Discussion Questions

1. Think of some specific examples of aspects of your dominant cultures (and subcultures that are above the waterline and below it (according to the Iceberg metaphor).

Some specific examples of my dominant cultures are teacher, fortysomething, swimming club and so on. They are very important to me in my life. Actually they're consisted of my life. This is, they are just my life. I spend most time in school on the weekdays. I am into teaching. My friends are mostly teachers in forties. We affect each other and sometimes, we offer encouragement to one another when being in trouble. One of My subcultures is backpacking trips. Traveling has always been in my blood. So I've been on a few backpacking trips. It was difficult at times living out of a backpack and being tight with my money. But I got so much out of it. Despite the initial culture shock, I came back to Korea with a better understanding of other cultures and more confidence.

 

2. In your experiences with (or as) a stranger, how did you make predictions necessary to interact in those situations?

 

I had a lot of experience as a stranger when taking trips. I usually greeted the local people with smiling first and then I show my interest to them to have friendly relations with local people. Plus, I tried to communicate with them using body language and facial expressions and so on. It worked all the time.

 

3. Discuss experiences when you made predictions about a stranger (or predictions were made about you) that proved to be accurate or not.

 

When I traveled to Hunza valley, the northern province of Pakistan, I was in trouble. Because the snowslide happened suddenly, the traffic was stopped. I had to get on a boat. But the boat had already gone. To make matters worse, there was no hotel. So I needed a place to stay. I greeted young people who look like university students. I tried to communicate with them to get some information. They were rich and are of high standing. Moreover, they had much pride about their religion and wanted to show off. I tried to respect them and listened to them sincerely. We made good friends and we traveled together.  

 

4. Is it possible to truly understand a culture outside of your own? Why or why not?

 

I think it is difficult to truly understand other cultures. We can understand the cultures superficially by coming across new culture but however hard I have tried, we can’t understand them thoroughly because there is something that we can’t see and listen to in the cultures.