Blog 5:

A theme I noticed had to do with familiarity, or the degree to which I knew or could predict a person. It seemed as if every time I saw them we were becoming more used to each other. We were starting to understand each others' body language, even though language was still a barrier.

This experience will help my future interpersonal interactions in that I've learned that different isn't necessarily that scary. You can become familiar with others whose culture is different than yours. There are simply things you have to understand first like their mannerisms, ways of addressing others, language, and other characteristics of culture. Once you have a grasp on these things, or at least know that they are as different to you as you are to them, it'll make it easier for you to communicate with one another more effectively and respectfully.

Blog 4:

During my second to last visit to my Nepalis family we encountered other people. World Relief had been able to relocate our family to another place near their relatives. A nephew of hers spoke English very well, though he was young, he'd spent three years in the US and knew the language. When he spoke Nepalis and English he did a lot of code switching, or speaking a different language depending on the individual. I noticed whenever he spoke to us he automatically switched to speaking in English, but the second he turned to a relative he switched back to Nepalis. He was also very formal when speaking to us, but more casual when speaking to his relatives. I noticed this in the words and manners he used when speaking to us in contrast with the relaxation he projected when speaking to his family. This changed after about an hour of conversing and he became more informal with us. I also had a very large sense of familiarity being with them, or the degree to which the circumstances were predictable or known to me. The family joked, laughed, and played around so warmly it was hard not relax. Though I am not Nepalis, their warmth and way of interacting with one another reminded me of my Mexican culture and family. This is why I was able to relax, know, and even predict some of their behavior, even though I didn't know their language.

I already knew a bit of code switching due to me being able to do it with English and Spanish. However, now I'm more aware of how other people do it and in the future I'll be able to understand that it's very common with people who can speak different languages. I will also be more aware of code switching for other things like prestige and social status and how they're shown in terms of manners, politeness, and words. I've also realized that I can have more familiarity with others from different cultures and languages if I try to find things or behaviors that are universal or related to my cultures.

Blog 3:

During my fourth visit to my Nepalis family we had an easier time trying to communicate. I had a sheet of phrases that a friend had given me. They were words and phrases translated from English to Nepalis. When I started to read them off to the mother she immediately brightened and started speaking back to me. Or trying to. I realized that I was pronouncing some of the words wrong and she would correct me. My phonological skills were off because I wasn't sounding out the letters and words correctly. This meant that sometimes I'd say something that was so far off their actual word, all she could do was start laughing. She also misunderstood a couple times that I tried to say a word in Nepalis. I also noticed that for several phrases, social hierarchy and respect was shown. Respect was shown with different words according to who you were talking to. Respect was also shown in terms of social hierarchy, or addressing people from different statuses. For example, when speaking to an older person the Nepalis use one word and when talking to someone younger they use another. This shows the strict social hierarchy and respect shown in words for the Nepalus culture. She tried to explain the differences and circumstances under which each would be said. Of course, I couldn't understand much of what she said, but paying attention to the context of the situation helped me understand what she was meaning to say.

The phonological concept applied in this situation helped me understand how important it is. It showed me how just a slightly different sound can make a totally different word. It also reminded me to try harder when pronouncing another language's word so that I'm not misunderstood in the future. I also know now that social hierarchy plays a large role in other cultures, much more than I'm used to. Knowing that words can reflect a futures stand on showing respect has taught me to next time listen to the meaning of words and phrases to better understand what it means to show respect in that culture.

Blog 2: First Day

For our first meeting I met up with a World Relief (WW) intern at my assigned family's home. There was a mother and her son at home to greet us. The WW intern showed me the hand signal that meant hello in their language. They kept staring at me and I figured it was because they hadn't met me before. The four of us sat down in their living room and we introduced ourselves. Shortly thereafter, the son left to for his room. The intern had brought several children's books with pictures and words which we used to help her learn English. The woman would repeat everything we said and we would move one to the next picture. The intern told me to also ask about some of the items in the woman's language so that it looked like we were also interested in it. I tried to do this several times but the woman didn't understand what I was asking. I did notice that some things she said were repeated a lot, like the word, Nepalis, and I realized that was her language  Once I knew this I asked permission to write down those words in Nepalis and English. She understood what I was doing and immediately got excited. I saw that she started paying more attention and was eager to learn once she knew that I was writing down her language too. We exchanged Nepalis and English words for the rest of our time together.

