Response paper eight: Read chapter two from site below and respond on your blog.
Chapter Two: American Culture
and American Diversity
The essence of cross-cultural understanding is knowing how your own culture is both similar to and different from the local or "target" culture. For this reason, those who pursue cross-cultural knowledge must sooner or later turn their gaze on themselves. People from other cultures, after all, aren't different by nature, but only different in relation to a particular standard they're being measured against. To even see those differences, therefore, you have to examine that standard. In the case of the Peace Corps, that standard is the American culture that Volunteers come from. This chapter contains a series of activities designed to reveal that American culture.
You might wonder why people from the United States would need to have their culture revealed to them-isn't it pretty obvious?-but the fact is that people from a culture, as you learned in chapter 1, are in many ways the least able to see it. They embody the culture, of course, but they would in fact have to get out of that body if they wanted to see what it looked like. In that sense, you might want to think of this chapter as an out-of-body experience, courtesy of Peace Corps training.
As was noted earlier, no one American is quite like any other American, but a handful of core values and beliefs do underlie and permeate the national culture. These values and beliefs don't apply across the board in every situation, and we may, on occasion, even act in ways that directly contradict or flaunt them, but they are still at the heart of our cultural ethos. It is some of these beliefs, with the characteristic behaviors that come from them, that are the focus of this chapter.
Remember as you do these exercises that whether or not you personally can identify with or believe in the typical American being constructed here, this is the image that many host country people have of Americans.
Dear Todd: Jan Keeps in Touch
It's time to catch up with Jan, who is now nearing the end of her training program and about to take up her Peace Corps assignment. Below is a letter Jan has written to her friend Todd back in the United States. In her letter, Jan makes a number of statements that reflect deeply held, characteristic American values or cultural assumptions.
Underline any statements of this kind you can identify and then go on to the rest of the activities in this chapter.
Dear Todd:
Please excuse me for not answering your letter sooner, but we're nearing the end of our training program here and life is quite busy as I prepare to take up my assignment. After all these months of anticipating (years), if you count all the time I've been thinking about joining the Peace Corps-it's finally going to happen: I'm going to walk into a village, find a place to live, and start saving the world. Well, maybe not the entire world. And maybe not on the first day. But I'll do my best.
Actually, if we have learned anything during this training (and we have learned a lot) it's we have learned a lot-it's to have realistic expectations of what we can actually accomplish here. Some of us, and I count myself among this group, were probably a bit ambitious about our work and the difference we could make, but I'm much more grounded in reality now. Thank goodness.
I know that making changes and improvements takes time, so I don't expect to see any results for the first few months. You've got to get people to trust you, after all, but once they do, then you can start to have influence. I think that once they're aware of my training and experience in the field, I'm bound to become more credible to them. People are basically well-intentioned, after all. You just have to give them time and the benefit of the doubt.
I know there will be obstacles, but I also know I'll be able to overcome them. If you put your mind to something, and it's something that means as much to you as this does to me, then nothing can stop you. I can give you an example of this from a recent incident here at the training program. We [trainees] wanted to set up a little co-op inside the training center, where we could buy soft drinks, snacks, etc., because the closest store is about half an hour from here, and we don't have time to go there and back on our breaks. When we approached the people who run this place, they said the stores in town wouldn't sell directly to us but only to the training center, i.e., to them, and they would arrange it for us. But we told them we wanted to do all the talking and arranging ourselves, so we could practice using the language in real situations and probably have a few cross-cultural experiences along the way. They said nothing like that had ever been done before and they didn't think it was a good idea.
But I wasn't willing to give up so soon, so I approached some merchants in town. And found there was no problem at all! They were happy to sell to anyone, and they would give us a bulk discount! It's a small example, but it shows you that you don't have to take no for an answer, and that the way things have always been done doesn't have to be the way they're done hereafter.
Maybe I was lucky this time, but I think a positive attitude (along with my stubborn streak) can get you a long way.
Well, there's a lot more I want to tell you, but it's time for class. You probably won't hear from me for two or three weeks now, until I get moved and set up in my town. But don't use that as an excuse for not writing! We LIVE for our mail around here.
