Culture

Well, Monday nights I have a class called Social and Cultural Issues in Counseling. It is hard to say for sure, since we have only had two classes so far, but I am really enjoying this class. It is helping to give me more perspective about and thoughts to many of my experiences while I was in the Middle East last semester. We have been talking simply about the importance that culture and even non-verbal cues can have in our interaction and communications with other people. I think I realized before that communication and culture are important when dealing with people, but this class is pointing to an entirely different side that I have never thought of before. That even though I have an idea about the importance of culture in an individuals life, that even my own ideas about their culture can effect the way I am interacting with them and that the way I perceive my own culture is viewed by others has an impact on how I interact in different cultures and groups. I don't think I was completely ignorant of these ideas before, but I have never sat and really consciously thought about them before. To be questioned and probed for my views on these topics has been good for me, to think about how I am portraying myself to others and how my own cultural understanding is involved in everyday events.