to cope with an entirely new culture. Unlike in the past, I am more appreciative of other people’s culture because of what I have learned over time. As mentioned above, it took me sometimes to understand the individualistic views that focused on the right of the individual, which are not common among the Chinese. In my entire life, I always placed group rights and need before individual rights. Being involved in a close friendship with an individual from an entirely different culture has helped me understand the differences in cultural views and attitudes. I have realized that effective communication is of critical importance in maintaining friendships. Our close friendship has been defined by routine communication behaviors such as sharing jokes, idle talk, self-disclosure, and offering each other social support. Although we have had conflicts, especially when our views towards different issues varied, we have learned to be more tolerant of personal and cultural differences. The relational dialectical theory has been evident in our relationship. This is because we both experienced an evident tension surrounding our relational needs in our first phase. Throughout the friendship, each of us has expressed the need for autonomy, expressiveness, and a measure of privacy. This has helped me realize that self-disclosure occurs in different phases. During times when my friend sought to keep some issues privately, I respected my friend’s needs and right to privacy (265). However, continued self-disclosure has increased the depth of the issues we discuss. This explains why we can talk about personal issues such as relationships with the opposite sex. We can confine in each other about different issues. Although my close friendship with an individual from an entirely different culture has been successful so far, I realize that I can improve the level of intercultural communication. This is by realizing that my friend communicates and perceives things through a defined cultural lens. Moreover, I can make efforts to understand my friend’s culture in depth as well as its history and outstanding values. Becoming more aware about my friend’s culture will serve to promote a deeper level of understanding and boost my intercultural communication skills (259). The third critical step in improving my intercultural communication and our friendship is by avoiding stereotypes and prejudices associated with the American culture. This will help me view my friend as an individual with personal views and an outstanding character. Conclusion Evidently, moving to the United States to study has helped me develop a close friendship with a person from a completely different culture. This friendship is unique in many aspects and has proven to be an amazing experience. The social penetration theory serves as the most effective definition of how our friendship developed. Effective communication and self-disclosure have helped us to maintain our relationship. Respect for each other as well as our different cultural values has been of critical significance in the success of our friendship. Work Cited Adler, Ronald B, and Russell F. Proctor. Looking Out, Looking in. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2014. Print. Read More