Ever since I got back from my mission in Nicaragua, I have discovered
so many foreign and new things in the media. Things such as snapchat, Instagram
and google+ were a complete mystery to me. I didn’t realize how many ways there
are to connect and communicate with people. Before my mission, I had tried
starting up a blog. I posted maybe three entries, but was never motivated enough
to keep it up. Now that I’m back, I’m going to take a swing at it again.
This weekend I went on a road-trip down to Arizona to go to
a friend’s wedding. I caught a ride down with three of her old mission friends
from the Lisbon, Portugal Mission. I have always loved learning about different
cultures and I think that foreign languages are fascinating. Speaking another language opens you up to a whole new group of people that you can relate to and communicate with. On the drive, they talked to each other in Portuguese,
and I would respond in Spanish. I was really excited because I actually
understood quite a bit. I hadn’t realize how similar it is to Spanish. After spending
nearly 24 hours in the car together there and back, I gained an even deeper
respect for the culture, a bigger desire to learn the language, and some great
new friends. We want to keep learning the languages from each other (Spanish
from me and Portuguese from them). In future semesters I hope to take some Portuguese
classes to learn even more. Once I’ve mastered that one, on to the next
language!
Wow, I felt the same way when I got back from my mission, serving the Latin population of Georgia. I also came to love foreign culture, food, language, and most importantly the people. As I taught and grew to love the people,my eyes were opened to a whole new perspective of the world, and my understanding of life was changed. Everybody should get the privilege to experience different cultures. I believe it's important to keep that cultural experience alive in us afterwards, for example by taking classes like you said.
ReplyDeleteI'm jumping on this band wagon. I experienced a similar exposure on my mission to Poland. I had never left the United States before my mission. You are so right about the importance and privilege to see a different culture like that. I think that highlights the need of this class, especially one aspect: deciding HOW to communicate. Different cultures interpret different things in different ways. Gestures, facial expressions, and voice volume can communicate different things in different cultures. Things that are acceptable in the U.S. are not always acceptable in other cultures. Thus, a very important thing to consider when communicating is your audience. Some of the principles we learn in this class may even be incorrect because of the needs of the listener. So amazing
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