Two weeks ago, Li Li, associate professor of kinesiology, was in Shanghai, China for a conference and said he felt culturally shocked in his own country. “Asian people hosting a conference is very different,” Li said. “They pick you up from the airport, order your meal, constantly ask what you need and are always at your side.” Li was one of four speakers in a panel discussion that took place Monday evening in the Peabody conference room. The discussion titled “Lost in Translation: Communicate Cross-Culturally” was hosted by the International Studies Society in celebration of International Education Week. Jean Brager, French studies instructor; Jill Brody, professor of anthropology; and Yves Damoiseau, business graduate student and native of Germany, joined Li in the discussion. Each spoke about personal cross-cultural experiences and answered questions posed by about 20 participants comprised of both American and international University students. The attentiveness of Li’s hosts during his visit to Shanghai was a cultural behavior he had forgotten in his 17 years in the United States. Each panelist emphasized the idea that the understanding of another culture is more important than a full grasp of another language. “Language is a vehicle,” Li said. “We often fail to realize we can’t drive this empty vehicle – we have to have culture.” When asked what a traveler should do when he realizes he’s made a cultural faux-pas, Brody said mistakes are the only way to learn about a culture. “You have a certain amount of license as a foreigner,” she said. “Sometimes the question you want to ask can’t be answered, so mistakes are key.” The panelists also mentioned body language as being part of the communication gap among cultures. Brager noticed an American woman continually stepping back from his French colleague who was apparently standing too closely when speaking with her. “They say in France that if you can’t smell someone’s perfume or cologne when you’re speaking with them, you’re not close enough,” Brager said. Bharat Bhushan, chemical engineering post-graduate student from India, attended the discussion and has been in the United States two months. He said he has not felt any significant cultural problems in communicating with others. “In my opinion, it’s about liking someone based on a personal rather than cultural mindset,” Bhushan said. “People from India usually have a sufficient background in English, and the rest I just learn from being very observant.”
—Contact Olivia Hernandez at [email protected]