Intercultural interactions are often awkward and leave both sides frustrated. However, they shouldn't and don't have to be like this. When interacting with people of another culture or while in another culture the biggest thing to remember is to have an open mind. This is the only way to truly experience another culture or have a meaningful interaction with someone from another culture. If there is a mutual respect for the differences and a willingness to try new things from both sides a lot can be accomplished. I experienced this first-hand while in Haiti. There was no way any of us could have blended into the culture physically because of our skin color but we tried our best to fit in with the culture and participate as best as we could. We didn't have a fancy car or bus to drive us around, we rode in a "tap tap" like everyone else, we ate the food prepared by women in the village instead of going to the supermarket to buy food that only UN workers or Americans could afford. Those of us who could tried to speak the language as much as possible. With our broken French and their broken English, we were able to communicate pretty effectively and accomplished a lot in one short week.
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| Our typical lunch and dinner while in Haiti. Beans and rice. Sometimes there would be potatoes and carrots on top as well as a goat meat or a chicken leg. |
I do not consider myself culturally competent. I don't think there is such a thing. Culture isn't something someone can be an expert in. There are so many different aspects of culture and thousands of cultures to study that one person could never learn everything. I do think that I have taken advantage of more opportunities to enhance my knowledge of culture than the average person but I do not ever want to reach the point where I stop learning and experiencing new things. At that point ignorance takes over. Just like with everything else learning about culture is a lifelong process.
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