The Story Circle’s activity taught me that culture is everywhere. We are constantly interacting with people of similar cultures in random places all the time. Through sharing my experience with a person of another cultural background, and hearing about others’ experiences in my group, I was shocked to realize the similarities we shared despite our cultural differences. We all realized that we interact with people of our own cultures in places that aren’t our country of origin quite frequently. We also all realized that we could relate to each other on the way in which we came to learn about diversity. That is, spending time in other regions of the world and hearing out people from those parts of the world showed us all the importance of never making assumptions. It’s a commonly held belief that cultures are very distinct and that it would therefore be difficult to accustom ourselves in a diverse environment. However, from our discussion, we all agreed on the notion that when we enter conversations with an open-mind, it’s possible to find similarities across cultures and bond in culturally diverse environments.
In addition, I was about to learn more about culture’s role in society through hearing the experiences of the other students. For example, one student in my group mentioned that a program she was apart of attempted to improve a relationship between two historically rival groups through culture. This was surprising to me as it showed me that culture can play so many different roles in society. I also found it interesting that all of our stories showed that 1) people from our own cultures are all over the world, 2) immersing ourselves in different regions of the world allows us to learn from other experiences, and 3) cultures have certain distinct aspects that make them different to one another. That final point was brought up by a student who mentioned how her experience made her realize that cultures do not always understand each others’ humor. For this reason, it’s imperative that we avoid assumptions and enter culturally diverse environments with an open mind. Just because something may be the norm in your culture, does not mean it’s the norm in another. That’s why avoiding assumptions and entering conversations with people of different cultures with curiosity, an open-mind, and active listening skills is the best approach to take.