I was extremely nervous at first because I didn't know where my family was from, or their culture, and was very worried about insulting them in some way. I asked the intern a few questions, observed my family for a while to see what they were like while the intern spoke to them, and then I finally interacted with them. Doing these things greatly reduced my anxiety and I was also applying the Uncertainty Reduction Theory. There was a huge communication barrier between the family and us due to not being able to speak the other's language. Another thing I noticed was that I was self-monitoring a lot. I kept trying to keep my hands still because I didn't know if any hand gestures I made might offend them. I also noticed that after any phrase or movements I made I'd immediately stop and look at her face to see if I'd done something wrong.

After realizing these things I know that I'll probably keep self-monitoring a bit more until I'm more familiar with their culture and family. Just as I do this I also think that they might feel the same way and were more than likely also self-monitoring. I also now know what to do in the future to greater reduce my anxiety towards others of different cultures. I also realized that if that's the way I felt while still being in my own country and surrounded by familiarity, then I can only imagine how anxious that family must be to learn about all our country's cultures to reduce their own anxiety since they're so unfamiliar of what's here. This also might be also why, at the end of our first meeting, as we were saying goodbye, she pointed to my skin, and asked if I was also Nepalis. I answered no, I'm Mexican-American, to which she got quiet. Then I joked, pointing at my arm, then hers, saying that we were close though. We all laughed then and I wondered how hard it must be for her to be in a place where many people didn't look like her and couldn't speak her language. I felt lonely as it was last year when I had nobody to speak Spanish to here and felt that I didn't have something to relate to my culture. Yet I at least had English-she doesn't. At least, not yet.

Blog 1: Pre-Service 

I will be volunteering for the World Relief organization. This organization helps refugees transported from different countries acclimate to living in the U.S. as well as help them get started here. World Relief is probably a huge salvation to many refugees who couldn't stay in their home country due to dangerous circumstances.

 I believe most of the refugees will be running from some sort of danger that's happening in their country whether it be war or politically related. I assume many are relieved that there's an organization that will help take them out of that situation, yet I also think that many will still miss their homeland terribly and go through hardships here as well. From fear to homesickness these are things many will feel when they arrive. Many will need to get used to our culture, and subcultures seeing as how this country is made up of so many, and language in order to survive, in a relatively short amount of time. Most will probably be excited at first, then nervous, then scared and helpless until someone comes and tells them that they are doing well and helps them out. Because of this I'm assuming the family that was assigned to me will need help getting used to living in the U.S. and maybe also with the English language.

My hopes for this service-learning project are to meet new people from different cultures, experiences, and just overall lives, in order to expand my knowledge and understanding of others that are different. I would like to assimilate their experiences and cultures so that we can understand each other and help one another. I really hope to help the family I'm assigned get used to living here and know that things will be alright. While I'll definitely help them with the language and acclimation I also know that they will need help socially. They'll need to know that they will be fine and will have a companion to talk to and support them.

Being a Forensic Psychology major I'm very interested in people and how and why we act the way we do. I realize that an important reason we act or do certain things is due to our culture or past. I want to broaden my knowledge of others' cultures and lives and I know that this experience will help me do so. I also have a bit of first hand knowledge of going to a place where you don't know the language. My family came to the US from Mexico just as I was starting elementary, so the English language was confusing to me at first, but being young I was able to learn it fast. However, I know that these refugees will have gone through much more than just the language shock. Learning about others while simultaneously being able to help them is something that I'm incredibly interested in.