Today we had meetings to discuss culture shock, some logistics, and the entire purpose of the program. The latter of these seminars took place on Capitol Hill in a tall building with senator offices and a weird piece of art the size of a small house in the center atrium.
Though I had given it some thought, it was interesting to hear the secretaries of state departments and a senator, the ones who work to keep the program funded, and their viewpoints on the matter.
The main purpose is a cultural exchange. The goal is to create connections, friends, to explain misconceptions about American culture, and to act as kind of a mini-ambassador to a German community. In our age of instant communication and wide spread national media, it is not difficult for images of America and American culture to propagate across the pond but those images are not always correct. An example presented was encountering a German family who though Thanksgiving was a horrible holiday because when families gather in all the movies, they are always angry at each other and not happy to be there!
A deeper understanding of a culture through time allows for a positive and continuing relationship. They mentioned that a sizable chunk of today's world leaders had spent significant time studying or living abroad.
Culture was explained as an iceberg. Behaviors are the only part we see, the tip of the iceberg. That tip is supported by underlying values and thought patterns. This under-water portion of culture, so to speak, is the part that doesn't change quickly over time. Knowing and understanding these deep cultural values and thought patterns can help predict and understand the visible behaviors. There is so much more to be said about this but I feel I am getting wordy.
-H
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