Goal Digger

Given that I am a Modern Language and Culture major, a good portion of my time is spent thinking about, well, language and culture! I have been studying topics like cultural awareness, intercultural competency, culture shock, diversity/inclusion, and stereotypes for several years now. Nevertheless, I still have so much to learn. I like to think that I have a pretty good grasp on Western/European societies like France and Germany. However, my knowledge on Asia and the Middle East is quite lacking.

Intercultural week at my German University

Throughout the past year, I have made friends from all over the world. It appeared that everybody knew something about the US, but I found that I often struggled to even come up with one thing about their home countries.

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I realized 2 things:

• That is insanely unfair.

• I need to do something about it.

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By the end of this course I would like to confidentially be able to

1. Understand how my own experiences and perspectives of race, gender, sexual identity, nation, faith, and economic circumstances shape my reactions to others. To do this, I will become more in-touch with my cultural upbringing and compare my thoughts and values to the thoughts and values of people with different upbringings.

2. Better communicate and interact effectively across unfamiliar cultures. I will work towards a greater understanding of the concept that communication differs in every culture and to not approach every situation with a “one size fits all” mindset.

3. Improve my ability to be culturally competent in Japanese society. I will educate myself on thoughts and values of various topics from the Japanese perspective.

A few days following the completion of this course, I will be spending 12 days in Tokyo, Japan with my dad. It is extremely important to me that I have a baseline understanding of the culture beforehand, since I will be a guest in the country.