Week 6 Intercultural Interactions Mike Harrington

         People from other countries all have different cultures, obviously.  They are no different than we are except they may have different ways of doing things.  People from different cultures should be treated no different than anyone else.  They are not inferior, just different.

         Understanding other people's culture is very important to treat them respectfully.  The best way to gain understanding is just to talk with them and get to know them.  Invite him or her to dinner at a restaurant that serves food from their culture.  Ask about the food and about the decorations and whatever else might help understand their heritage and culture better.  It can be very interesting to find out how other people live and what traditions they have.  All in all, people of different cultures should be treated with respect and no different than we treat our friends.

at AMIS children learn to be culturally competent

         I would say I am not very culturally competent in the sense that I do not know very much about other cultures.  I know enough to not appear stupid when speaking with those of different cultures, but I am no expert. I have grown up in the United States and have never left the country.  I know about cultures only by what I've seen and maybe learned in school.  I can successfully interact and speak with those of different cultures, but I don't know any other languages or much about other countries.  An easy way to make myself more competent would be to research other cultures or simply talk to someone who is very culturally oriented.
      
         Culture is everywhere in the United States and cultural competence is a big deal and something most people can't claim to have.  Being able to interact with people of other cultures is something that is growing in necessity and should be enforced.

I do my best to understand my mentees' culture, but because of the language barrier and our limited time together I haven't been able to learn much from them about their cultures.  But as we get closer of course we will learn more about each other, and I hope that this will make me a more culturally competent individual.  I consider the Joses to have a better world view than me, given the fact that they have already experienced differing parts of the world than many of their peers.  I hope that this will at least rub off on me a bit and lend me some cultural competence.