Being in the military has given me the opportunity to travel to many different countries while performing my duties as a sailor. I have been to Australia, Guam, Thailand, Japan, England, France, Spain, Italy, Greece and United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.). The best part about visiting these countries was that I was able to interact with the locals and be active in cultural traditions. I was fascinated the most with the people of the U.A.E. Unlike the many other countries I listed, this particular culture displayed a variety of customs and formalities that were very unique to their culture. The people of this country carried on daily activities the same as you or I would, however the manner in which accompanied these activities differ slightly from what you or I am accustomed to. For instance, the women in this country are only seen out in public with other women. The only time they are in the company of males is if they are family members such as a husband or brother and so forth. Engaging in any form of conversation or even eye contact with a male who is not of relation is forbidden. Public display of affection is prohibited between males and females (older generation). While I was eating lunch at the hotel restaurant, I observed a group of males (local) as they were joining each other for lunch. I noticed that the greetings and affection they shared among each other resembled how the men in my country interact with each other. Shaking hands, offering drinks, inviting them to join at the table seemed to be done in the same manner as our society behaves. There was a slight difference in the public display of affection, the Arabic men tend to be a little more hands on. They hug longer, constantly patting each other on the shoulder, arm or back. To them, the concept personal space did not seem to matter. Facial expressions are genuine and match the mood of the environment. Most of the time they were either laughing or deeply engaged in conversation (serious and focused look). Yes universality and cultural display rules did help me explain my experiences. If we did not have some form of universality, we would not be able to acknowledge, communicate, understand each other and coexist together.

BLOG 7

I believe that most fairy tales do in fact reflect shared cultural norms and values. For example, the movie Pocahontas, which is about Native Americans and English explorers shows a great deal of cultural norms. The Englishmen were taught that they were the superior race and treated other races or ethnicities as though they were not of equal standing. The Native Americans (Indians) were raised to acknowledge that every form of life to include nature (trees, rivers and so forth) and animals were to be treated with respect and that they all were codependent upon one another to survive. When the English arrived and made contact with the Indians, they stereotyped them as barbaric because their behaviors of which they did not understand. I would say that Pocahontas’s thoughts and actions modeled egalitarian ideas on younger audiences. Although she was the daughter of a Chief, she was supposed to follow certain rules that were specified for the role of a woman in the tribe. The males were the authoritative voice and made the decisions for all the members of their tribe. They did the hunting, protecting and teaching the young boys how to become a warrior. Women did the cleaning, cooking and teaching the young girls how to perform their duties in the tribe when they became adults. Pocahontas spoke up against the war that was brewing with the Englishmen. Instead of fighting, she wanted to bring peace and unity between her tribe and the outsiders. So in a way, Pocahontas proved that a woman could make appropriate decisions just the same as her father or another male in the tribe.

A movie in which one of the main characters I can identify with is “The Accused”. The prosecutor Kathryn Murphy who is portrayed by Kelly McGillis, had a huge influence on my decision to study law. At one point I wanted to become a lawyer, specifically a prosecutor because I wanted to make a difference in the justice system. Didn’t matter if it was a woman or a man that needed to be put away, if they did the crime I believe they should do the time.

Blog 2

My children,my mother and my military career are the three major influences which motivated me to continue my education. In the military, you must take exams, get certifications and qualifications in order to advance in order to get promoted. We traveled all over the world while performing many military operations, so we were able to take time off from work to visit different countries. Experiencing different cultures was fun but also very expensive. So continuing onto higher education will help me to be successful in my dream job which in turn will help me save hard earned money to travel around the globe again. My kids are my source of motivation when it comes to taking on school as a full time student and also a full time worker. I am always pushing and cheering them on when it comes to studying and getting awesome grades in school. In return they do the same for me. As for my mother, she was a college student at the age of 43. She told me that it is never to late to get an education and work towards any goals you set for yourself. I’d like to think that I am doing the same for my girls.

Blog 1

I chose this cartoon to represent the language barrier between cultures. Although most Americans know that there is a difference in they way we play football compared to European countries, there are still those who do not and are aware that some words or labels are not always universal among all cultures.

The next two pictures culture-specific differences in the way certain cultures honor a family member, friend or loved one has passed. We all grieve at the loss of a person who had meaning to our lives but we celebrate or honor their memory through traditional ceremonies. However, the grief and sorrow that is experienced is not universal.

Expectations for the Course

Since I am currently in the hiring process for the police department, I am hoping that my psychology studies will allow me better understand how the many contextual factors of culture such as education, gender, socioeconomic status, religious institutions and even economic development can influence a person to behave abnormally or criminally. If I choose to become a clinical psychologist, having such knowledge about cross-cultural studies will help me to gain insight to the many variables which can explain why particular patterns of behavior are exhibited.

At first I didn’t think this course was going to catch my attention, however after reading the first few chapters I am eager to continue reading. I have traveled the world while in the Navy and I was fascinated with all the different cultures that I have been exposed to. I want to learn more about these cultures, perhaps even submerge myself in a particular culture to truly understand it better.

The only strategy that I will attempt to follow through with is to get my assignments in a few days ahead of time without wearing myself out. I will try to keep myself on a routine schedule so that I can devote allotted time for studying each course I am taking.