2/13/2017; Lesson 07; Response to "Differences in Manners"

"Throw something in the USA to someone, may not be disrespectful, but in other parts of the world, yes, putting your arms in a proper position while you eat." Actually in Perú, When you give to another person something by throwing, the other person needs to be at your same level. In the years of my childhood, if you throw something to your parents when they asked you for something, you must be someone willing to die. 

"People stare anyone whether is a woman or not."

Sometimes I look around and I suddenly end up staring at someone, If it happens, I always say hello. The other person gets reactions. They are not rude, most of the time funny. I guess is ok in Perú, I mean, you don't mean any harassment, it is incidental. 

"In some places in the USA is not offensive to yawn and but in some other parts, you have to cover your face" "Stretching in public places". I used to sit and behave like this while in my hometown, for me it was ok. it is like saying, Okey. Anyway, When I came to the "civilization" I was taught it was rude, especially if you are a teacher, a person in a tie, Then to do something to be nice to others and to put it into perspective, it turns to be an act of service then, trying to meet the standards of others while you are with them in respect. 

"Walking with your hands in the pocket". It is considered sloppy my grandmother used to say, Stop playing with them, they have a purpose, I did not understand at the beginning, years later I finally got it. that was when I paid attention to my students, Then I understood. 

In Japan is rude to blow your nose in front of others, so is in Perú, but people with no education or social status care about it. 

"In China, Taiwan, and much of the Far East, belching is considered a compliment to the chef and a sign that you have eaten well and enjoyed your meal" In Perú if Dad does it, it is funny. If you do it in Public, it is rude. 

Nowadays, a bone-crushing handshake is seen as admirable in the United States and U.K., but in much of the East, particularly the Philippines, it is seen as a sign of aggression -- just as if you gave any other part of a person's body a hard squeeze! In Perú, it does not feel right when you greet someone and That person gives you the left hand is not good. 

"When dining in China, never force yourself to clear your plate out of politeness -- it would be very bad manners for your host not to keep refilling it. Instead, you should leave some food on your plate at each course as an acknowledgment of your host's generosity.

Manners that may be good in the United States may not be in other parts of the world. See the rest of our list to learn more." In Perú is not polite to leave food on the plate. You are offered a second round of whatever you are eating, It is ok, to say no. Some people may expect you eat a lot, They have probably prepared a lot thinking you eat that much. It is actually important to take those aspects into consideration while preparing a lesson or trying to teach something since those habits and behavior standards actually help to know the kind of approach suitable for the students. 

2/13/2017; Lesson 07; Response to "Cross-Cultural Students in the Classroom"

After listening brother Ivers on his lecture on "Cross Cultural Student in the Classroom", it makes me think on the challenges I may be facing in my classroom but I was not totally aware. The institute where I teach English, it is basically a private Institution, no more than the basic norms of social behavior and relationship between students and teachers, I have been noticing for quite a long time. Students come into the classroom and they usually enter without saying anything, I personally started to demand and teach them manners before entering into the classroom. They can open the door and look at my side and greet, "Good morning, or afternoon and asks: "Teacher may I come in" I do not expect them to apologize, I told them, the best way to apologize is not doing it again. I can not measure completely the actions and the impact it created in my relationship with my students, They pause and take their time to greet and to ask permission to come in.

There is another aspect on students behavior, I have noticed some students would enter the classroom chewing gums, I was getting along with it until one day I brought a resolution of not letting them do that. I decided to tell them to stop doing that, not as a matter of respect to my person but as an attitude to develop the ability of acquiring another habit.

I have noticed no much difficulty for for children to follow instructions was not that big a deal, they were actually willing to do it. When I tried to apply the same habit on a class of adult people, when they were asked to stand up and throw the cause of the distraction away, I have noticed how the face of embarrassment appeared on their face. Most of the students listening the instruction and paying attention and trying to avoid being seeing while the instruction was given.