Love,
Jan
The Things We Say: Culture
In Casual Expressions
PART ONE
A useful way to understand a culture is by examining the expressions people use in everyday conversation. These common expressions, after all, reflect what most people in a given society believe in or value.
What cultural value or belief do the following expressions reveal? Write your response in the space provided.
Example:
He thinks he's better than so and so.
She's always putting on airs.
That person should be cut down to size.
It's gone to his head.
Value/belief:______Egalitarianism
1. Talk is cheap.
2. Put your money where your mouth is.
3. He's all talk and no action.
Value/belief: Directness
4. She's always beating around the bush.
5. Tell it like it is.
6. Straight talk, straight answer, straight shooter: that's what we need.
Value/belief: Accomplishment
7. She did something with her life.
8. Nice guys finish last.
Value/belief: Optimism
9. Every cloud has a silver lining.
10. Look on the bright side.
11. Tomorrow is another day.
Value/belief: Perseverance, control over destiny
12. Where there's a will there's a way.
Value/belief: Perseverance
13. Stand on your own two feet.
Value/belief: Independance
14. Don't judge a book by its cover.
15. All that glitters isn't gold.
Value/belief: Do not judge by appearance
16. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Value/belief: Risk-taking
The Things We Say: Culture
In Casual Expressions
PART TWO
Just as expressions common in the U.S. reveal aspects of the national culture, so do host country expressions reveal certain host country values or beliefs.
Using a host country informant or a PCV who knows the local culture well, try to come up with at least five common host country expressions, and then identify the cultural belief behind them. You may use proverbs, if you like, but in many cases, you may find that the same proverb exists in one form or another in many cultures, so that the value it reveals is probably universal and not specific to your host country.
1. Without effort no prize
Value/Belief:Perseverance, hard work.
2. Lies are like snowballs: the farther they roll, the bigger they get.
Value/Belief: Directness, honesty
3. The devil is as black as you paint him.
Value/Belief: Optimism
4. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Value/Belief: Heritage; Children are similar to their parents.
5. Every beginning is hard.
Value/Belief: Perseverance, risk-taking.
Thirteen Cultural Categories:
American and Host Country Views Compared
This activity looks at 13 categories or aspects of culture and compare the typical American position on these matters with that of your host country.
In each case, the American view has been summarized and illustrated for you, and it is your task to get together with an informant, either a host country national or someone else who knows the host culture well, and try to construct the host country position. You may, if you wish, do this activity with another trainee. After you have made notes on or constructed the host country position, try to get together with other trainees in your group and compare observations.
1. ATTITUDE TOWARDS AGE
• Emphasize physical beauty and youth.
• Fire older people to hire younger people for less money.
• Judge a worker's worth based on production, not seniority.
American View: The American emphasis on concrete achievements and "doing" means that age is not highly valued, for the older you are the less you can accomplish. Age is also suspect because new is usually better in American culture, and the elderly are generally out of touch with what's new.
Host Country View:
It’s similar in Germany: the older you get, the less useful you are. That’s why it is very common that elderly people live in homes and not with their children because they work and don’t have time to take care of their old parents. In Costa Rica, this happens as well, but not as much I believe; many elderly people stay with their families during their ”golden age”.
2. CONCEPT OF FATE AND DESTINY
• You can be whatever you want to be.
• Where there's a will there's a way.
• The American dream is rags-to-riches.
American View: The concept of self-determination negates much of the influence of fate and destiny. Parents tell their children they can be whatever they want to be when they grow up. There are few givens in life, and people have little sense of external limits. Lack of success is their own fault.
Host Country View:
In Germany children are told as well that they can be whatever they want. This vision vanishes for some when they are told not to attend the “highest” school: there is a very early selection (after the first 4 years of school). But there is always the possibility to continue studying, although most of the children who did not attend the “Gymnasium” (the highest school before going to university) do not continue with a formal academic education.
3. VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE
• Courts consider a person innocent until he/she is proven guilty.
• People should be given the benefit of the doubt.
• If left alone, people will do the right thing.
• We need to discover how a vicious killer "went wrong."
American View: People are considered basically and inherently good. If someone does an evil deed, we look for the explanation, for the reason why the person turned bad. People can and should be trusted; and we are fairly open to strangers, and willing to accept them.
