ESL 21b

Essay 1.2

"Avoiding Intercultural Conflicts"

    It's really hard for a foreign visitors to avoid intercultural conflicts and misunderstanding. Many people define intercultural conflict in many ways different way, since everyone has their own definition to a word. Intercultural conflict in my own words means not following traditions, since every culture has their own traditions, etc. In India, a country in the middle east,Cut there are two main things that aArt foreign visitors have to get used to and know. First is the cultural dressingAwkward, where people dress with not showing skin{***}Punctuation and the second is thatCut to keep space between you and another person that you are talking to in society. There are a lots people that visit India, but they get in a lots of conflicts because they follow the cultures traditions{1}. If people don't follow this traditions they get disrespected and people will not allow their family members to talk to them. They will look at them differently and treat them badly if they don't follow the traditions. It's hard {***}MissingWsomeone to follow other people's cultural traditions, but not to look different and to have freedom, it {***}MissingWbetter for them to follow it. There are a lots of places that foreign visitors could go if they follow India's traditions and if they don't follow it, people will allow them in that places.

    FirstVague is to follow the culture dressing that India have. For a foreign visitors to accept India culturalWForm is hard. In India, people are not allowVForm to show their skin. With age the dressing style changes. Girls that are under 10 years old, couldVTense show their legs and wear anything. Girls between 10 to 20 years old, can't show their skin, only arms, feet, neck, and face. After age of 20, girls have to wear Indian dress in public and even in their house. Girls that get marryWForm, have to cover their head in front of their in-laws. A foreign visitor have to wear clothes that doesn't show skin. If they don't wear cultural clothes than people will look at them differently and will not allow them to enter their community or their house. For example, my friend named Pooja, who isVTense born here in U.S. She went to India in the summer, so it was to hot there. She wore clothes where you could see a lots of her skin. People didn't let her in their house cause they thought that it will impact on their daughters to dress like that. It was really hard for her to make friends and go to places. In India, people don't allow you in the temples if you dress to short. It's was hard for her to dress in full clothes when it was so hot, but not to look different and to be respected she had to wear it. When she started dressing like other people, she made a lots of friends and went to a lots places, where they respected her. She had more freedom to go to any temple she wanted to see. It was much earlier for her to live in India and enjoy her vocation with following the traditions. In the article "Sex Roles," by Hamilton McCubbin and Barbara Blum Dahl describes what is the differences between women and men. Also, that man have more rights than woman. There are a lots of things that man can do, but woman can't. In India, men have more rights than women. Men don't have to change their dressing style, but women's do have to change their dressing style in order to be respected. Women's are not allow to speak in society or even in front of their family.

    There are a lot's of changes that a foreign woman visitor have to make that foreign man not have to make.

    Second is to keep space between you and the other person in society. Foreign visitors get in conflicts if they don't keep the space between a person that they are talking to or between their partner. When talking to another woman, a visitorsSing/Plu should keep a distance about 1 to 2 feet's. When talking to other person, they should not use their hand or touch the other person they are talking to. Indian people don't like people that shows their relationship in front of society. Kissing or holding hand in public with create a conflict. Even if you are married, you can't hold your partner's hand. They have to keep some distances between them, than they will be treaded with respect. For example, there was one couple that went to India to visit, named Sandra and John. They were married here in U.S. and went to honeymoon in India. They went to Taj mahal, where there are a lots of people around. They were kissing in public, where people started staring at them with anger and moving their families away from them. People were calling them shameless and were cussing at them in Hindi, Indian language. People don't want their wives or their daughters to see kissing in public. It's against the culture and they don't respect you if you show your relationship in public. When a man is talking to woman they should always keep their hands to themselves and don't force a woman to talk to you. Woman are not allow to talk to people that they don't know. Keeping a distance will keep you out of conflicts. In the article "Where Do We Stand," by Lisa Davis describes that how American stand when they are talking to another person and how same other countries stands. HeWChoice describe that what voice should use when you are talking to another person and how much distances you should keep when you are talking to different person.

    There are a lot's of countrySing/Plu that have different traditions and cultures that a foreign visitor have to follow to avoid intercultural conflicts and misunderstanding. There are two traditions that a foreign visitors have to follow in India that are culture dressing and to keep distances between you and the person you are talking to or your partner. First, to dress where their skin can not be shown only their arms, feet, neck, and face are shown. If they don't dress like that people will not respect you and will not allow you to their house, because they don't want their wives or daughters to dress like that. Second, to keep space about 1 to 2 feet's between you and the person you are talking to and should not using any kind of touch when they are talking to another person. If someone kisses in public, people will get angerWForm at you and will move away from you. People will not respect you and will call you shameless. It's hard for a person to follow other country's culture, but not to look different from other it good to follow them. If a foreign visitor follows the traditions, it's will be easy for them to live in India and not get in conflicts.