Reflecting

The following list is an important reminder of why cultural transitions are such a positive experience overall.

Rewards of the Expatriate Experience

You learned about another culture and another part of the world. You may now speak a new language, which will be useful in your career or in school. You made some wonderful friends. You are more flexible and may be slower to pass judgment. You know your own culture better than those who never left. You can think more creatively or more originally. You are less ethnocentric; you see both yourself and the world more clearly. You are more independent, self-reliant, and self-confident.¹⁴

“Cross-Cultural Communication,” a poem by Marjo Mitsutomi, articulately verbalizes some of the changes you may have undergone in your thought processes.

Cross-cultural communication is NOT simply a matter of

speaking my language appropriately
choosing the right words
using the most effective intonation

applying the most acceptable accent
speaking in clear and correct utterances or
sounding eloquent and convincing

It is more than that.

Cross-cultural communication IS

understanding that my language affects the way I perceive the world
recognizing that I evaluate everything by what is normal and familiar to me
knowing that I am seen as a member of one or more cultural groups
approaching others as individuals and unique members of their culture
realizing that I know little about the dynamics between "us" and "them"
resolving to learn to know "them"
assuming that I am the strange one

Cross-cultural communication IS

being careful not to assert my cultural assumptions and behaviors on others

giving up trying to understand everything
having tolerance for the ambiguous and different
fitting myself in
adjusting or removing my own cultural "shades," trying on theirs

It is

establishing mutual understanding through whatever means
observing others' communicational strategies and doing the same
being willing to learn their language or dialect, not just learning about it
making personal and personable connections with others
     and --
reaching out to them in spite of all our differences

Cross-cultural communication is simply a matter of the heart.
It is a decision waiting to be made.