There is also another situation I have noticed, they are afraid of making mistakes, so I decided to promote whole class participation and encourage the participation with the sole purpose of making mistakes, giving me that way the opportunity to correct them. After the activity was done, I would ask my students to pay close attention on how many words, sentences and things they have corrected from their own speech, telling them that mistakes, made possible that improvement, since the only way for teachers to correct a mistakes  is by listening, So I taught them what the word "mistake" is, and I encourage them to make them in class where is, actually, the best place to make them.

These are probably some of the cross cultural situations I came across in my classroom, Students built believes on the idea, that in a private institutions you can do whatever you want, sit wherever you are and do whatever you want.

I always finish the month telling my students something, It takes a humble person to become a good learner, and also a humble teacher to teach that learner. at least, that is my conclusion after all these years, teaching a language that I am not even able to speak with a native fluency and whose grammar I am still working on to improve.

Marco Diaz.                                                                                                                                                                                              .

2/9/2017; Lesson 06; Response to "Individualism vs. Collectivism"

The teacher from BYU said that to change from a political party in Latin America would be considered and act of disloyalty while in the USA is an act of independence. It was completely amazing to hear the story about the Japanese baseball player and the way their parents and coach did. It was also incredible to know how all of them lost their license for life for allowing a member of the group to break the law. "Outsiders see things more clearly than insiders because for insiders  everything is axiomatic                                                        

2/06/2017; Lesson 06: Response to "Differences in Emotional Expressivity"

"Emotional expressivity is one of the most easily misunderstood things than many other things in cross-cultural differences," said the BYU teacher. I have never thought about it in that perspective,  I have been judgmental. Now I see it better at least the teacher's explanation is helping me to see that. First, I want to say while I was finishing this assignment, I did not save the previous changes I made yesterday at night, so I have to type again my thoughts from last night.

I want to share and experience when I came to Lima after a while and as a "normal person" not as a missionary, as I would call myself. While in the mission, for one reason or another, I clearly noticed the leadership position I was, It took me time to realize that. I noticed that people would listen to anything I was going to say. somehow, people was waiting for my words.

I remember once, I was sharing the gospel with a family, and I felt that whatever I was going to say to this family they were going to believe it and act or accept any invitation. it gave to me goosebumps, After that I was very careful with the things I was saying to people and I always treated with respect to anybody with the only purpose of letting know to the people that I was looking to teach in such a clear way, allowing others time to think and meditate before making any decision. I was always paying attention not only to my words but also to my actions. Since then, I was trying to be not only understood but also I was trying not be misunderstood.

Something else that I would like to discuss is how some people manipulate the idea of speaking clearly with speaking big bad words. Other people mistreat others in a "polite way" so when the mistreated person realizes or react to the mistreatment, They are accused as anti-social.

Thanks to the analysis after watching the video, It made me think about the way emotional expressivity may affect. When you visit my hometown, you do not need much formality, people can smell to distances when someone needs help or when someone is trying to take advantage of somebody that they do something to prevent the abuse.

In my hometown is easy to reply an emergency. That is key. We are discriminated because we do not have the appearance of having much, but if you see the map of the country, we have it all. We are the people from the biggest natural region of the country, Inkas, terrorist, Spanish conquerors, Invasive soldiers from other countries, nobody was able to penetrate the country. But we lost territory because the corrupted presidents just gave up territory that has the blood of our ancestors, Fujimori among others.

I did not want to go political but it is our every day these days. People from the jungle are misunderstood and mistreated, especially the girls. Because they are very nice and friendly, people from other places do not understand that or do not want to believe it. especially when they are rejected.

As I said at the beginning, I was not aware of all this complexity until now.

2/3/2017; Lesson 5: "Cross Cultural Miscommunication”

"Pasar un buen momento" I have never thought  and pay attention to the fact that there was a paradigm in these words, It reminds me of  an expression in a movie "Zorba the Greek", "If you face any problem, Dance"

If you have the opportunity of being an example for others by being respectful to other ways of interpreting reality, and at the same time, being able to recognize the problems your own paradigms may be causing while interpreting the same reality, You will have discovered why some men  who are, apparently, more happy are just showing you the way they learned to face life. I am tired, You have no idea, how tired I am. At the same time, I will swallow my agony to express how much I learned in this lesson, my perspective and take my advantage, because being a student at BYU, it is an advantage, and I would probably like something easier, something less sacrificing, I was born in a country, where education is considered important but it has been poorly supported. While trying to express my understanding and the way this lesson helped me, I think on the way the gospel of Jesus Christ has build paradigms in me. I did not understand before how simple ideas can shape the world forever, My world.

