THE PEACE CORPS CROSS-CULTURAL WORKBOOK
Culture MattersThePeace CorpsCross-CulturalWorkbookcPeace Corps InformationCollection and ExchangeT0087ISBN 0-9644472-3-1For sale by the U.S. Government Printing OfficeSuperintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328(202) 512-1800
Culture Matters, The Peace Corps first extensive cross-cultural workbook for the volunteers,represents a major effort forward in cross-cultural training. As community involvement is alwaysimportant, there were many people who have contributed to this work.The Peace Corps acknowledges the following people in the intercultural field who kindlyresponded to our request for activities: Robert Kohls, Geert Hofstede, Ned Seelye, LaRayBarna, Michael Paige, Margaret Pusch, Diane Hofner Saphiere, Ann Wederspahn, NealGoodman, Noel Kreicker, and Pierre Corbeil, and to Intercultural Press for their permission toinclude published material.The Peace Corps would like to thank the following people who contributed, enhanced andreviewed the workbook: Raquel Aronhime, Judee Blohm, Brenda Bowman, Joe Byrnes, JohnCoyne, Doug Gilzow, Diego Hay, Lani Havens, Duane Karlen, Lee Lacy, Mary Jo Larsen,Anne Latimer, Bill Perry, Kathy Rulon, Jim Russell, and Patrick Triano; Judy Benjamin foreditorial assistance and efforts; Steve Jacobs for design and layout; Craig Storti, for reseach andwriting in collaboration with Laurette Bennhold-Samaan, Cross-Cultural Specialist.This workbook is dedicated to Peace Corps trainees and Volunteers. We hope as you read thisyou will hear your own voices, and read and write your own cross-cultural stories.The Center's Information Collection and Exchange (ICE) makes available the strategies andtechnologies developed by Peace Corps Volunteers, their co-workers, and their counterparts todevelopment organizations and workers who might find them useful. ICE collects and reviewstraining guides, curricula, lesson plans, project reports, manuals, and other Peace Corpsgenerated materials developed in the field. Some materials are reprinted "as is"; others provide asource of field-based information for the production of manuals or for research in particularprogram areas. Materials that you submit to ICE become part of the Peace Corps' largercontribution to development.Information about ICE publications and services is available through
Table of ContentsContents ,Introduction . 1Chapter One—Understanding Culture . 51.1—Introducing Jan . 61.2—Between the Lines . 81.3—What Is Culture? . 101.4—A Tough Moment . 121.5—Linking Values to Behavior . 131.6—Universal, Cultural or Personal . 15Observation Activity . 171.7—Universal, Cultural, or Personal—Making Observations . 181.8—The Process of Cultural Conditioning . 181.9—In the Mind of the Beholder . 201.10—Defining Culture . 25Introducing Jan—An Analysis . 26Fundamentals of Culture—Introduction . 29Fundamentals of Culture I—The Concept of the Self . 30I.1—Sharing the Rewards . 30I.2—The Concept of Self—Individualism & Collectivism . 31I.3—Score Yourself—Individualist or Collectivist . 34I.4—Pleased to Meet You . 36Chapter Two—American Culture and American Diversity . 372.1—Dear Todd . 382.2—The Things We Say—Culture in Casual Expressions . 41Informant Activity . 43Culture Matters3The Peace Corps Cross-Cultural Workbooki
Table of Contents2.3—Thirteen Cultural Categories—American and Host Country Views ComparedInformant Activity . 442.4—Thinking About My Job . 512.5—Sources of American Culture . 542.6—How Non-Americans See Americans . 56Informant Activity . 572.7—Learning About America . 582.8—Now What? Diversity Critical Incidents . 592.9—On Being Different . 622.10—Parting Advice . 63Dear Todd—An Analysis . 65Fundamentals of Culture II—Personal vs. Societal Obligations . 67II.1—An Accident . 67II.2—Personal and Societal Obligations—Universalism & Particularism . 68II.3—Score Yourself—Universalist or Particularist . 71II.4—Thinking it Through . 73Chapter Three—Styles of Communication . 753.1—Dear Gavin . 763.2—Styles of Communication—Indirect and Direct . 783.3—Clash of Styles? . 803.4—Culture & Communication Styles—American and Host Country Views Compared . 813.5—Nonverbal Communication—Gestures, Eye Contact & Conversational StyleObservation Activity . 843.6—Dialogues . 883.7—Nonverbal Communication—Facial Expressions, Personal Space & TouchingObservation Activity . 913.8—Practicing Indirectness . 963.9—Decoding Indirectness . 97ii
