Becoming Foreign

My knowledge of other cultures has improved a lot in these last six weeks. I am more aware of other people around me and how they might communicate based on their cultures. Before this class I always thought what people did that I wasn’t familiar with was weird.. For example, when I saw someone eating […]

I think that Smith College, particularly in the houses, nonverbal communication takes on a unique role. American culture is already very high context: we tend to be pretty explicit in our communication. In the close quarters of a residential college, this dynamic is amplified and it can be difficult to find moments of silence, let […]

Reading about nonverbal communication made me think about various nonverbal communication habits that I have picked up over time. Specifically, I was taught to always make eye contact or nod when I was listening to someone else speaking in order to show that I was being an attentive listener. I also will smile and wave […]

As for how I communicate nonverbally, one issue that I struggled with, especially as a kid, was growing up in a household with a parent who had been raised by someone from a contact culture. My grandmother is Colombian and immigrated to America as an adult, but because of her upbringing in a contact culture, […]

In my family, we communicate non-verbally with gesturers, and facial expressions. Everybody in my family uses lots of hand motions while they talk to complement and underscore what they’re saying. For example, when I ask a question or I’m expressing that I don’t understand something, I’ll gesture forward with my hands and with my palms […]

This article reminded me that I’m not the only person living in this world. I share this world with billions of people and we all communicate differently. When I first came to the US from Tanzania I was so confused by the way people acted. Once I was walking on my street and my landlord […]

Non-verbal communication has always played a rather significant role in my life. Throughout high school, I participated in numerous theatrical productions, and therefore, was accustomed to using various gestures and facial expressions to express my emotions. However, I never realized how often I rely on my face to reveal certain aspects of my disposition. Many […]

This article made me again think about how complex cultures are, also made me ponder on my behavior. I have noticed all these aspects (facial expressions, proxemics, gestures, eye contact, paralinguistics, voice quality, silence, and chronemics) across cultures, but never knew the terminology it was given, the importance it had and that there were actual […]

Reading about nonverbal gestures, all I could think about are the differences in nonverbal communication across different social and generational lines. When I’m with friends, I can stare at them from across the room making a strange face to get their attention. I can just hold the hand of the friend next to me at […]

This article reminded me of some of the nonverbal communication codes I learned during my homestay with a Rwandan family. One of them was an eye contact code. Growing up, my mother would always tell my sister and I to use eye contact when talking with other people and that it’s rude to look away […]