Host Country View:
It is kind of difficult to answer this question in a general way. I think that my parents educated me in a much more critical way, although they emphasized that no one should be judged right away or being mistrusted: always be careful and do not trust anyone a 100 percent. There is a German saying: You can trust only yourself, and perhaps your mother.
4. ATTITUDE TOWARDS CHANGE
• New is better.
• A better way can always be found; things can always be improved upon.
• Just because we've always done it that way doesn't make it right.
American View: Change is considered positive, probably because Americans believe in the march of progress and the pursuit of perfection. Improvements will always move us closer and closer to perfection. Traditions can be a guide, but they are not inherently superior.
Host Country View:
Traditions are considered to be important, and new is not always better. People rather hang on to their traditions than trying out something new. People in general do not like changes.
5. Attitude Towards Taking Risks
• A low level of personal savings is typical.
• You can always start over.
• Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
• A high level of personal bankruptcies is common.
American View: There will always be enough opportunity to go around, so taking risks, involves no real danger. For the truly ambitious, failure is only temporary. Experimentation, trial and error are important ways to learn or to improve your product or service.
Host Country View:
This is very different in Germany. People have savings, and need a high level of security. Germans might have invented insurances: they have insurance for everything!
6. CONCEPT OF SUFFERING AND MISFORTUNE
• People rush to cheer up a friend who's depressed.
• If you're unhappy, take a pill or see a psychiatrist.
• Be happy.
American View: Because we are ultimately in control of our lives and destiny, we have no excuse for unhappiness nor misfortune. If you are suffering or unhappy, then just do whatever it takes to be happy again. If you're depressed, it's because you have chosen to be.
Host Country View:
There is a saying that you are responsible for your own happiness, so I think that the American and German way of looking at depression is basically the same, although grief is and depression connected to it is accepted.
7. CONCEPT OF FACE
• It's important to tell it like it is, be straight with people.
• Confrontation is sometimes necessary to clear the air.
• Honesty is the best policy
American View: In individualist cultures, no premium is put on saving face because people can take care of themselves. What other people think is not so crucial to survival or success. We can say what we think without worrying about hurting people's feelings, and we likewise appreciate directness.
Host Country View:
German people are very direct, and do not like not to be told what is the matter. It is often better to confront someone, because if you do not, the problem might grow bigger. So directness id definitely appreciated. In Costa Rica, I really do not think so. People are afraid of being direct because they do not want to upset people or to be considered rude.
8. Source of Self Esteem/Self Worth
• People judge you by how much money you make.
• First question at a party is, "What do you do?"
• Material possessions are a measure of success.
American View: In an individualist culture, you are what you've achieved; that is, you create your own worth rather than receiving it by virtue of birth, position, seniority, or longevity. Your self-esteem comes from what you have done to earn self-esteem.
Host Country View:
Unfortunately people are judged by what they have, and by their education. When I was in school, teachers would treat children from poor homes in a different, negative way. But when people grow up, it becomes less important what family background they have, and their own achievements count.
9. Concept of Equality
• People try to treat everyone the same.
• While jogging, the President stops at McDonald's for morning coffee.
• Putting on airs is frowned upon.
American View: In a strong reaction to the repressive class structure in Europe, Americans created a culture virtually built around egalitarianism: the notion that no one is superior to anyone else because of birth, power, fame, or wealth. We are not all the same, but we are all of equal value.
Host Country View:
Everyone is born with the same rights, and no one is better than anyone else. As a kid, I used to have Turkish friends from poor families, and not once I heard my parents comment negatively on that friendship.
10. Attitude towards Formality
• Telling someone to help themselves to what's in the refrigerator is common.
• Using first names with people you've just met is fine.
• Using titles like "Dr". for someone with a Ph.D is presumptuous.
American View: Because of the strong egalitarian ethos, Americans tend to be casual and informal in social and professional interactions. Informality is also more necessary in a mobile society where people are always meeting new people. We don't stand on ceremony, nor use titles or rank in addressing each other.
Host Country View:
Formality is very important. You have to use a different pronoun for people that are older than you (except your family members) to express your respect towards them. You cannot call a teacher “Du”, you have to call him or her “Sie”, as well as people you do not know. Titles are important and used like “Doctor”. You do not use the first name with people who are not family or friends.