Table of Contents3.10—Harmony and Saving Face . 99Dear Gavin—An Analysis . 101Fundamentals of Culture III—The Concept of Time . 103III.1—Service With a Smile . 103III.2—Concept of Time—Monochronic and Polychronic . 104III.3—Score Yourself—Monochronic & Polychronic . 107III.4—Indications . 108Chapter Four—Culture in the Workplace . 1094.1—From Jan’s Journal . 1104.2—Concept of Power—High & Low Power Distance . 1124.3—Trust . 1144.4—Dialogues .1154.5—Attitude Toward Uncertainty & The Unknown—High & Low Uncertainty Avoidance . 1184.6—Dialogues . 1204.7—No Legs . 1224.8—The Source of Status—Achieved or Ascribed . 1234.9—Workplace Values and Norms—Comparing American and Host Country Views . 1274.10—Observing the WorkplaceObservation Activity . 1314.11—You Americans . 1344.12—Pacing . 1364.13—Turning the Tables . 137From Jan’s Journal—An Analysis . 140Fundamentals of Culture IV—The Locus of Control . 143IV.1—Who’s In Charge Here? . 143IV.2—The Locus of Control—Internal & External . 144Culture Matters3The Peace Corps Cross-Cultural Workbookiii
Table of ContentsIV.3—Score Yourself—Internal and External Control . 147IV.4—Doing . 148Chapter Five—Social Relationships .1495.1—Dear Jan . 1505.2—The Circle of Relations . 152Informant Activity . 1545.3—Rules of the House—Interacting with a Host Country Family . 1565.4—The Limits of Friendship—What Do Friends Ask Friends To Do? . 161Informant Activity . 1625.5—What Would You Do? . 1635.6—Family Life . 1665.7—Romantic Relationships . 167Informant Activity . 1705.8—Men and Women—What Would You Do? . 171Dear Jan—An Analysis . 175Fundamentals of Culture—Comparing American and Host Country Views . 179Chapter Six—Adjusting to a New Culture . 1836.1—Dear Friends . 1846.2—Transitions . 1876.3—The Cycle of Adjustment . 1916.4—Settling In . 1966.5—The Little Things . 1986.6—The Four Levels of Cultural Awareness . 1996.7—Attitudes Toward Cultural Difference—From Ethnocentrism to Ethnorelativism . 2016.8—The Toughest Part . 208iv
Table of Contents6.9—Coping Strategies . 2096.10—Can I Still Be Me? . 213Appendix—Continuing Your Learning . 2191—Using Cultural Informants . 2202—Joining In . 2223—Keeping a Journal . 2244—Learning From The Media and The Arts . 2265—Critical Incidents . 2296—Studying an Institution . 230Answers . 233Chapter One . 233Fundamentals of Culture I . 234Chapter Two . 235Fundamentals of Culture II . 238Chapter Three . 239Fundamentals of Culture III . 243Chapter Four . 244Fundamentals of Culture IV . 251Chapter Five . 252Fundamentals of Culture—Comparing American and Host Country Views . 253Chapter Six . 254Culture Matters3The Peace Corps Cross-Cultural Workbookv
Table of Contentsvi
IntroductionIntroductionWelcome to Peace Corps’ cross-cultural training, one of the mostchallenging and rewarding dimensions of the toughest job you’ll everlove.This workbook, Culture Matters, is a map to guide you through yourcross-cultural experience and also a way for you to record your thoughtsand feelings as you live and work in your host country. It contains avariety of exercises, as well as stories and quotations from Volunteerswho have served before you, from experts on cross-cultural training,and from the kind of people you might expect to meet in your newcountry. Their stories present the exhilaration, satisfaction, confusion,and frustration that are all part of being a Peace Corps Volunteer. Thesestories and quotations, we hope, will inspire you, sober you, make youlaugh, and make you think. You can compare these sentiments to yourown observations and reactions as you move deeper into the culturearound you.We all would like to find a magic pill for crossing cultures, the “right”answer, a simple list of do’s and don’ts, and you will get some usefuldo’s and don’ts from your trainers. But crossing cultures is a dynamic,complex process, where context is everything. A list of behaviors or ascript can only take you so far, for what is a “do” in one set of circumstances might very well be a “don’t” in another. This workbook willhelp you function outside the script, to understand the values andbeliefs behind behavior, and, ultimately, how the local people think.Cross-cultural training involves not only learning about the placeyou’ve come to, but comparing it to what you’ve come from-to theassumptions and values that have shaped you. In Culture Matters,therefore, you will be examining the behaviors and values of people inyour host country in relation to those of people in your own. Thisworkbook does not intend to suggest that American culture isnecessarily superior or inferior to your host country’s culture.Mystery is delightful andexciting, but it is foolish toadmire it too highly. A thingis mysterious merely becauseit is unknown. There willalways be mysteries becausethere will always beunknown and unknowablethings. But it is best to knowwhat is knowable.