It is peculiar to converse with someone from another culture. It is eye-opening. It expands your perceptions and loosens your mindset.
I am currently abroad in Dublin, Ireland where I have an internship with SV Fitness Health Club. Dublin is recognized as a global city, as are the arts, industry, administration, education and economy. Here, I am immersed in Irish culture while working alongside people of other cultures. An Irish man, an Irish woman, an Egyptian man, a Brazilian man, a Russian woman, a Spanish man and a French man. While I learn a little Gaelic from my Irish co-worker, I am learning world views from all of my co-workers.
One of my favorite things about the job is the chats I have with my co-workers. We speak about anything and everything. I quickly came to realize how reserved American culture is; we have taboos that do not exist in other cultures. Topics that Americans tend to publicly avoid, other cultures speak openly about. From general feelings, to sex, to the idea of a higher power. These kinds of conversations are held daily at my workplace.
We speak of things I am not used to freely discussing. Some conversations actually make me uncomfortable and my co-workers comment on how red my face turns from blushing. They often ask me how I can understand the way others feel if topics like sex and emotions are not a part of daily conversation. That is a hard question to answer. I tell them these topics are intimate conversation. We discuss them in private, with the people we feel close to and trust. Yet I can't help but think, why aren't these discussions open? Why are there taboos attached to these topics? What if there weren't any? Would we understand each other better? Would we be able to relate more? Could we show patience and understanding to those we would not have otherwise?
Because of the deep conversations I have been having with my co-workers, I already feel close to them in a way that may have taken me months to feel with a group of people in America.
I may not be paid for this internship, but it is impossible to say that I am not gaining something valuable from it. I am gaining insight.
I am also learning how easily miscommunication can occur. When my Brazilian co-worker is explaining an idea to me, he draws pictures. This helps me to understand the point he is making. When my French co-worker is explaining things to me, he looks them up online to show me images. I guess a picture really is worth a thousand words (especially when all of the words are in a different language).
I plan on continuing to absorb the ideas that are constantly being expressed around me, while maintaining my own morals and values. As I am taught a new point of view, I listen. Then, if I feel it is appropriate, I explain my own viewpoint. We are not trying to change each others' minds, we are trying explain our own in hopes of better understanding one another. We are connecting through our cultural differences.