11. Degree of Realism
• Things will get better.
• Bad things happen for a reason.
• It can't get any worse.
• Tag line of fairy tales: "They lived happily ever after."
American View: Largely because of the notion that the individual is in control, Americans are generally optimistic. We don't see things the way they are, but as better than they are, particularly if they're not so good. We feel it's important to be positive and that there is no reason to be.
Host Country View:
Similar, “Tomorrow is another day” means that people are generally optimistic about the future, although they have, like I mentioned before, a great need of security and do not like to change things they are happy with.
12. Attitude Towards Doing
• Doing is preferred over talking.
• The absentminded professor, the ivory tower reflect anti-intellectualism.
• Be practical.
• Arts are an adornment of life but not central to it.
American View Individuals survive because they get things done, generally on their own. Words and talk are suspect and cheap; they don't put food on the table or a roof over your head. Pursuits not directly related to the creation of concrete results, e.g., academia, the arts, are less highly valued. What is practical and pragmatic is favored over what is beautiful and inspiring.
Host Country View:
Germans are very practical. “What you can do today, do not do it tomorrow.” So that means that you should always do your best and take advantage of time. It is always more important if something is practical, if it is beautiful is not as important.
13. View of the Natural World
• Building dams to control rivers.
• Seeding clouds to produce rain.
• Erecting earthquake-proof buildings.
• Spending billions annually on weather prediction.
American View: The natural world is a kind of mechanism or machine that can be studied and known and whose workings can be predicted, manipulated, and ultimately controlled. It is not to be feared.
Host Country View:
Nature must be respected and cannot be controlled.
Thinking About My Job
In the previous exercise, you discovered a number of differences in the way American and host country people view certain key topics. These differences are bound to show up now and again as you go about working at your Peace Corps assignment. Below are five of the categories from the previous exercise, with examples of typical work-related problems.
Read each incident and note what you would do.
1. Attitude Towards Age
The American emphasis on achievements and doing means that age is to be feared and not respected; the older you are, the less you can do or contribute to society. Age is also suspect because new is usually better in American culture, and the elderly are generally out of touch with what is new.
Suppose you're a technical expert in crop rotation assigned to a co-op of village farmers. You discover they do not consult you or even pay much attention to you because they think you're too young to know what you're doing.
My Response: I would call in a reunion and give a speech, supporting my points of view with older and more experienced experts from the same field in order to emphasize my own credibility.
2. Attitude Towards Change
Change is considered positive, probably because Americans believe in the march of progress and the perfectibility of man. Improvements will always move us closer and closer to perfection. Traditions can be a guide, but they are not inherently superior.
You want to introduce a new teaching technique to your colleagues. It is a faster and more efficient way of presenting certain concepts. When you approach them, they respond: "This is the way we have always been taught." You say, "But this is faster and more efficient." They say, "No doubt."
My Response: I would have to demonstrate the advantages of the new technique, and introduce its use little by little so my colleagues do not feel overwhelmed by the change and can gradually adapt to it.
3. Concept of Equality
In a strong reaction to the repressive class structure in Europe, Americans created a culture built around egalitarianism: the notion that no one is inherently superior to anyone else because of birth, power, fame, or wealth. We are not all the same, but we are all of equal value.
It has turned cold the last few days and you feel sorry for the tea-boy who is stationed just outside the entrance to your building. He doesn't seem to have any warm clothes and huddles over his charcoal fire to keep warm. You approach your boss and ask if you can tell the boy to move into the hallway out of the cold. "Certainly not," he replies. "This building is for faculty, not tea boys."
My Response: I would invite the boy to a warm café for a hot chocolate, and maybe bring him a sweater or a blanket the next day.
4. Attitude Towards Taking Risks
There will always be enough opportunity to go around, so taking risks involves no real danger. For the truly ambitious, failure is only temporary. Experimentation, trial and error are important ways to learn or to improve your product or service.
You want to try a new way of filtering drinking water for the village. The environmental engineer asks you if this technique has been tried anywhere else in the country, to which you answer, "No. "And what if we fail?" he asks you. "Then we go back to the old way," you respond. "And what happens to my job?" he replies.
