Cases 33-36
Case 33
The prblem that Li Li has encountered during her stay in the United States are typical of those that people may face when they enter a new culture.
Obviously Li Li has gone through distinct stages in the process her adaptation to the American cultural environment: honeymoon period (Letter 1), when she was fascinated and excited by almost everything in the United States and felt elated to be in the new culture; culture shock (Letter 2), when she was flooded with many problems that she had not been prepared for and became extremely homesick; initial adjustment (Letter 3), when she learned more about American culture and cultural adaptation and began to feel much better; mental isolation (Letter 4), when she felt frustrated and became even hostile towards Americans; and acceptance period (Letter 5), when she began to tralize the positive and negative aspects of the country and have a more balanced perspective about her experiences there.
What she means by “I think I have finally arrived in America” in her fifth letter is that she has finally learned
to accep the culture different from her own and begun to integret herself into it. She is no longer like a fish out of water, and does not feel alienated from the new environment any more.
Case 34
In this case, it seems that Kevin failed to understand that customs for such a social gathering would be culturally different and Blanca was not properly prepared for experiencing a culture shock like this when she came to work and live in a new cultural environment.
In Dominican culture, it is usually considered inappropriate for a young unmarried female to go to a social gathering without anyone else accompanying her. A chaperone is often required, and getting one’s parents’permission is also necessary. However, all this may be very strange to North Americans nowadays. Kevin could not quite understand why Blanca, already an adult supposed to be independent, had to bring her little sister along to the gathering so as to get her parents’permission.
Another thing on which they differ is the way they pay checks. In Dominican culture, somewhat like Chinese culture, people
going out to eat together seldom pay separately. The elder ones would pay for the younger ones, and the male would pay for the female. Having expected that Kevin would pay for their meals, Blanca didn’t bring much money with her. Therefore, when Kevin said “separate checks, please” to the waiter, just as North American people usually do, he didn’t realize that he had put Blanca in a very embarassing situation. That’s why Blanca whispered to her sister and just ordered something to drink.
Case 35
The American’s personal experience in Russia has taught us not to jump to a conclusion about any other culture. We may misinterpret the behavior and intention of people in other cultures, for we are easily influenced by some popular overgeneralizations about other cultures. We have to be aware that things in other cultures may not be what they appear to us foreigners. One of the difficulties we will experience in adjusting to a new culture is that we may have taken too much of our own “cultural baggage”: misleading stereotypes and preconceptions about members of that culture. In intercultural communication it is sometimes true that a little learning about other cultures can be a dangerous thing. Distorted or biased
