challenge 3

Challenge 3

Exercise:

-          How do you present yourself in your culture?

-          Besides your name, what is self-evident in the way you present yourself today?

-          Why is it self-evident?

Aim of this exercise: acknowledgement of the unacknowledged.

Defining culture shock: “Culture shock is the result of a series of disorienting encounters that occur when an individual’s basic values, beliefs, and patterns of behavior are challenged by a different set of values, beliefs, and behaviors. Although values are typically unacknowledged until challenged, they are the cornerstones of our being and behavior.”

Stereotyping instead of accommodating:

If we cannot accommodate a situation there is a risk of seeking understanding through, e.g.:

-          Chauvinism (Danish girls are cheap as they smoke on public. Eritrean student during stay in DK).

-          Disgust (all Indians are filthy as they eat by their hand. Lao counterpart during business dinner).

-          Prejudice (grown-ups in Ghana accept to be yelled at. They are just like children. Danish student during debriefing after internship in Ghana).