9.1 What is out there?

* 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