Dos

What should we do when we are confronted with other cultures?

Culture is a very sensitive topic. There are over a million people groups in this world we live in and each has distinctly different traditions, values, and priorities. A meeting of two different cultures need an extent of weariness but at the same time may result in an array of different colors existing in unison.

Throughout my life, I have come across a variety of cultures as I came into contact with different countries and people groups. There are a list of facts in each culture that I can come up with in my head in a single moment but I feel that these facts do not describe each to the fullest but rather, is like bits and pieces of fabric sewn into a misshapen quilt.

Experiencing Korean, American, Uzbek, Russian, Iranian, Afghan, Thai, Spanish, and British culture first-hand, I consider myself to having a rather good amount of insight in world cultures. What all these cultures have in common may be described in the simplest form: moral conduct. Although this may be expressed in different ways at different times, it still is the basic foundation to each culture. Thus, when confronting a totally different culture, it is best to follow the basics: distinguish your actions to the simple rights and wrongs. Greeting one another, respecting others' property, listen when you are spoken to - everything else just stems from there.

It is meaningless wishing that you would not offend anyone in a new culture. It is a fact that offending someone in a different culture is inevitable. How can two totally different people of different race, values, and upbringings find each other's actions familiar and understandable? The wisest thing in the meeting of two cultures is to carry out actions with good meaning. Although your actions may offend individuals of another culture either religiously or traditionally, if your actions were done in good will, it becomes easier for both cultures to come to an understanding of where each stands in order to reconcile. And the simplest thing to begin with is to do as is said, "When in Rome, do what the Romans do." Presenting yourself in the way the people of a different culture do around you is the vital guidebook to understanding new cultures.