Communication

Short lessons from Human Diversity today, paraphrased: 1 To improve intercultural communication remember that you are looking at people through your own eyes and not seeing them exactly as who they are, 2 we all play by different rules in communication, 3 we all value different things, and 4 communication itself is one of the best things to use when solving communication problems.

1. When I think of someone’s name, I think about their body shape, their skin color, their eyes, gender, family culture, language and religion. I put labels on them, titles and names by which to call them and refer to the idea which I hold in my mind to be them. Those aren’t correct, how could they be?
2. If I were to talk with someone who is comfortable getting physically closer when talking than I feel comfortable getting, they aren’t doing it to be mean and by stepping back I am not trying to be mean, but we both are sending negative messages about our communication together. If I do not share the same rules as others in communication, whether gesticulation, word usage or proximity when talking, it is better to understand and recognize that and then work to a solution rather than simply judge it as bad or unavoidable.
3. This also includes value systems which I may not agree with as being correct for my own life. Whether religious or family values, local, state, country or regional values, I am likely in any given day to find dozens of people who I strongly disagree with (in broad system values). Moreover, everyone I meet every day of my life will have values that do not match mine in their entirety or likely even within ten percentage points.
4. Communication then, the challenge and the solution, presents itself as a method through which I may become closer to people. Closer friends might mean friends who I can be close to and how many of those could I have? If I work hard and stay alert, I could begin to close the gap every time.

Joy Luck Club

After watching The Joy Luck Club I wonder about a lot of things. Maybe mostly I wonder about hatred, I wonder about hate and love and about individuality, about feelings and about the importance of people. I see the sadness of people who have to leave their children under trees to die only hoping that they live and then go off themselves to die because they have not the food or means to stay alive. I see the hard reality that children cannot truly know the hardship that parents often face in spite of their own futures. I see in that sense sacrifice and I see love, I think what I would call true love, the love of a mother and the love a father. The love that a person gives to another when they wish for something better for the other person. The love that says “I want better for you than I have ever had, not with payment, not with any reward other than your freedom and happiness.” I have long asked myself if I can give that kind of love to other people around me. Can I give that kind of love to my children? What can I do to earn that love and repay that love to my family, to the families of the men and women who saved my freedom in this country? What of the love given to families five generations ago who saved my freedom in this world? What of the love of the generations thousands of generations ago? In honest inability I say that I am not sure than any effort I could give could earn the love and respect of generations which have come before me. I do not think any monument could be built to show the thankfulness that is due to those millions of people and things which have brought me to this place where I stand. I think that no thing I could ever build, no thing I could ever spend material time on could ever match the thankfulness necessary. I think that instead I am looking at time and service to others. An aimed service that would wake up each morning and say thank you, thank you for everything that I have received. I wish to work today in a way that shows loves and effort to everything before me, that makes our former generations proud, and shows pride to the greatness in the future that we are all sure to have.

New York City!

Over Spring Break this year I was fortunate enough to get a free trip to New York City. Michael, my roommate from last year and good friend, won a free trip with our school through a raffle in a charity basketball tournament we were playing in. He was already planning to go to Florida with his family over Spring Break and asked if I was interested in going. I definitely was and am very glad now that I have gone.

I was able to see the Empire State Building and Times Square in the first night. The next day I saw the World Trade Center Ground Zero, Central Park, China Town, Wall Street and then the Broadway play that night, “Mamma Mia.” We woke up early the next morning to get a spot on Good Morning America and then spend the rest of the day on the Statue of Liberty island and Ellis Island. Then I went to see the United Nations Headquarters on my own, taking the tour and getting plenty of gifts from the gift shop. I really am lucky to have gone and really enjoyed getting to see so many historic sites, not to mention buildings like the United Nations which I have dreamt of seeing for a long time. Thank you Campbell Student Life for organizing a great trip, and thank you especially to Michael Sellers who gave his very own trip to me.

New York City!

Over Spring Break this year I was fortunate enough to get a free trip to New York City. Michael, my roommate from last year and good friend, won a free trip with our school through a raffle in a charity basketball tournament we were playing in. He was already planning to go to Florida with his family over Spring Break and asked if I was interested in going. I definitely was and am very glad now that I have gone.
I was able to see the Empire State Building and Times Square in the first night. The next day I saw the World Trade Center Ground Zero, Central Park, China Town, Wall Street and then the Broadway play that night, “Mamma Mia.” We woke up early the next morning to get a spot on Good Morning America and then spend the rest of the day on the Statue of Liberty island and Ellis Island. Then I went to see the United Nations Headquarters on my own, taking the tour and getting plenty of gifts from the gift shop. I really am lucky to have gone and really enjoyed getting to see so many historic sites, not to mention buildings like the United Nations which I have dreamt of seeing for a long time. Thank you Campbell Student Life for organizing a great trip, and thank you especially to Michael Sellers who gave his very own trip to me.