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* Pick one concept from the assigned reading, not already discussed, that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.
One concept that I found interesting is the notion that meanings are directly translatable. Trenholm (2008) mentions that “one of the attitudes that most interferes with successful intercultural communication is the belief that everything that can be said in one language can be said in another, that meanings are directly translatable into other languages” (p. 355).
In my opinion, one word that can never be translated into other languages is the Brazilian word SAUDADE(S). When one says “Que saudades de você!”, the simplistic translation into English would be “I miss you!”. But saudade is applied not only to people one misses, but also to places one visited, experiences one had, among others. If you want to know more about the meaning of this word, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudade.
If you talk to any Brazilian and mention the word saudade, he or she will tell you that there is no way to translate this word in a way that it fairly expresses its deep meaning. As a matter of fact, saudade is my favorite Brazilian Portuguese word.
Ibirapuera
* Do you believe in the rationality, perfectibility, and mutability premises? What social institutions and practices are based on these beliefs?
I do not believe in the perfectibility premise; I somehow believe in the rationality premise; and finally, I strongly believe in the mutability premise. First, the perfectibility assumes that “humans are born in sin but are capable of achieving goodness through effort and control” (Trenholm, 2008, p. 353). I can not accept the assumption that a newborn is able to commit any sin. As a matter of fact, I am only capable of associating babies with Angels. Yes, I do believe in Angels!
Second, the rationality premise assumes that “most people are capable of discovering the truth through logical analysis” (Trenholm, 2008, p. 353). In my view, the notion of “true” is subjective to interpretation. Any decision based on the rational premise will be influenced by the person’s beliefs and values. Hence, while I believe some people can be trusted to make good decisions (e.g., parents who do not allow their kids to be out until late), I am pretty convinced that some others can make terrible decisions (e.g., people who kill innocents because they believe they have the right to do so).
Third, the mutability premise assumes that “human behavior is shaped by environmental factors and that the way to improve humans is to improve their physical and psychological circumstances” (Trenholm, 2008, p. 353). For instance, the distribution of resources in Brazil is so unequal that many kids are forced to steal or get involved in the drug traffic in order to survive. This is most noticeable in the slums of Rio de Janeiro and some parts of São Paulo. If there was social equality in Brazil, those kids’ lives would be certainly shaped by different physical and psychological circumstances.
Ibirapuera
* Do you agree with anthropologist Ruth Benedict that we are “creatures of our culture” and that our habits, beliefs, and impossibilities are shaped by our culture? If so, how can we break through the limits of our cultures?
At the same time I emphatically agree with the anthropologist Ruth Benedict that we are “creatures of our culture and we are shaped by our culture”, I also believe that we can somehow be creatures of other cultures and allow ourselves to be slightly shaped by other cultures. Trenholm (2008) stated that "we belong to multiple overlapping cultures, some of which work together and some of which conflict" (p. 347). A while ago this would not make any sense to me. Nevertheless, today this makes absolute sense in my mind.
Before having had the opportunity to leave abroad, I used to think that I only could behave in a Brazilian way and believe in things other Brazilians believed. This was my “reality” for years straight. When I moved to the U.S., however, I had to come to terms with some habits and beliefs pertained to the American culture. They ultimately made some sense in my mind.
I believe I break through the limits of my culture every time I learn something about another culture, when I question some of my preconceived stereotypes and understand that they are not nice. In the end, although my Brazilian habits, beliefs, and values constitute and will always constitute what I am, other cultures show me the enormous horizon of possibilities that are out there just waiting to be discovered by me and by those who open themselves up for something new.
Ibirapuera
* Pick one concept from the assigned reading, not already discussed, that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.
One concept from chapter 5 that I found interesting is the notion of time and space. Maybe I found them so interesting because I can see clearly their applications in my own life.
I strongly disagree with Gonzalez and Zimbardo’s view of time-sensitivity orientation. They believe that “time orientation may be related to the kinds of employment we seek. Thus, semiskilled or unskilled occupations may be attractive to and appropriate for people with present-orientations, whereas managerial and professional occupations call for future-oriented individuals” (p. 123). In my view, Gonzalez and Zimbardo failed to emphasize that time-sensitivity orientation differs from culture to culture.
Brazilian’ lack of punctuality and their ability to ignore time, for instance, drive foreigners crazy. Brazilians are rarely in a hurry, especially in Rio or in Northern Brazil. I remember that some of my former Brazilian directors/managers rarely started meetings at the scheduled time, but they were not seeing as semiskilled or unskilled. As opposed to that, we considered them competent professionals. In fact, they were disputed by huge national and multinational corporations.
Finally, the notion of space indeed brings beautiful and funny memories to my mind. During my childhood, my two brothers and I were always disputing a particular seat at the table before breakfast, lunch, or dinner time. We almost drove our parents insane when we started playing this game. Our parents stared at us and asked “What’s your problem? With so many chairs at our house, you are fighting to seat at the same chair?! You guys are unbelievable!” Trenholm (2008) explains that the need to control areas of space and make them ours, is called territoriality” (p. 124). I believe that my brothers and I were simply trying to “mark” our territory. :-)
Ibirapuera
* Although nonverbal messages are more universal than verbal messages, nonverbals do not always carry the same meanings in other cultures. Can you give examples of some of the nonverbal displays that take on different meanings in other countries? If you have moved around within this country, have you ever encountered regional differences in nonverbal meaning?
One of the things that I realized when I moved to the U.S. is that Americans do not express their feelings as Brazilians do. For instance, Brazilians kiss on greeting/saying goodbye. A Brazilian man only shakes hands with another man and a Brazilian woman kisses another woman at the face. Another nonverbal display I noticed is that Brazilians are very tactile, if compared to Americans. I had a hard time to get used to saying hi/goodbye just shaking hands, instead of giving my usual social little kiss. Sometimes I am still afraid of being misinterpreted. As claimed by Trenholm (2008), “with all its complexities, the nonverbal system is a powerful source of information as well as a powerful source of misunderstanding” (p. 136). So I act cautiously. Only when I feel really comfortable with someone I kiss or touch a person’s arm. Nowadays, all my American friends are used to my Brazilian nonverbal expressions. It is funny and rewarding seeing them embracing and sometimes adopting my culture.
Ibirapuera
* Because nonverbal messages can be ambiguous, they are open to misinterpretation. Have you ever been wrong about the meaning of someone’s nonverbal message? Describe what happened. How can people increase the accuracy with which they interpret nonverbal messages.
Absolutely! I actually mentioned something of this nature last week. The most memorable experience I had in regarding to the ambiguity of nonverbal messages was when I first moved to America. Someone made the gesture “Ok” in response to something I said. I thought this was so outrageous, so disrespectful! Later on talking to my husband about this incident, he explained to me that this gesture has different meaning in Brazil and in America. In Brazil, the American gesture for "OK" is like giving somebody the middle finger.
As stated by Trenholm (2008), people can increase the accuracy with which they interpret nonverbal messages by “being cautious in interpreting nonverbal messages, by giving more attention to nonverbal cues, by becoming more aware of the messages they may be inadvertently sending, and by remembering that nonverbal they consider to be perfectly innocent can be invasive and even threatening to others” (pp. 135-136).
In my view, we can also increase the accuracy with which we interpret nonverbal messages when we live abroad. But I acknowledge that this is not always the most viable option, given its costs and logistics constraints. So, other options would be making sporadic trips to foreign countries, reading books, browsing the Internet, and of course, talking to natives is another fabulous way to increase the accuracy with which we interpret nonverbal messages.
Ibirapuera
