ATA4

This assignment taught me that even if we don’t realize it, every culture has advertisements that reference gender differences and portray gender specific stereotypes. I looked at gender differences in advertisements seen in American culture compared to Asian culture. I learned a lot from looking at different images and saw how much they referenced gender differences and how many similarities each culture’s advertisements had. Both women and men in both cultures had gender specific references of looking a certain way. This assignment was relevant to me because being a woman and seeing how women were viewed in advertisements in both cultures, made me develop mixed opinions on how the world views not only women, but men too. Personally, this assignment made me reflect on how I’d usually express myself to others. I don’t want anyone to view me negatively as a woman and have gender stereotypes because of an image they saw on television or in a magazine.

I chose this image because it portrays stereotypical gender differences.

https://www.mensxp.com/special-features/today/26370-10-graphics-that-show-why-india-needs-to-get-rid-of-gender-stereotypes.html

ATA3

In assignment 3, I learned about a student’s discoveries, obstacles, and new ideas while studying abroad in France. The student I selected, Honora Fienberg, studied abroad in Nantes, France. She had many discoveries and obstacles while being there, but she overcame them and wrote about her experiences. This applies to me because in my life, I know there will always be new ideas, discoveries, and obstacles to overcome. A couple of her blogs about studying abroad were relevant to me because I’ve also traveled to a new country, Dominican Republic. I wasn’t studying abroad, but I was exploring a “new world.” I learned there that there were going to be obstacles and adjustments I was going to have to make in order to enjoy my time there. I was going to have to budget my trip, like Honora, we both had to incorporate spending money for things like souvenirs, food money, and any other fun activities. I also had to incorporate the plane ticket cost and the cost of where I would be staying. Being an active, healthy person, I had to find healthy food substitutes to eat to maintain my everyday eating habits. Overall, my experience was a success!

I chose this picture because it shows my trip to a new place, full of discoveries, obstacles, and new ideas.

Flying over Dominican

ATA2

During this assignment I learned about a variety of values that Americans live by. There were many values that I thought related to me, but the one I chose was the directness, openness, and honesty value. I learned that the quality of being honest, open, and direct is highly valued by Americans. Personally, I relate to this value in different ways throughout my everyday life. I’ve come across this value many times, whether it was in my work environment, communicating with others, or how it’s impacted my personal growth. This value is relevant when choosing new friends or communicating with others. Being honest definitely helps with communication. In my work environment being honest, direct, and open is valued with not just my manager, but also with my coworkers. It helps the workplace run smoothly when being able to communicate with one another.  I’ve grown as a person being able to use this value in my everyday life. I’m glad I was able to learn about different values Americans live by, while also applying them to other cultures.

I chose this image because both my family and coworkers/friends are thought around this value.

Top Picture: my family

Bottom Picture: my coworkers

ATA1

While completing my first assignment for this course, I was able to learn what intercultural sensitivities were and which one I related to the most. I discovered that I related to the sensitivity “Acceptance of Difference” because I can see many behaviors and values outside of my own cultural worldview. I learned things about myself I didn’t know before by reading about the sensitivity I thought I related to. Before this assignment, I had no idea intercultural sensitivities were divided into different sections, nor did I even know about Dr. Milton Bennett’s, “The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity.” Learning about the different sensitivities is relevant to me because, as I reviewed in assignment 1, whenever I traveled to a new country, I always studied the culture of the place I am visiting prior to my arrival. Before learning that not every human believed in ethnorelativism, I didn’t think much of what I did before I traveled. I thought everyone did that to respect the culture of the country they were going to. Reflecting my own personal culture, I know all about my views, values, behaviors, and beliefs. I believe that everyone should respect another culture like they would respect their own.

This image represents the culture of the destination I traveled to. Sugarcane and Tobacco are popular plants the people of this country value.

Dominican Republic 2015: Sugarcane and Tobacco Farm