Cross-Cultural Partner Journaling

Cross-Cultural Lab 1

Cross-Cultural Partner Journaling

Select a cross-cultural partner (CCP) with whom you will interact throughout the semester to gain insight into his/her culture and sharpen your skills as a cross-cultural servant. Your CCP, obviously, should be someone from a culture with which you are not familiar. For the purpose of this assignment, culture is defined in terms of national or ethnic culture (for example, Chinese, Hispanic, Nepali, Iranian, Nigerian, et cetera). You will meet a total of six times with your CCP during the semester. You will be required to submit a journal report of the meetings. (See attached format for CCP Logs. Due dates for log submissions will be assigned throughout the semester.) It is important to meet with your CCP in person, so you can experience nonverbal components of culture that are only observable in a “face-to-face” setting. You may communicate by other means throughout the semester, but at least six of your meetings must occur face-to-face. Your meetings will typically involve doing an activity together or having a conversation centered around an assigned topic.

Important: Inform your CCP from the beginning that you are taking a class on cross-cultural living, and you are meeting with him or her because you would like to learn about his or her culture and improve your skills in cross-cultural communication.

CCP Log 1:

Everybody has a story, and each person’s story reveals the values, beliefs, and experiences that shape him or her. This week, invite your CCP to share his/her story. It may be helpful to briefly share your own story first to create an atmosphere of openness.

Questions to Cover:

Where did your CCP grow up? What was his/her childhood like?

Does your CCP come from a small or large family (both nuclear and extended)? What role does each member of the family play? What special status or recognition does each member of the family receive?

What values were instilled in your CCP by his/her family and society?

What does your CCP do for a living? What does he/she hope to be doing in the near and distant future?

Write a summary of your CCP’s responses to the questions and reflect on your meeting using the given guidelines in the document, “CCP Log Format.” Complete this assignment and submit it by clicking on the link above (“Cross-Cultural Lab 1”).