What is the best way to get answers or ideas that can be heard and they can also be followed, As long as they help in guiding to great experience. We are, by mistake and short sided, misguided to misunderstand the way others behave. We may think that arriving late to a meeting is wrong. Well, actually it is. But it is wrong enough to break a relationship apart?. What is late after all? In my opinion. In a classroom, lateness is easily understood. First, it interrupts dramatically when the teacher is in the middle of an explanation and someone appears at the door. The learning process is interrupted, more than the teaching process and there is always the option of showing the facts as they are. Sometimes "Time" and "Schedule" matter. "We are the future?" or "We are the present?" That is important, depending on what culture and what reality you are living in. In some countries, The question may not even make sense.

Sometimes we fail in understanding and we fail in helping others to understand our perspectives. Are they really that important?. Why do we get easily mad? Why do we have to put ourselves in a position where everything that it is around us is so important that it makes look others behavior bad?

Who are we performing for, if that is the case, does that audience wants us to "perform" or wants us to be "original"? 

What is right for certain group of people may not be right for others. How important then it is to express sympathy for others who think and enjoy life in a different way? Well , that it is important. in the end, to discover. Like in the videos, and like in real life. We do not know all the facts, We tear things down, by trying to be understood, instead of trying to understand others. This lesson and this topic, it is making me think that I have never been wrong. Living in the jungle, where you work six months and relax the other six, it has not been wrong, It was life, the things you worked for, produced their fruit, and then, you had to enjoy what you worked for. Nature and life was showing you the right way. Living in "Civilization" is harder, it is never enough and the owners of all the can food and artificial life are increasing their prices every year that it makes really hard to keep up with the Johns.

After watching the videos and listening to the BYU teacher explain how, some behaviors are not offensive, but just another way to understand reality, it makes me think about how life in the capital, how work, studies and things have really taken me away from what the purpose of life is.

How do you react when a student try to kiss you good bye? When some of them to thank you, they bring you something to eat or invite you to eat out, and suddenly, you give yourself to much credit that you think they are trying to bribe you. They may be late, they may seem rude or too soft. They may talk a lot and not getting anything. They may be talking all the time and you may think they are not learning at all. Let's learn from others and their habits, There must be a word of wisdom in the acts, words and others habits. Because, We may still need to understand that beside all the previously mention, silence is also saying something. It is important then to be well informed of the habits, traditions, and others culture, to know how to understand and see. how close we are to the general and whole true. Or at least, develop an interest of what there is behind all that.

Marco Diaz.

2/1/2017; Lesson 5: "Cultural Differences Concerning Time Video”

To be honest, I had no idea there was a definition for this, and that the differences existed by concepts.

I met many people living in a Monochronic world in Peru, and at the same time, I enjoyed living in a Polychronic one. Those were the years, when I stood up a lot of people for not hurting his or her feelings with "I can't" I remember those experience, like the song says, I was "Wild, Young and Free". It is important to be punctual, Nevertheless, sometimes you have to open your mind to the idea that it is not that serious or hard. On the other hand. It is a good idea to take into consideration what you are agreeing with, After all, you actually hurt more when you are not straight to people.

What is probably sad about this, it is the fact that one group may not understand clearly the idea of the personal capacity of the other. To think that the group or the certain groups have the total or complete information when actullay, it is not. It is like to build a cultural wall among people.

It is true though, when you work for others like in the company or a business, you have to respect the others laws and and parameters because you are committing to those. You are taking part, you are accepting the conditions, and you are agreeing with them.

On the other hand as a teacher, I guess the best way to help others to meet and commit to the required standards of an educational institution it is to meet and to be punctual, I have to mention that this information it is very important. Because, now I know, that Punctuality It may not be an intentional behaviour, but the result of formed habits and Paradigms.

