Introduction
For the existence and development of any culture, as well as any person, communication, dialogue, and interaction are necessary. In the process of the dialogue of cultures, there are changes in the forms of social organization and models of social action, value systems and types of worldviews, and the formation of new forms of cultural creation and lifestyle. The idea of a dialogue of cultures implies the openness of cultures to each other. However, this is only possible if a number of conditions are met: equality of all cultures, recognition of the right of each culture to differ from others, and respect for another culture.
Situation
My contact with my friend’s Colombian roommate is the one specific event to build my essay around. For Latin Americans, the cultural background is very strikingly different from the American one in general and from my own. This fact caused the microaggression I experienced interacting with this person. Visually I remember entering the room and seeing dirty footprints all over the living room. It rained, and it was very dirty outside; a girl of Latin American appearance was sitting on the couch in her shoes and talking very loudly on the phone. Rainwater dripped from her autumn boots, and clumps of dirt hung from the soles.
It happened in my friend’s living room in the apartment she rented with her other friend and this Latin American girl. My friend needed to move urgently, and one of her college acquaintances reported that they had a free room. That day I was helping a friend move things to a new apartment when I first met this Colombian girl. The girl sitting on the sofa was not tall and was dressed in bright clothes. I especially remember her very long thick hair. By the swarthiness of her complexion, the shape of her nose and her dark eyes, I determined that she was most likely a Latin American. The girl gesticulated very actively, talking on the phone which was put on the speaker, and laughed very loudly.
The girl interrupted her phone conversation to say hello to me. After we introduced ourselves to each other, I asked a new acquaintance if she had been warned about my friend’s move. The girl nodded affirmatively, and then I wondered why the flat was so dirty. The Colombian girl sharply objected that I do not live in this apartment, so it does not concern me. My reaction to this interaction was negative: at first, I was too stunned to speak because I did not expect the girl to respond to my claims in this way. I intended to continue the altercation with a new acquaintance because it seemed to me that she was behaving impudently and aggressively toward me. However, at that moment, a friend came in and tried to reduce the tension between us.
Analysis
The main idea of my personal narrative is that it is necessary, first of all, to clarify the situation and ask the person why they act in a certain way. One must always remember that different people have different traditions and behaviors. A pattern of behavior that I have repeated in my life is a distrustful attitude toward everything alien and an automatic perception of everything unknown as wrong (Steketee et al., 2021). It should be remembered that the traditional way of behavior in one’s household is not the only correct one.
Human nature is designed in such a way that a person implies the attributes of his culture as a matter of course. Therefore, ethnic stereotypes of the behavior of other nations are often perceived as incorrect. This situation demonstrates that I was brought up in a very strict family, where it is accepted to speak very respectfully to guests and those who are older. Since childhood, I have been taught to behave with restraint and very politely with guests. There is a custom to prepare thoroughly for the arrival of guests in my household in order to gloss the house.
One of the main family values in my household is to maintain an ideal reputation. In particular, this is also done by receiving guests. Inviting someone to our house, my family strives to seem perfect: in no case is it acceptable to fight with other relatives or with guests. Moreover, an important family value is not only comfort and coziness but also well-groomed housing. It should always be perfectly clean, especially before receiving guests.
What this situation says about me is that I unconsciously chose to defend my own cultural superiority. My type of perception was based on the recognition of the existence of other cultures (Steketee et al., 2021). However, at the same time, I subconsciously formed a stable idea that the values and customs of another culture pose a threat to the usual order of things. Therefore, when I saw something that was alien to the way of life that had developed in my household, it provoked microaggression in me.
This memory stands out because, at that moment, I realized that I have incorrect attitudes about representatives of other cultures. It was this event that served me as the beginning of changes in the perception and reaction of the characteristics of representatives of other cultures. I could have changed the interaction by reacting more calmly. For example, I could say that in my culture, it is customary to take off shoes at home. I could say it in a calm, friendly tone and ask the Colombian girl what customs are inherent in her culture.
This experience taught me to stop reacting to culture shock with confusion and hostility. I wish to become a person who has enough knowledge of the culture of other nationalities to successfully interact with them. When I look back and reflect on this memory, it teaches me to be more open-minded. I want to develop this personal quality in myself. I wish to have the ability to have a developed mind that is tolerant of various manifestations of something. At the same time, I need to be free from limiting beliefs, false psychological attitudes, prejudices, biases, misconceptions and stereotypes.
Conclusion
Only in dialogue does one come closer to understanding one’s culture better, looking at one’s customs through the eyes of another culture and thereby overcoming narrowmindedness. There are no isolated cultures – they all exist and develop only in dialogue with other cultures. It is important to be able to predict what mistakes can be encountered in the course of intercultural communication and how they can be prevented. Otherwise, intercultural communication can lead to negative results. To successfully interact with other ethnicities, one should respect their norms and values and be more open.
Reference
Steketee, A., Williams, M. T., Valencia, B. T., Printz, D., & Hooper, L. M. (2021). Racial and language microaggressions in the school ecology. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 16(5), 1075-1098.