In our last group meeting, we did a cultural activity that allowed us to think about a group of people and rank them with our approval of their behavior. I was so surprised at myself for the rankings I had chosen because a year ago, I probably would not have chosen what I did. I thought it was interesting that some people would have Rosemary at the bottom, since I thought most international development people thought similarly...but I was wrong. I really learned something valuable that day...that culture values of morality, time and other aspects really did vary within cultures. I thought that as Westerners and BYU students, my friend in the India group and I would have the same opinions, but I was wrong.
I thought about my views and opinions about the story we had just heard and I caught myself defending my point way too vigorously. I was really defensive about my arguments and I almost felt anger towards one of my friends who had a different opinion. I started thinking about how it would be like to go to India with these people. I already get along with everybody in my group, since we were all in the same IAS 220 class the previous semester. However, just because we get along does not mean we share the same views about things. My perceptions of a culture might be completely different in the eyes of someone who has a similar background as I do.
I want to be more conscious of how I express my feelings and emotions regarding values and cultures. I realized that the people I will be spending time with, namely the Indian people, will be respected and loved on my part. On the other hand, the people that I will be traveling with, are equally as important and I have to remember that their culture values and opinions are important as well, and I must treat them with the same respect and love.
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