One of the biggest things that I have gotten out of this class is having a framework through which to think about why cultural differences might exist as opposed to just noticing them. Additionally, this class was a really interesting opportunity to reflect on American culture and think about how American values have shaped my perceptions of people and events. For example, when I was younger and constantly confused why my mom and grandma always showed up late to things, I used to say, “They have no concept of time,” but after learning about polychronic vs monochronic time, I realized that they have a different understanding of time. After taking this class, I have a better understanding of how even the simplest things that I take for granted as just parts of everyday life, such as time, all revolve around cultural values.

Also, as a language learner, things I have learned in this class have changed how I see learning a language. Especially when you’re first starting to learn a foreign language, it’s so easy to get bogged down in the grammar rules and learning slews of new words and not think as much about how language informs how people think. However, especially now that I have been speaking Russian for longer, it has been fun to think about cultural circumstances, such as power distance and gender roles, have shaped the language, and use that knowledge to better understand Russian culture.