My Response: I would tell him that I assume the whole responsibility if the attempt fails.
5. View of the Natural World
The natural world is a kind of mechanism or machine that can be studied and known and whose workings can be predicted, manipulated, and ultimately controlled. It is not to be feared.
Books need to be ordered now to arrive in time for the start of classes in the fall. You go to the head librarian to put in your request, and she asks you how you know how many students you're going to have. You don't of course, but you're projecting, based on previous class size. "It's better to wait," she says, "so we don't waste money buying extra books." You know that if you don't order now, you'll have to teach for several weeks without the books while you wait for them to arrive.
My Response: I tell her that I will order a minimum amount of books so I will be able to work with them and will not have to wait for them. Any extra books needed I will order when I know the exact class size, so there will no money be wasted.
Sources of American Culture
In this exercise, you look behind some of the American values you have identified thus far, trying to understand where they come from. While it is useful to know what it is Americans value and believe in, it is also helpful to know why they believe what they do-to understand that our values and beliefs are a result of our national experience. Once you understand this fact about your own country's culture, you can begin to appreciate that it must be true of your host country as well.
Below are four defining features of the people who came to the United States, followed by a numbered list of American traits, many of which you have come across earlier in this chapter.
Place the number of the trait in the space beneath the defining feature/s you feel is the likely source of or reason behind the trait. An example from the list of traits is given for each of them.
Defining Features
PROTESTANTISM
A strong work ethic-work is intrinsically good-and the notion of predestination, that salvation is apparent through worldly success.
6. The cult of celebrities; biographies of the rich and famous.
11. Emphasis on Achievement
AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY
The frontier, unlimited resources and opportunity, isolation, sparse population, distance from Europe.
1. Limited sense of fatalism, of accepting things as they are.
3. Historic low level of savings
ESCAPE FROM OPPRESSION
From religious and economic repression and rigid class system and social stratification.
2. Tolerance for differences.
16. Egalitarianism
THE NATURE OF THE AMERICAN IMMIGRANT
Out of the mainstream in home country, dissatisfied with lot in life, willing to take risks, adventuresome.
7. Little fear of failure.
8. 14. Idea of a second chance, of starting over
Traits
1. Limited sense of fatalism, of accepting things as they are
2. Tolerance for differences
3. Historic low level of savings
4. Self-reliance
5. A president, not a king
6. Informality: "Call me Bob."
7. The cult of celebrities; biographies of the rich and famous
8. Little fear of failure
9. Modest limits on immigration
10. Acceptance of criticism or disagreement with the boss or authority figures
11. Emphasis on achievement
12. Checks and balances in the U.S.Constitution
13. Identification with work or job
14. Idea of a second chance, of starting over
15. Minimal supervision from bosses
16. Egalitarianism
17. Virtue of change, of newness
18. Rags to riches syndrome: the self-made man or woman
19. Waste: the disposable society; little conservation of resources
20. Frequent job and career changes
21. Big cars, big houses, sprawling malls
22. Desire to be own boss, self-employed
23. Optimism
24. Mobile society; frequency with which people move
How Non-Americans See Americans
Part One
In this two-part activity, you look at how Americans are perceived by people from other cultures. Knowing how we come across can be helpful in understanding why foreigners react to us the way they sometimes do.
Newsweek magazine showed the list of qualities given below to people in six countries-- Brazil, France, Great Britain, Japan, Mexico, and West Germany--and asked them to pick those they associated most and least with Americans.
What do you think were the four qualities most associated with Americans?
Rude, greedy, Self-Indulgent, Industrious
What do you think were the four qualities least associated with Americans?
Honest, friendly, sexy, Sophisticated
(Decisive Energetic Honest
Industrious Sexy Self-Indulgent
Sophisticated Intelligent friendly
Greedy Nationalistic Inventive
Lazy Rude)
How Non-Americans See Americans
Part Two
In the second part of this activity, you need to get together with a host country national or a PCV to stand in as HCN and ask this person which of the qualities from Part One he/she associates most and least with Americans. Write the answers in the spaces provided below. Then ask your informant why he/she selected those particular qualities.
