Every person is unique when it comes to the way they choose to live and express themselves. In our everyday lives, we cross paths with different people who possess a wide diversity of cultures, values and morals. Some individuals who believe and practice the same culture may identify themselves differently from others or express themselves at different levels. After completing the exercise, Self-Assessment 1.4. Cross-Cultural Development, in the book Culture and Health: Applying Medical Anthropology by Michael Winkelman, I discovered many surprising skills that I possess. I will be reflecting on my answers and results while answering the questions from Self-Assessment 3.1. Cultural Competence Assessment which will reveal to me my cultural competence
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For example, some factors, like my family background, the variety of friends that I grew up with and diversity of people at my schools, have been surrounding me since I’ve been a young child. My family is mainly of a French cultural background, but some of my closest friends growing up have all had different cultures, languages and traditions that I’ve been lucky to participate in. For instance, one of my closest family friends since I was young is from an Italian family. Every year to this day, I participate in their annual tradition of making homemade pasta sauce. For those couple of days, I’m surrounded by a diversity of people who speak Italian and I have been privileged to learn traditional methods, techniques and recipes. Having cultural diversity integrated into my childhood and growth has shaped me to be open and accepting to different cultures. On the other hand, some factors have been more sudden and have required that I adapt quickly. For instance when taking my first trip to Europe, I didn’t experience much of a culture-shock since I recognized and adapted well to their customs. I realized that those that I’ve encountered had a different lifestyle and what originally seemed to be different to me was normal to them. Another example, when going to both catholic elementary and high school, I didn’t have many opportunities growing up to interact with people from different religions other than my own. Ever since attending Laurentian University, I have seen many people take pride in their culture, for example in way that they dress and speaking in their native
For example, some factors, like my family background, the variety of friends that I grew up with and diversity of people at my schools, have been surrounding me since I’ve been a young child. My family is mainly of a French cultural background, but some of my closest friends growing up have all had different cultures, languages and traditions that I’ve been lucky to participate in. For instance, one of my closest family friends since I was young is from an Italian family. Every year to this day, I participate in their annual tradition of making homemade pasta sauce. For those couple of days, I’m surrounded by a diversity of people who speak Italian and I have been privileged to learn traditional methods, techniques and recipes. Having cultural diversity integrated into my childhood and growth has shaped me to be open and accepting to different cultures. On the other hand, some factors have been more sudden and have required that I adapt quickly. For instance when taking my first trip to Europe, I didn’t experience much of a culture-shock since I recognized and adapted well to their customs. I realized that those that I’ve encountered had a different lifestyle and what originally seemed to be different to me was normal to them. Another example, when going to both catholic elementary and high school, I didn’t have many opportunities growing up to interact with people from different religions other than my own. Ever since attending Laurentian University, I have seen many people take pride in their culture, for example in way that they dress and speaking in their native