To become culturally intelligent and hence be able to adapt to other cultures, an individual needs to take a step back from their own culture and become culturally self-aware of those around themselves. Cultural awareness is the act of observing and understanding the culture of individuals around yourself. This is done by taking a step back from one’s own culture and seeing the world through someone else’s eyes. (Quappe and Cantatore, 2005, p. 1) Cultural intelligence is stated by Brislin, Worthley and Macnab (2015, p. 1) as having different meanings depending on the various contexts it’s used in. Where one definition addresses an individual’s level of adjustment into another culture, the other addresses the most culturally adaptable individual
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Being aware when if ever they are in culture shock and…..
Culture is a hard topic to define due to its broad concept, because of this it’s literal meaning is often misinterpreted. When asked what their culture is an individual often jumps to the conclusion that their ethnic background is their culture. However ethnicity is only one very basic segment of a person’s culture. Schwartz defines culture as derivatives of both an individual’s personal experience and knowledge throughout their life in combination with their knowledge and values passed down through past generations. (Avruch as cited in T.Schwartz, 1992 p.2) If one is unable to determine what culture is, then they will never be able to understand how to be culturally self-aware or culturally intelligent. Once it is understood what culture is, a person will then begin to realize what their personal culture is. For instance my personal culture is a combination of reading, music, my …show more content…
This is because often it is found that a person does not recognize their own culture until they are placed within an unfamiliar one. This shock is experienced in four stages, the honeymoon stage, the crisis stage, the recovery stage and the complete adjustment. (Flanga, 2009, p. 113 – 114) I myself have experienced culture shock while on vacation in India with family for a cousins wedding. At first I was excited, fascinated and very positive about the entire experience. I was in the honeymoon stage, ready to explore the new experiences brought about within the new place I was. However, once I began to realize my normal behaviour didn’t quite click in this new environment I went into the crisis stage. An Indian wedding is a big affair, often with a lot of people. Growing up in Darwin with a small family and being an introvert I was always used to plenty of alone time. Often, I took that alone time for granted, but I didn’t realise this until I was stuck in an Indian bridal house. I became frustrated, irritable and constantly had a sense of claustrophobia due to all the people constantly around me. I was not used to these customs or the general closeness that seemed normal to all my extended family. As the weeks went on I went into the recovery stage. I tried to talk a step back from my own personal culture and adapt to
Being aware when if ever they are in culture shock and…..
Culture is a hard topic to define due to its broad concept, because of this it’s literal meaning is often misinterpreted. When asked what their culture is an individual often jumps to the conclusion that their ethnic background is their culture. However ethnicity is only one very basic segment of a person’s culture. Schwartz defines culture as derivatives of both an individual’s personal experience and knowledge throughout their life in combination with their knowledge and values passed down through past generations. (Avruch as cited in T.Schwartz, 1992 p.2) If one is unable to determine what culture is, then they will never be able to understand how to be culturally self-aware or culturally intelligent. Once it is understood what culture is, a person will then begin to realize what their personal culture is. For instance my personal culture is a combination of reading, music, my …show more content…
This is because often it is found that a person does not recognize their own culture until they are placed within an unfamiliar one. This shock is experienced in four stages, the honeymoon stage, the crisis stage, the recovery stage and the complete adjustment. (Flanga, 2009, p. 113 – 114) I myself have experienced culture shock while on vacation in India with family for a cousins wedding. At first I was excited, fascinated and very positive about the entire experience. I was in the honeymoon stage, ready to explore the new experiences brought about within the new place I was. However, once I began to realize my normal behaviour didn’t quite click in this new environment I went into the crisis stage. An Indian wedding is a big affair, often with a lot of people. Growing up in Darwin with a small family and being an introvert I was always used to plenty of alone time. Often, I took that alone time for granted, but I didn’t realise this until I was stuck in an Indian bridal house. I became frustrated, irritable and constantly had a sense of claustrophobia due to all the people constantly around me. I was not used to these customs or the general closeness that seemed normal to all my extended family. As the weeks went on I went into the recovery stage. I tried to talk a step back from my own personal culture and adapt to