This course has enabled me to take the knowledge I have and use it to re-contextualize the various cultures I’ve experienced, particularly the US and Denmark. It feels like I’ve been able to re-organize the experiences I had into new categories, such as things that represent how Denmark is less individualistic than the US, or how it is more ‘feminine’ (though I disagree with that terminology). For other categories, such as long-term orientation, I don’t feel like I have good examples to know which way Denmark leans (according to my own experiences), and it makes me excited to sometime return and look at the culture through that new lens of understanding.

Using the can-do statements, the frameworks we’ve explored in this class do enable me to achieve some of the higher level statements. For example, I can explain why family dinners are so important to Danish culture (related to being a feminine and non-individualist culture) and why relationships between students and teachers are so informal (low power distance).

Overall, this course has equipped me with new tools and perspectives that will better prepare me for future intercultural experiences. I’ve just made progress on a job opportunity in the Netherlands, and I am excited to have an opportunity in the very near future to apply to the competencies I’ve gained in this class. Thank you, Bruno and Christiane! 🙂