ATA 5

For this assignment, I tackled a sensitive subject, eating disorders. It is a hard subject to discuss, as there is little research done about it. However, the research that has been done makes one thing abundantly clear. Eating disorders effect men, women, and children of all ages and ethnicities. The important thing to focus on is that the more research that is done, the treatments can become more and more efficient. Specifically, treatments need to be specialized based on culture and age, that was we can begin to tackle this issue.

ATA 3

It is so important to be critical of everything the media promotes. While doing this assignment, it became very clear to me that gender stereotypes are very present in advertisements. Even living in America, where the gender equality movement is hitting huge proportions, advertisers still promote the beautiful female ideal, as well as the successful, suave masculine ideal. I went into this assignment thinking that I would not find as many gender stereotypes in either culture as I did. I thought I had chosen two very progressive cultures. But while each country has made progress, it is very evident that there is still a long way to go before advertisements do not heavily feature gender ideals.

ATA 2

I went into this assignment thinking that all of my values were personal, unaffected by the country that I was raised in. I have since learned that it is untrue. Americans do have their own set of values that define their lives and their relationships. Specifically speaking, time as a value is probably most important and controlling in my life. However, this assignment has opened my eyes to the possibility that I let time control my life too much. In the future, I need to more consciously be aware of the time that is passing as I plan out my day to the letter. I can still hold my value of time, but I need to realize that it should definitely not come before family or personal relationships. The assignment this week was immensely valuable. I learned about myself. I learned about others. I’m ready to live more aware of what is going on around me, in a timely manner, of course.

ATA 1

My biggest personal takeaway of the intercultural sensitivity assignment was seeing that I am not as culturally sensitive as I originally thought. While I believe I would behave appropriately in a new culture, ultimately, I am still at Acceptance of Differences. I am not quite so far along, since I see cultures as separate entities. Because of this, I cannot relate as easily to people. However, now that I am aware that I have much further to go, and while I am taking Cross-Cultural psychology, I am ready to begin to grow. Similarly, I had not realized that there could be different stages of sensitivity. I can’t say that I had ever given it much thought, but I probably categorized sensitivity into two groups, sensitive and insensitive. Once I have the opportunity to travel and experience new ideas, hopefully I will become more culturally sensitive. (This also gives me another reason to visit Greece, as it has been my dream for the past few years!)