What qualities do you associate most with Americans?
Greedy, rude, Nationalistic, Self-Indulgent
What qualities do you associate least with Americans?
Sexy, intelligent, friendly, sophisticated
Learning About America
Living in another culture can make you more aware of your own culture.
In the space below, name two or three characteristics of American life or of Americans that you did not realize before you came here. How did you come to these realizations?
Now What?
Diversity Critical Incidents
Trainees and Volunteers who come from minority or distinctive populations in the United States are often faced with special issues in the Peace Corps. Some of these issues are illustrated in the incidents presented below.
I have never lived in the USA.
After reading each incident, describe what you would do if you had this experience, or what you would advise if it happened to someone you knew who came to you for help.
Come With Us
You are a strong Christian whose religious beliefs are an essential part of your identity. You have been posted in a country with an entirely different religious tradition. Recently, some of your closest friends at work have been pressuring you to attend one of their religious services and asking you if you would like to learn more about their religion. You have politely declined their invitations and would, in fact, feel uncomfortable attending one of these events. Now, one of these individuals, your counterpart at work, explains that they believe you are prejudiced against his religion. What do you say or do?
I would do them the favor and attend one of their services. I would express my respect and tolerance for their beliefs, and that I expect the same from them.
Aren't You Normal?
You are a gay Volunteer serving in what you have heard is a somewhat homophobic country where unmarried young men regularly patronize prostitutes. For some time, your male colleagues at work have been pressuring you to "have fun" with them on their Friday night outings, but you have declined. Now one of them has asked you if you are "normal." What do you say or do?
Difficult question! I think I would “come out of the closet”, hoping that my colleagues are able to accept it.
Native Speakers
You are a Volunteer of Hispanic background whose family is third-generation American. You do not speak Spanish and have a normal American accent. You teach English at a high school in your country. After you have been at your site one month, some of your students complain to the headmaster that they want a different teacher, someone who is a native speaker of English. What do you say or do?
I explain with patience that I am a native speaker.
Help
You are a blind PCV. You are a self-sufficient individual and value your independence. You have adjusted well at your post, but you are concerned about all the "help" you are getting from host country friends and colleagues. It is apparent that many HCNs regard people with disabilities as being unable to function without considerable assistance from those around them. At work and out in public, you are being helped to do all manner of things you are quite capable of doing on your own. While you appreciate people's concern, you are frustrated by being the focus of so much attention and support. What can you do or say to change this dynamic?
I express my appreciation of the help, but that I am able to do many things on my own.
I ask them politely to let me do my work, and tell them not to worry because I will ask for help if I need it.
Doubt
You are an African American serving in a country where prejudice against Black people is traditional. At work, a teacher training college, you notice that the students you are assigned to teach do not seem to respect you. One day, as you are explaining a concept, one of the students raises her hand and asks a question, "Are Black people allowed to go to college in the United States?" What do you say?
I answer the question telling them that of course black people are allowed to go to college. I recite the human rights, and that everyone is equal.
Manual Labor
You are an older Volunteer in excellent physical condition. You work as project manager on a school construction site. You are not especially impressed with the work of some of the subcontractors, especially the carpenters, and have on several occasions tried to show them how to do their work better. But every time you try to climb on the building or do any manual work, your assistant steps in and says it's not appropriate for you, an older man and the project manager, to do strenuous physical labor. He says you will lose the respect of the real manual laborers if you continue to do this work. Now what?
I tell my assistant not to tell me what to do, and I will do whatever is necessary so the work gets done properly.
On Being Different
Whatever your background, you're not like the host country nationals in the place where you serve. All of us have been in situations before where we were different, and we adjusted our behavior accordingly.
Think of how you behaved or spoke on such occasions and write your observations here.
Sometimes I rather keep my opinion for myself because I found that people on Costa Rica get easily offended when you are direct to them. Once I told a construction worker that he did not do his work properly, and that I expected him to do it again. He felt offended, especially because a woman told him how to do his work, and just never showed up again. So in cases like that I now tell my husband what to tell them, because it is taken much better coming from another man.