Let's show simpathy, and at the same time, How important it is to commit and to fight to be punctual, You may not need to stop being Polychronic, But to show appreciation for some principles of punctuality.

Marco

1/30/2017; Lesson 5: Response to "Cultural Paradigms"

The BYU Teacher, I knew his name, and somehow, I forgot it, His words made me think a lot about my perception and the perception of my own reality. Is it actually challenging what I faced through my whole life compared to what other faced. Was I poor in my own experience, or was I poor to the eyes of those who sold me the idea of richness by owning a TV. After almost more than forty years of life in this world, I always thought that eating meat, turkey. Or basically eating, was hapiness. My children, they do not agree with me. 

They are happy by having me around. Was my happiness standard a misguided perception of paradigms? This are the words of the teacher: " A reason to emphasize joy, and to be in a good mood is because, education is in boredom. Interesting delivery of the material. After one hour period, you are going to be closer to death.

That is why it is my responsibility to make that hour enjoyable, useful, that hour, you may never going to have back"

I have always lived under those standards. This might be the very last day of your existence, Let's be happy by choice. While I was a missionary. I really enjoyed the ride. I really tried to share the gospel with as many people as I could. I knew, one way or another, life was going to be harder. 

The teacher says: "Carlos Fuentes, we shall know each other or we shall exterminate each other.

We do not understand each other paradigm"

I have to accept the fact that I am a member of the church, for everybody else, it is ok, to be half naked, it is ok. to wear tights like if they were pants, For me, it is just wrong. Now, I have to be respectful and show respect when young women come to my classroom with shorts and mini skirts that shows all the humanity the Lord gave them. 

The teacher says: "You have those paradigms in your head, You have a paradigm on what is a rock and what is a tree, You see the drawing and the brain works and to interpret it uses your paradigms

You use the paradigm to understand the world around, There are more complex paradigms "

Following Christ, It was actually changing me, and now I know, better than ever, I really changed a lot. Specially after pathway and Studying in the University, My life is now, my God, My family, My work, My school, My calling, I miss a lot watching movies, and sometimes sleeping. Am I building new paradigms. If they are like the ones that at my forties, help me know the difference between right and wrong, then it is ok. 

I may not end with what the teacher says: "A complex paradigm like hypocrisy, What is beauty?, What is graciousness?, What is pride?, What is flirtatious?, What is loyal?, What is polite? Those paradigms differ immensely from culture to culture?, From culture to culture it may mean two things, The complex paradigms are vastly different. In America friends find funny in insulting each other"

This part made me think twice about the way I treat others and my own perspective

"Culture creates false needs and false problems" and this is even better "In every culture, there is a lot of irrationality" Challenge your thinking "Harvard, the best school?"

I really need to learn to appreciate others behaviors in my classroom and the best way to response to what I may assume as missbehavior.

Today, I was using suggestopedia to present a topic about how to make new friends. The idea was that everybody would play another person, They would invent themselves an identity, I gave them nationalities to start. One young lady asked me. "teacher, Can I be a man?" I said, yes, why not?. But deep inside, I was wondering, Why?.

Delali Bright: This video made think a lot about the way I see things, and the way I treat my young daughter, she is actually thin and she does not like to eat that much, The doctors already told us, she is healthy, she is just a little short, but she is ok. so, this video was a wake up call. You know, personally, for me. Skinny, it is not that good at all, In my personal opinion. A woman needs to be strong, you know, After all, she will deal with all the stuff at home, when a man is not around. So I liked this part: " How do we form our opinion?, Emotional costume, She had a legitimate fear, thin is associated with illness, What was looked upon is now praised, Happiness came from what everybody believed, it was about being accepted" and this is something I also one for my children: " Let others opinion determine our happiness - They will never let any cultural standard determine their happiness"

The last video of people from Sudan, You are free to picture me coming from my beloved jungle to the capital city of Peru, Many things still does not make sense for me. And when I am in the bus, I talk to people, sometimes people respond, others, they just change seats. And I am still wondering and trying to explain my son. What does Santa have to do with Christmas Actually? He is not even family of Jesus Christ.

Can you actually build good paradigms? are they bad at all?