—Aldous Huxley,Along the RoadMaking Sense of Your ExperienceYou may wonder why you need such a workbook since you are, afterall, living in the country and may even be living with a host family.Living in the country does expose you to the host culture, of course, butcross-cultural exposure is not cross-cultural knowledge. Having anexperience, in other words, does not necessarily mean understanding it.You need to make sense of the contact you’re having, which is whatcross-cultural training and this workbook are designed to do.Culture Matters3The Peace Corps Cross-Cultural Workbook1
IntroductionYou may understand much of what’s been happening to you, butmany actions, attitudes, values—entire ways of thinking and behaving—may on occasion surprise, puzzle, or even shock you. On the otherhand, you also may be unaware of what you have in common with hostcountry nationals. People in any culture, for example, need to find anacceptable way to express anger, cope with sadness, manage conflict,show respect, demonstrate love, or deal with sexuality. As we examinethe differences between two cultures, we are often looking at differentways of answering the same questions. If you don’t notice the similarities, it’s because the ways in which we act or think differently are whatproduce the most challenge and tension for us. What we have in commonoften goes unnoticed, but it is one of the most important parts of thePeace Corps experience.The Goal Is UnderstandingIn cross-cultural training and living, the goal is learning aboutyourself and others. Just as you want to learn another language so thatyou can communicate with local people and understand the new worldaround you, you also will want to learn the silent language of cultures—your own and your host country’s.In trying to appreciate the differences between your culture and thelocal one, you may feel that you’re supposed to like and accept all thesedifferences. Cultural sensitivity, however, means knowing about andrespecting the norms of the local culture, not necessarily liking them.You may, in fact, be frustrated or even offended by certain acts. In somecases, increased understanding will lead to greater respect, tolerance,and acceptance; in others, it just leads to enhanced awareness. The goalin cross-cultural training is to increase your understanding, to give youa powerful set of skills, a framework to make sense of whatever you doand experience as a Volunteer so that you will be able to interact successfully with host country people. That is what will make you aneffective Peace Corps Volunteer.A Couple of CaveatsIt’s impossible to talk about groups of people without generalizing,but without talking about groups, we can’t talk about culture. In orderto contrast and compare US Americans* and host country people, thisworkbook asks you to make a number of generalizations. Treat thesegeneralizations with skepticism and wariness. They can give youpotentially accurate and useful information, but the actual accuracy andusefulness will depend on the context and specific circumstances.* For brevity and simplicity, we will use the term Americans to refer to US Americans. We do, however, wish to acknowledge a globalperspective by recognizing those outside our nation’s borders who share in the heritage of the name “America.”2
IntroductionAmericans, for example, may be regarded as individualists, but in somecircumstances, Americans will be highly team oriented.Another concernwith generalizations is that we instinctively feel uncomfortable makingthem or being the subject of them. They rob us of what makes us unique.To allow you to express your individuality, this workbook whereverpossible gives you an opportunity to consider and record your personalviews.Keep in mind, too, that culture is just one of numerous influences onb
Culture Matters The Peace Corps Cross-Cultural Workbook c Peace Corps Information Collection and Exchange T0087 ISBN 0-9644472-3-1 For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office
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