1. When I went to Rock Island High School the past couple times I did a lot of things that I thought were really cool. One time when I was there in the science class they were working on making water filtration systems in their lab and I thought that was really neat to help with them and they were fun to make. Then in the study skills class they have I helped two different girls with their math homework. One of them was a senior and she was really eager to learn and was excited about doing the assignment. The other one was younger and was more timid. It seemed like she was uncomfortable asking for help and when I started helping her she was very reserved and it seemed like she was self-conscious about getting the answer wrong as we were talking through the problem together. That day we also helped with a class that was mentally disabled. Before we came they had made some fall desserts and we sat with them eating the desserts and talking about what their plans for Halloween were. Another day when I was there I helped a girl with her Driver's Ed homework and talked with her about how she was nervous about driving and was worried about crashing.
2. While I was working with a girl on her Driver's Ed homework and she was talking about how nervous she was the first thing that struck me was that it seemed very similar to the uncertainty avoidance concept. Most teenagers in America cannot wait to start driving and really love getting behind the wheel to drive everywhere. However, this young lady from a different culture was scared by this same act. She said she had never drove anything before and was scared by the thought of doing so. I think this shows a difference in cultures. Teenagers in America have grown up knowing they will drive someday and have driven bicycles, lawn mowers, and other vehicles that have helped them get used to the idea. Teenagers in other cultures may not have grown up with as much exposure to driving and are therefore more nervous about the idea and try to avoid it. I was also able to notice some nonverbal messages during the biology lab I was helping with. In building the water filtration system it was easy to tell if someone was confused because they would wrinkle their brow and just stare at the instructions for awhile without doing anything. This is a pretty universal symbol that someone is unsure of what to do next so then I would know to go over and see if they needed help instead of waiting for them to come to me to ask for help. Lastly, during their study skills class it was a little awkward for me trying to help a girl who did not know how to multiply simple numbers. Her assignment was multiplying double digit numbers and it was clear she did not understand what to do. She said that she had never gone to school on a consistent basis before and I think that shows how gender egalitarianism does not extend to all cultures. Males are often times seen as superior and they are the ones that are sent to school to get educated while the females are left at home because they are not seen as good enough.
3. I think the most important thing I will take away from these visits are that not all cultures are comfortable with the same things and how to effectively decipher nonverbal cues. It was really eye-opening for me to listen to a teenager talk about how she is scared to drive and doesn't want to when most other teenagers are counting down the days until they get to drive. I will now be more aware that not all cultures feel the same way about certain activities and to respect the feelings they may have. Also, having to rely on nonverbal cues for a good amount of time during biology showed me how important it is to be able to read them effectively. At one point I went up and asked a group if they needed help because it looked like they might but it turns out they were fine and I didn't want to make them feel like they weren't doing a good enough job on their own. I also didn't want to leave a group who needed help without assistance. It is difficult to read nonverbal cues sometimes but it is an essential part of communicating effectively.
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