Cultural Adjustment Strategy

How am I going to manage stressful things in Peru well that is a great question? I will probably do what I always do shut down and try to figure out the solution by myself then once I figure it out in my head I will go and talk to someone.  Once I can figure out how to work in a stressful situation it will help me not be so worried about everything. I worry way too much about the unknowns and what could happen. I will look for the positives and not the negatives and that is hard for me because I can find any negative with anything. I will write down the positives so when I am stressed I can see the good things that have happened and not worry about the little things that don’t matter as much.

Honeymoon stage how long will I be there until I see what the world is like and then the shock of the excitement will wear off and I will go to stage two of culture shock. Culture shock I will try not to judge others before I give them a chance. I will try to see them as people and not just as project. I don’t think I will ever hit the humor stage because that is something that I struggle with in life because I don’t know how to feel when I get in a new situation it makes me nervous and I want to freak out and scream sometimes. I think I will start feeling at home when I stop worry about what could and what will go wrong because that is no fun for anyone and it just causes stress that I don’t need in my life. I am there to enjoy myself and serving others.

I don’t know how long I’ll be in each stage but it will be interesting to see. I am a little nervous because things out of routine drive me crazy but it is alright because anything is possible I just have to look for the good and not the bad.

When I get to Peru and with my group I will to learn to trust them and talk to them when I am struggling because I know that I won’t be able to do it on my own because I won’t know the language or what is going on. I know that my group and I are on the same team and we are going to become close friends for two weeks while we are in Peru. I am so glad that Lisa is going because I know her and I trust her. I know that I can talk to her when I am having a hard time because she speaks Jill and not very many people do.

When I want to give up and come home I know that, that is not an option because I when I was on my mission that wasn’t an option and my mom didn’t raise a quitter. I will just have to find the positives in the situation. I know that I can snap chat my best friend and that they will snap me back and make me laugh and make everything seem better and like it is going to be okay.

Being home sick is a way of life I will do what I did on my mission I will think about the moon because the moon that shines on me shines on my family. I know that if I can see the moon or the sun everything will be okay. Because it helps me know that my family can see it even though we are many miles apart. I will think of the adventures I am having and how my parents would want me to enjoy it and not be homesick because there isn’t enough time in the day to be homesick. I learned that fast the first time I moved to college.

When I get frustrated with the language barrier I will just try to stay calm and think about going on dates with Dallin and he is talking in Spanish and I don’t know what he is saying. I will try to pick out the words I do know and then use context clues to figure it out. I will also watch facial expressions because I know that you can tell how the person is feeling by how they look. I will be frustrated but I will just know that must be how the ESL learners get when they don’t understand what we are saying to them.

When I am tempted to judge the country or anything about Peru I will try to stop myself because they are just raised different than me which doesn’t mean it is wrong it just means they have a different way of seeing things. I will be grateful for all the things that I have in my life. I will grow a better understanding of them and of their culture. I will do my best to not think negative about them. They will be great people.

When I want to judge the country, I will just think when they come to America I am sure they want to judge us for the things we do but they don’t. They do what they do, and we do what we do. I will look for all the great things about Peru and how thankful I am for the experience I have to be there, to teach third grade for a few days. I am so excited to go to Peru and see how they live and to see how it is different from America. It will defiantly be an eye opener for me but it will help me be a better teacher. I will be able to relate to my ESL students better than I would any other way.

Acculturation

I am choosing to write my paper on the difference between assimilation, accommodation and acculturation. I will be addressing how they are different and why each one is important and why we need them in our life.

Assimilation is the process whereby people of a culture learn to adapt to the ways of the majority culture. This means that they change the way they act so they will be able to fit in and no one will know that they come from a different culture. This is a huge thing in education because children just want to fit in and know that they are accepted. When you move to somewhere new you need to work hard to know that you are accepted and fit in with a majority. It is a good thing to be different everyone brings a special part to the classroom and helps teach others by the experiences that they have had. We are not the ones who tell people what group they belong in it is all how you chose to live your life. You are either a minority or a majority. Everyone has a social class that they fit in you just to know where you fit in.

Accommodations a room or group of rooms in which ever one may live or stay. In education, it is how you change or modify your lesson plans for autistic students or for students with IEP, 504 plans. It is all in how you handle a situation, it is defiantly a huge thing I have seen it as I have been in the schools. I saw how a teacher changed her lesson plan to be a little easier for one student and it was still the same amount of work just a different type for him. I loved seeing how teachers are willing to help their students succeed in any way they can. It was an eye opener for me because I have never been in a class where they have done that. Where I come from they put all the special people in a different class then the regular students. I know that in one of my classes I had a super smart person who drove everyone nuts and one day I was sick of hearing what he had to say because I had not the slightest idea of what was going on so I told him to shut up and the teacher thanked me later!

