Week 4:1 "Creatures of our Culture"

In Chapter 12 we are exploring Intercultural communication and the impact of our culture on our communication. I do not believe I could argue with anthropologist Ruth Benedict. We are certainly "creatures of our culture," since we learn behaviors, practices, and skills as we grow up from our culture. Each culture will have its own customs which are reflected in beliefs and habits. Communication between individuals and in social settings also varies in different cultures. In order to break away from learned cultural habits, you must expose yourself to other cultures and behaviors.
If all we surround ourselves with is one culture, we will be deprived from learning about other people and other places in the world. The point in life is to not only know the familiar, but to also see as much cool stuff as possible. Now sometimes opportunities to be exposed to other places in the world are not always transparent, but every day you go outside there are other cultures all around. America is for all people. California has so many different types of cultures in one state it is impossible to not be exposed in one way or another. By learning about other cultures you can communicate better with others, and feel more confident in your behavior around someone of another culture.