Parting Advice
As you look back on what you've learned or been reminded of about the United States in this chapter, what stands out? Suppose you are at the airport one day and you meet a host country friend who's about to depart for a two-year stay in the United States. Your friend asks you to "tell me about America." You've got time to make three points about your culture. What would you tell your friend? (Feel free to draw your ideas instead.) When you have finished, show your list or drawings to at least one other member of your group and compare your answers.
Americans do not judge you by your appearance, but by what you have achieved in your life.
They think if you are miserable, it is your own fault.
And they are very direct and tell you what they do not like you to do or say.
Interview With a PCV
Friend: Were there any real surprises?
Peace Corps Volunteer: Not really. I mean, you're not prepared for every little thing, for all the particulars. But you know the people are going to be different, so you expect that. You may not know all the ways they're going to surprise you, but you do know you're going to be surprised when you go to a foreign culture.
Friend: How did the host country people relate to you?
PCV: It's funny you should ask that because it was surprising.
Friend: What do you mean?
PCV: Well, we thought we were prepared for that, but we weren't. After all, if you go in knowing these people aren't like you, then of course you also know that you aren't like them. But we had trouble believing that they found us strange sometimes. Doesn't make sense, does it?
Friend: So it's easy to accept that other people might be strange but hard to believe you could be?
PCV: That's what I experienced, anyway.
Friend: I wonder why.
PCV: I think it has to be that while you are actually having the experience of their strangeness, they are the ones having the experience of yours. You never really experience yourself as strange, of course, so it just doesn't seem real. You know it must be, but you have to take their word for it.
Friend: So you think Volunteers go around never quite convinced that the local people don't always understand them?
PCV: If you listen to some of the complaints PCVs make, I think that's at the bottom of a lot of them.
Dear Todd: An Analysis
Now that you've completed this chapter, read Jan's letter to Todd again and note any examples of typical American attitudes or values; then continue reading below.
Paragraphs 1 & 2: Jan's opening is encouraging. She has perspective on herself and what she can accomplish in country. Even more hopeful, she has a good sense of humor and is able to laugh at herself.
Paragraph 3: Jan's talk about making improvements reflects a basic American assumption: that things can always be better. Some cultures may not be quite so optimistic. While she's right about needing to be trusted before you can expect anyone to listen to you, it may take more than "training and experience in the field" to impress people. What also establishes credibility in many cultures are age, gender, who you know, and what important people think of you or your ideas. Jan may also be off track when she says that people are well-intentioned and should be given the benefit of the doubt. Not all cultures believe that human nature is basically good or that people can automatically be trusted; some cultures think just the opposite.
Paragraphs 4 & 5: Jan's belief that she will be able to overcome obstacles reflects her basic optimism. There's nothing wrong with optimism, but it doesn't always reflect reality, nor would people in many cultures believe that all you have to do is put your mind to something, and then it will happen. Jan's story is likewise instructive. It does demonstrate that you don't always have to take no for an answer, but she may not be aware of all that was happening in this incident. It's entirely possible that the people who ran the training center knew quite well that merchants would sell to anyone-What merchant wouldn't?-and the real reason they discouraged Jan and company was because they themselves wanted to buy the merchandise, make a small profit, and be loyal to the people they knew. It was not necessarily wrong for Jan to persist, but by following Jan's example, going outside the system and doing what "has never been done before," you are normally taking a risk. Usually things are done the way they are for a reason, and you should probably learn that reason before you proceed. In this case, the reason was rather mundane and Jan has probably not done any damage. But imagine that she was at her workplace and did something similar, thereby alienating an important local figure.
Paragraph 6: "A positive attitude" is Jan's optimism showing through again. Some cultures would say it's more important to have a realistic attitude.
Journal Entry Two
In this chapter, you've had a chance to reflect on and analyze some of the differences between Americans and host country nationals. How has this process helped you to understand or explain what you've seen or what has happened to you thus far in country? Did anything you learned surprise you? Do you have questions you wish to explore further?
I was not surprises although I have never lived in the States. For me it is kind of strange that Americans address everyone in the same manner because that would be considered rude in Germany. I like the fact that directness is appreciated, and the optimism all Americans seem to share. Germans are not very optimistic, and always need to feel safe. So I think the optimism and risk-taking is refreshing.
