Gestures! Monday, February 6th, 2012

In friday's class, I learned that body language and gestures were very important in how we as humans communicate non-verbally. Communication is key in trying to understand somebody, especially a culture. Verbal communication is very important, but even more so, is non-verbal communication, because it is unmistakingly accurate.

I started thinking about all the different gestures that I may have as part of my personality and even my culture. In class, I liked learning about the different ways that one person can communicate from each other. For example, there is proximity, which means that when someone is talking to someone, they really have no sense of space and may stand really close, or the opposite may happen. I can totally relate to this because being Colombian, and therefore Hispanic, we really have no sense of space sometimes and it makes others uncomfortable, and others, like guys, may like it a little too much. It is interesting to see how gender plays a huge role because when we are little, we are taught since we are little that you kiss both and women when you say hello, it is rude to not do so. However, when we are talking to women, we don't necessarily keep our distance, however, when we are talking to men, we are taught that we can be friendly but not too "touchy". Yet, "not touchy" in American standards may still be a little too much. Also, there is kinestics, which signifies how "touchy" you are. I personally don't mind touching people in the arm when we are talking, it is a sign of friendship. In my culture, we also love giving hugs and sometimes not getting the same type of attention, may be a sign of rudeness. I think it is so interesting that someone's perceptions of rudeness may be completely different to somebody else. Ashley shared an example that really kept me thinking. In my family, my mom has taught us that not making eye contact is extremely rude and when she is talking to us, she EXPECTS us to look at her, or else she'll flick our ear or something, or there is an awkward silence... but Ashley was saying that in India, us girls shouldn't make eye contact with men, because it may come across as a come on. That is so crazy!! I am going to have to practice.

I know that the Indian women may communicate differently with me, because they will be talking to another girl. I wonder how they will take it if I hug them or hug their cute little children. I often think about how they will be when it comes to non-verbal communication. This is where observation comes in, which will be a grand part of my research. I plan on asking if I can hug them before I actually do, just to avoid any awkward and disrespectful incidents. That is just one example I have thought about, as I ponder about my experience among those women for three months.