Intercultural Communications

As an individual with an Indian background living in the United States it is somewhat of a challenge when it comes to fitting in. Individuals in the Indian culture dress with traditional Indian outfits for occasions such as weddings, and religious ceremonies only.

Everyday dressing is very much similar to the American culture; jeans and a casual shirt or t-shirt. Wedding occasions are probably one of the most formal events where one would have to dress up with a traditional Indian outfit to blend in. If one wore a suit or tuxedo at an Indian wedding, he/she would clearly stand out as a foreigner who is not aware of the cultural norm.

Prayer/religious ceremonies such as the mourning of a relative who has past away would mean that one would have to wear an all white cloth with white sandals. Any bright colors or dark shoes would mean disrespect for the deceased and the family. The belief is that white is for peace and purity.

Indians in Indonesia revolve amongst a small community who communicate closely with each other, which includes eating, socializing and working closely together. When eating a meal, Indians would use a fork and spoon and/or hands instead of using a fork and knife mainly because the meals prepared is best eaten this way.

When socializing, the topics referred to are mostly of the Indian cultures. There are Punjabi, Sheikh, Gujarati and Madrasi jokes that are commonly used in casual conversations. A foreigner may often find it difficult to join in a conversation with Indians.

My culture is a collectivistic group where everyone listens to elders and follows their wisdom. This is the foundation and base of the Indian community to maintain its traditions. People in my culture often portray their own family better than the others. Indians are very loyal to their family and will never mock their own. In fact they will go to extremes to protect their family name even if they were putting down other families.

Indians are also very judgmental people who look at others status by wealth, religion, family background, or their education level.

I feel I am a stereotypical Indian who is patriotic about my culture and find my traditions to be of a better way of living. Eating no meat and worshipping the sacred animal the cow is just one of the stereotypes of my culture which I believe in. Indians are very emotional and sensitive people. They can be easily hurt when a comment is passed mocking their religion or dressing. I feel that I am a very emotional individual and believe that taking no action is most appropriate.

When communicating with others I often feel that I have to understand where they are coming from for them to understand me. I am more comfortable talking to women who are conservatively dressed for me not to be embarrassed by the people of my culture. If I was known to be socializing with individuals who are carefree about their dressing or eating standards such as eating meats then this could possibly reflect negatively on me and my family. Communication is limited from my point and I feel that if my culture was more open to accepting other cultures, then I would have a better chance of meeting and getting to know a wider selection of individuals.

2.

I observed the international students outside the Suffolk University Sawyer building, and found many interesting methods of people communicating.

The European males seemed to be a little more reserved when communicating with Caucasian males from the United States, there was very little laughter and a brief smiles. They did not seem to have a common topic, whilst amongst other Europeans they would greet each other with a soft handshake and communicate comfortably, freely, and expressively. When a female entered the conversation, she would be greeted with a smile and two kisses on their cheeks.

The European women seemed more outgoing to all kinds of other females from any race. When a white male entered the conversation, they would feel more comfortable with someone from their background in their presence. This presumably is because she was no longer the minority in the group.

When two white males communicated amongst each other, they were very