Acculturation is where you retain your own culture but cannot remain isolated and are affected by the majority of the culture. You adapt to some aspects of the majority culture. In America, we are mainly white and Hispanic. It is all how you find where you fit in the culture. You should try to adapt unless you don’t want to learn anything about where you are staying or the culture. Acculturation is very important in helping you better yourself and how you live. It is a great way to change the way you look at people.

I think that you have every right to try to fit in with the majority in the culture but I think you have the right to be who you are and express yourself. I would adapt to the way of the culture but I am not going to change who I am to become someone or something I am not. I know people who do that and I don’t understand because if you are not being true to you than you are not even living the life that you were born to live. You have the right to live like you want but one silly mistake could change that and take everything you have worked so hard for away. I also believe that you can do anything you put your mind to. You must make accommodations in everything that you do because if you don’t you will live a long hard life. When you move somewhere new for instance you need to accommodate the new changes and the new adventures that you are about to have. It isn’t going to be like what you have known. I moved to North Dakota when I was twenty-one and that was defiantly a culture shock to me because it wasn’t anything like I had ever known before. I had to adapt to the new way of living I had to accommodate my needs and the needs of another person who I was stuck with for who knew how long. It was amazing to me to see how once you just start seeing how they live and just changing your ways just a little to work with them. It makes life a whole lot easier.

Assimilation, accommodations and acculturation are very important in everyday living because it is around us all the time even though sometimes we don’t see it, it is there. It is a great eye opener. Just look around and you can see the difference in people. Don’t judge them because they are different everyone was raised differently and has a different background but together we can work together to be on the same page.

STAR POWER

My Star Power

Top Point: Religion

Left Point: Gender

Bottom Left Point: Social Economical Status 

Bottom Right Point: Race/ Ethnicity

Right Point: Being Awesome

        Why I put them that way is because right now in my life Religion is a huge thing. I am a return missionary for my church. A mission is where you go and teach about what you believe and help others believe it to. In my star that gives me a lot of power because in Utah County most people are LDS. 

        Gender is my second point because I am a female in a male dominating culture. I live in a society where they think men are better than women. I am here to tell you I can do almost the same amount of work as a man. I can do yard work, drive a massive semi, I can do the same things that a man can do. Don't limit me because I am a woman!

        Social Economical Status I am just a normal person trying to make it. I come from a family of a teacher and a diesel mechanic. I have learned that you have to work hard to get anything you want or need in the world it isn't handed to you. You have to fight for it. You have to put in the effort to accomplish anything.

        Race/Ethnicity I am white living in this culture. I am just your normal average Joe with a diverse family. I have Native Americans on my mothers side. We love them as family because they are they are brown but that doesn't bother us any.

        My last point is just being awesome because I am. I dance to the beat of my own drum. I have had a ton of discouragements but I don't let them get me down. I get back up and brush off the dirt and just keep going. Nothing is impossible if you don't give up. Just keep fighting the uphill battle will end one day. I have been climbing one for a long time but I am still going and still trying. Stay strong and never lose sight of the end goal.

Empathy and Sympathy

Today we talked about the difference between empathy and sympathy I have never thought about it. We watched a movie and it was so interesting to me to see the the difference. One is to come and understand what they are feeling. You will never know how they are feeling. We all feel things differently. I think back to the hardest time in my life and someone told me they knew how I felt when in all reality they didn't. They didn't know the sorrow I was feeling or the hurt I was feeling. I soon became numb because I knew no one would ever understand. It never once occurred to me that. I had friends who were there they truly didn't understand. They were there with me to let me know that they did truly care. Sympathy is to feel sorry for them. It is like when someone dies you feel sorry for them. Everyone is different and thinks differently. Just don't be one of those people who have to one up someone.
Learn the difference between the two and know how to help others understand as well. Be the you, you know how to be. Don't be fake just be real!
Keep the faith! Never lose sight of the end goal!

First Day of Class

First day of class was like a fire hose shooting so much water at me. I didn't even know what to do. I was trying to pay attention then my attention span was defiantly shot for the day well it was Friday afternoon so that didn't help either.
What stood out to me was how everyone was excited to go and see what is in store for them in Peru. I never really thought about what culture really was until then. Dr. Waite asked us a question and said "who has culture?" I didn't think I did but everyone in the world does. It is the way you live your life. Everyone has different culture. It is all in how you interpret the world. It is defiantly going to open my eyes to see what it is like in other countries. I am so excited to embark on this once in a lifetime opportunity.