This assignment challenged me to think critically about how my own culture influences my experience of other cultures. I had believed that my overall rejection of stereotypical American values was enough to make me culturally “neutral”, which couldn’t have been further from the case. I learned that my early experiences growing up around other cultures helped predispose me to awareness and acceptance of cultural differences throughout my life. 

The assignment also proved helpful looking back on the challenging experience I had with my Chinese professor. It helped me understand my culture shock in hearing his political opinion by regarding his opinion and my own in their separate cultural contexts, and reinforced my reluctance to assign my own ethical principles to his opinion. 

I selected the image below because it illustrates how cultural context can alter and limit one’s perspective.