A5 Takeaway:

The differences of self-construal and milieus effecting them is something I find intrinsically fascinating. How they play into everything such as gender roles, the decisions we make, and even the way we adjust our focus. The research discussed indicated that gender and self-construal play a role in how we pursue our goals. Independence and interdependence can be found across cultures, across genders within culture, and then across specific individuals and more. Our emotions and feelings, our ambitions and joys, our heartache and sorrows are universal. What goes in to creating these feelings and how we interact with them are culture specific but we all universally share the feelings themselves. Knowing how much universality I share with other cultures has almost been like an awakening for me. I feel so interconnected with the world now and it only fuels my wonderlust and my drive to continue to explore the inner workings of people’s psyche’s cross-culturally.

When I was in Belize I realized how much of a difference being able to speak the same language was. This helped me realize how much more similar the Belizeans and I were than different. We all have similar self-construals, we all enjoy similar activities, we all have similar hopes and dreams, we’re all one in the same. This course has provided me with many answers, but I am hungry for information with more questions.

A3 Takeaway:

I find political or controversial art fascinating. This is what Kevin Crawson experienced on his study abroad trip to Leipzig, Germany. He was particularly interested in the Dada art movement which is prevalent in Germany. He was able to meet with a burlesque performer to speak about art and the past wars that plagued the country. He also met with an university professor to discuss the Syrian refugees and how important access to education, specifically science. He grew in his knowledge and understanding of current issues that are cross-cultural and is making an effort to maintain his drive to achieve change and to help those in need.

I related a lot to his blog posts. I traveled to Wilhelmshaven, Germany in 2012 and noticed a lot of the aspects he spoke about. Art is everywhere, and Germany’s incredible cross between modern and historic is beautiful to behold. When you’re able to experience another culture, especially being immersed in it, you learn many features about yourself and others. People don’t seem as different from you.

“Politics are the continuation of the war by other means.”

The above 3 images show parts of the Berlin wall from my 2012 trip that has been turned into art murals by various artists around the world. The last image is a little shop with items for sale in remembrance of the war. I own a piece of the Berlin wall near Checkpoint Charlie.

A2 Takeaway:

The term equality is very loosely used in the United States. What quantifies equality? Is it literal or abstract? I believe equality has a different definition for each person. To the white male, it is equal opportunity to climb the corporate ladder. To a person of color, it is the fight to be considered equal in societal contexts and on paper. To a feminist, it is equal pay, gender equality, pro-choice, etc. There are countless, diverse people in America, therefore there are countless, and diverse definitions. All of these differences I believe leads to having it listed as one of America’s precious values. I also believe their description of it in the article was a little bit misleading. Thinking from an outsiders perspective, I think it could cause some warped views of equality in America. Adapting to new cultures and being aware of cultural norms is important. For instance, when I was in Belize (in the image attached), we needed to adapt to the central American concept of time. I think my ultimate takeaway from the assignment was being more cognizant of the way we portray ourselves to other cultures. Being aware of that as well as an irreplaceable asset. Another takeaway would be the way we perceive “equality,” as opposed to other cultures.

A1 Takeaway:

The first assignment really resonated with me. I found that I could easily relate to two of the descriptions in the article, “Defense Against Difference,” and “Integration of Difference.” I used to believe that all of the other cultures around me were better than mine, but now I realize mine is just as special. It was great to validate feeling like I do not fit in to only one culture. I am able to take the information provided in the article and relate it to more aspects of my life, and to other’s around me. I am able to utilize the info to better sensitize myself and my community to other cultures.

These photos are from an exchange trip that I did in Germany back in 2012. It was an incredible experience and I loved being surrounded by one of my cultural backgrounds. It led me to appreciate my background even more.