HOW MY INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION HAS BEEN SHAPED THROUGHOUT THE YEARS

The world is full of rich cultures, fascinating languages and unique people and to have had the opportunity to be in touch with so many at this point in my life is something that has changed my awareness of how I see the world and also enhanced how I connect with others.

While my first language is German, I have been exposed to different cultures early on in my life. Public school was where I was first introduced to the idea of different cultures. While some friends were strongly connected to their religion, others did not feel they believed in any, and I was somewhere in between. I learned that each one of us had different ideas on the a concept, and that each is 'correct' in its own way since it aligns with people’s culture and their beliefs. This, however, was only a brief introduction to the idea of ‘cultures’ as I would soon find out more when moving to a whole other continent.

Having moved at a young age, it did not take me long to adjust to the new setting. During the time, we had moved to Africa, which is a quite different from day to day life growing up in Germany. I enjoyed meeting new people but there was a slight barrier between us: the language. While most of the people I met were able to communicate in German (I visited a German school), therefore students and teachers also, many could only speak in English. As for myself, I could only communicate using either hand gestures or asking my parents to translate. In the end, we only ended up living in Africa for a few months, therefore I was unable to make close friends nor learn another language. However, I did learn to communicate with others even if I did not know the language and was quite nervous though soon I managed to adjust to the new place I was living in.

We ended up living in Africa for only a few months, instead we moved to Asia, specifically Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This is where I can say my first intercultural communication truly took place, mainly because I visited an international school there for the first time in my life. Learning English was top priority, since I had no other form of communicating with everyone in school. I was very nervous; less people around me spoke German and I had little option to communicate with everyone. Luckily, I quickly made a friend who was also German and introduced me to my class. Consequently I took EAL classes to help me learn the language. I ended up making another friend who was also German, I felt very relieved to have someone that could help me out in case I needed it. Although picking up the language quickly, their help would not be needed for much longer. Learning the language really helped me open up to new people, as I could communicate with them. It was very interesting to see where others came from and how different everyone was. My friend was actually half German half Thai, so as I got to know her better, I also learned more about her background and culture. It was very interesting for me to see that ‘home’ can be several places, it doesn’t just have to be one like Germany was for me. I found that it helped me be more aware of who I am and who the people around me are. Quickly, the interaction of different cultures was very normal to me.

The first skill which I developed was living with a more global mindset, being open to the diverse cultures which I interacted with on a daily bases, using some of their knowledge as a base to thrive my own learning. Thinking back, I really do believe that the reason why I enjoyed learning in an international context so much, was because I not only learned from what the teacher explained, I also learned so much from and about other people and their background which I would not have learned living in a place with one main cultural influence. I enjoyed sharing about my life back in Germany, however, it was equally enjoyable to adapt to new ideas and concepts that I wasn’t used to. On the whole I would say that by stepping into such a culturally diverse environment in which I was at first unable to communicate with everyone, I had the chance to step outside of my comfort zone and meet new people who helped me see the world in a new perspective by bringing in their ways of learning.

This kind of learning did not only occur in school, however, it also occurred at home. We lived next to a family with two sisters who were around my age. We quickly became friends once I would communicate in English with them. Their culture was also much different from what I grew up with, and soon enough we would spend a lot of time together. When I visited them, I was made aware of how different our lifestyles were; the toys we played with, the food we ate, the things we would do on a day to day basis. We exchanged ideas and experiences, I became more aware of the environment around me. Spending time with them also gave a better insight into the culture of the country, the norms. Many ideas in the Cambodian society for example differ to the German ones. I learned to use what I learned from both cultures and interact with others. I met a lot of new people during that time, their life being so different from the one I lived. Overall, living in Cambodia made me a more open-minded and confident person.

However, all good things come to an end, and it was time to move once again. We would visit Thailand and after a few visits it was clear that the capital Bangkok would be my new home. It was quite overwhelming. The biggest difference between Cambodia and Thailand which I noticed right away was the industrialization. Even though Bangkok was extremely overwhelming at first since I had lived in Cambodia for so long which was very different, I soon learned to love the city. We also travelled around other countries, which additionally enhanced my understanding of other cultures, what similarities they share and which differences part them.

Whilst living in Asia, I also looked forward to the holidays that we would spend back in Germany. I missed family and friends that I hadn’t seen, which I would always spend so much time with when we lived back in Germany. At that point I had spent about a quarter of my childhood outside of my original home. Coming back was (and still is) always a little strange: the people speak my mother tongue, the weather is drasticially different, the food, everything. It takes a few days to adjust. However, the biggest difference that really got to me was how much my friends had changed. Getting older is one thing that can sometimes prove to be a challenge, but one of my closer friends was also very religious and some of the things we would do when we were younger were not as acceptable when you were older. This was new to me and unfamiliar because I grew up with a different religion, but so I learned that even though you may not be able to do everything from the past, new is not always bad. Eventually we grew back into the close friends we were by showing each other different ideas from each culture. For example, even if we couldn’t do one thing, I brought in a game from Cambodia and it would be just as much fun. While each one of us had to adjust in some way, we grew closer again because we found ways to work with what we had.

At this point in my life, I had just moved to Bangkok and visited the another international school which was even bigger than the one in Cambodia with an even greater number of people. Being able to speak English made the whole transition a lot easier but nevertheless I continued to improve in the skills which I gained living in an intercultural environment. I was presented with a great range of opportunities and over the years learned to take risks, later on evaluating what they taught me.

Please watch this video as evidence from my past experiences:

While English was the primary language that I spoke in school, I was surrounded with the Thai language on a daily basis. The reason as to why I did not pick up the language was because no direct opportunity was available and because we expected not to live in Bangkok for a long time, since we had always been on the move. This turned out to be very different, nevertheless was I always exposed to new cultures. I ended up taking a French course after school since we expected to move back to Germany where a second additional language would come in helpful. I pursued the French program after school and online, but ended up quitting since it was not required and I would not move to Germany in the near future. However, the program did teach me basic terminology and I learned how different languages can be. While English and German are quite similar, French proves the diversity of the many languages.

Here is evidence of me practicing French on an App called “Duolingo” where I can chat (in French) with others but also complete small quizzes:

As of now I am still living in Thailand and interacting with so many cultures on a day to day basis; my classmates, friends, teachers; everyone around me. I feel that because I have had this incredible opportunity, I learned to be more open minded to new cultures and be aware of the culturally diverse world we live in. I have a deep respect for all cultures and have learned so much about them. My friends are spread around the world, and I have learned how to build strong relationships with them and adapt to their cultures and religions. They have taught me that each culture is so different, and that there are various norms to each. I believe that if I had not been exposed to this context, I would not be living with such a great sense of awareness as to the people around me and getting to know each their stories. I might find it harder to communicate with people I do not know so well because I am not used to being around people who grew up much differently than I did. In the future, I think that a diverse environment can help me interacting with anyone and adjusting to a new setting which I might not be as comfortable with at first. I want to express my deep sense of gratitude for this life changing opportunity because it is a chance that not everybody gets and because it has taught me so much not only about myself but also about the world around me. I am now aware that I can constantly learn from my peers and hope that in the future I will be in touch with many more cultures, learning and interacting with them often.

Hannah