Okay, I can tell you that these Ten Commandments will serve me well during my trips to the nearest Fiesta grocery store. For those that don’t know, Fiesta is a grocery store chain in Texas that caters to the Latino community, more so our brothers and sisters south of the border. I’m from Louisiana so the store does have some things that I normally buy throughout the year like live crawfish. During my numerous personal encounters I have to take into account the difference in culture and communications. Some folks will broken English and finding someone who can carry a full conversation in English is like finding a ten dollar bill stuck underneath your tire….it doesn’t happen.
One of the biggest problems I have had is getting annoyed by the person that is breathing down my neck while standing in the checkout line. We love our space in America and most people require at least a few feet of space between each other in public. This space requirement is not as valued in many Hispanic cultures. Once I was so annoyed that I told a lady standing behind me to back up. I was ready for the confrontation that could ensue because her husband was standing right there. At the time I let my emotions get the best of me and I was willing to show that I was not going to back down. I was a little younger at that time as well so that played a role in it.. Due to their culture values, Mexican people tend to avoid confrontation all together so the lady simply backed away. (Buzzle 2010) I know I should have shown more cultural sensitivity in this situation but of course I didn’t know how to tolerate the differences. I’ve learned from experience that patience is an important virtue in dealing with different cultures. I found that one very interesting in the Ten Commandments, that’s for sure.
Language Barriers
I’ve found that if you are aware of the language barriers and you try to be tolerate and work with people; you will find that they will try harder to understand what you are trying to say. The first time I visited Fiesta I couldn’t find the crawfish boil. I ask someone who could barely speak English for the location. They gave me the lost stare and I knew in order to communicate what I wanted I had to be creative. I pointed to the crawfish and tried to talk slow and use the most important words. She eventually pointed next to me which is where the boil was because I had overlooked it. I felt dumb of course, not because we couldn’t understand it each for a minute but because the box of crawfish boil was right in front my eyes the entire time.
One of the biggest problems I have had is getting annoyed by the person that is breathing down my neck while standing in the checkout line. We love our space in America and most people require at least a few feet of space between each other in public. This space requirement is not as valued in many Hispanic cultures. Once I was so annoyed that I told a lady standing behind me to back up. I was ready for the confrontation that could ensue because her husband was standing right there. At the time I let my emotions get the best of me and I was willing to show that I was not going to back down. I was a little younger at that time as well so that played a role in it.. Due to their culture values, Mexican people tend to avoid confrontation all together so the lady simply backed away. (Buzzle 2010) I know I should have shown more cultural sensitivity in this situation but of course I didn’t know how to tolerate the differences. I’ve learned from experience that patience is an important virtue in dealing with different cultures. I found that one very interesting in the Ten Commandments, that’s for sure.
Language Barriers
I’ve found that if you are aware of the language barriers and you try to be tolerate and work with people; you will find that they will try harder to understand what you are trying to say. The first time I visited Fiesta I couldn’t find the crawfish boil. I ask someone who could barely speak English for the location. They gave me the lost stare and I knew in order to communicate what I wanted I had to be creative. I pointed to the crawfish and tried to talk slow and use the most important words. She eventually pointed next to me which is where the boil was because I had overlooked it. I felt dumb of course, not because we couldn’t understand it each for a minute but because the box of crawfish boil was right in front my eyes the entire time.
Here are the ten commandments of Intercultural Communication that we all should consider. Ths list is from Ezinearticles.com:
I. Be aware of differing social values;
II. Be aware of differing status symbols and how to demonstrate them;
III. Be aware of decision making customs: not all people like to make decisions quickly and efficiently;
IV. Be aware of concepts of time: not all people like to see time as money;
V. Be aware of personal space: people from different cultures have different 'comfort zones';
VI. Be aware of cultural context: people from certain cultures (called 'high-context cultures) rely less on verbal communication and more on the context of nonverbal actions and environmental settings to convey meaning. People from low-context cultures like the USA rely more on verbal communication and less on circumstances and implied meaning to convey meaning;
VII. Be aware of body language: learn the basic differences in the way people supplement their words with body movement;
VIII. Be aware of different etiquette rules or manners: what is polite in one culture may be considered rude in another;
IX. Be aware of legal and ethical behavior;
X. Be aware of language barriers: English is the most prevalent language in international business, but it's a mistake to assume that everyone understands it.
Source:
II. Be aware of differing status symbols and how to demonstrate them;
III. Be aware of decision making customs: not all people like to make decisions quickly and efficiently;
IV. Be aware of concepts of time: not all people like to see time as money;
V. Be aware of personal space: people from different cultures have different 'comfort zones';
VI. Be aware of cultural context: people from certain cultures (called 'high-context cultures) rely less on verbal communication and more on the context of nonverbal actions and environmental settings to convey meaning. People from low-context cultures like the USA rely more on verbal communication and less on circumstances and implied meaning to convey meaning;
VII. Be aware of body language: learn the basic differences in the way people supplement their words with body movement;
VIII. Be aware of different etiquette rules or manners: what is polite in one culture may be considered rude in another;
IX. Be aware of legal and ethical behavior;
X. Be aware of language barriers: English is the most prevalent language in international business, but it's a mistake to assume that everyone understands it.
Source:
M. Hahn Ph.D (2010) "Ten Commandments of Intercultural Communications"
(2007) "Difference in Mexican and American Cultures"
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/difference-in-mexican-and-american-culture.html
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/difference-in-mexican-and-american-culture.html
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