Cross Cultural Analysis

Cross Cultural Analysis of Fulano and David

David W Richardson

Goshen College
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Cross Cultural Analysis Table

Similarities
1. The feeling that God has abandoned us at one time or another throughout our lives.

2. The Bible is valued as a gateway to knowing and walking with Jesus in our day to day

lives.

3. The pursuit of a career in service to young people.

4. Goshen College wasn’t our “first choice” but fit into our lives and fulfills our unique

needs.

5. Our fathers stood up for us when we weren’t in the state of mind to do it ourselves.

6. Our mothers have played key roles and have been influential in our shaping of who we

are today and what it means to be a part of a family.

7. Laws are meant to be followed.

8. Education we can better our lives.

9. Knowledge is important to the individual

Differences
1. He conveys the underling idea that cultural heritage is a prized position that must be

protected through different barriers.

2. His vivid and rich description of his Roman Catholic Church traditions out shines my

description of my personal church experience.

3. He’s got the idea that cultural heritage is a jewel that must be guarded and protected.

4. Cultural heritage is a result of our environment at its broadest level.

5. Cultural heritage is formed through our external experiences and developed internally

based on our beliefs.

6. The relationship between a father and his family. The future role that we will play in our
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families.

7. Food preferences.
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There are similarities and differences in the cross cultural analysis of Fulano and myself.

First, I will explore the similarities between the two of us followed by an exploration of our

differences. It must be noted that the two of us are different. We have traveled down different

paths since the day we were born and we are also at different places in our lives and at different

maturity levels.

Even with so many differences between the two of us there are similarities too. One

similarity of our cultural values is our belief in God and Jesus. We both know that we can turn

to the Bible for our spiritual guidance. Even though we come from different cultures this is a

commonality. The governments of Mexico and the United States have an underlying theme of

Christianity running through it. Yes that is an argument that will not be discussed further in this

reflection and so going on with the reflection leads into the next thought which is about the

government. They both exist to serve the people. Our beliefs on what is right and wrong can

also be tied into the shared Christianity theme. Much of what he would say to be wrong would

also be wrong to me.

Another shared theme is the career field we’ve both decided to pursue. During the

interview I noticed a shift in his interest in regards to teaching, though. He said that he has

thought of changing his education major to graphic design but says that he has spent too many

semesters investing in his education major. This is a person that is unsure of what he wants to

do. Should he continue with his level of discord it may ultimately end with a rather short career

as a teacher. I immediately asked a question to prompt him too open up the possibility that he

could be satisfied teaching by bringing his huge passion for the arts into his future classroom.

His idea to be an ENL teacher is based off of the experiences he had at Goshen High School and

saw the value in becoming one himself. He articulated this very well in our interview. Like I
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mentioned his passion is art. One of my passions is physical fitness. I have already established

ways that I can incorporate fitness into my teaching career. I want to share the benefits of being

healthy with my students just as Fulano wants to share his passion for art with his students.

We have our differences too. One major difference is Fulano’s idea that cultural heritage

is valuable and must be protected so as to not lose it. There are decisions that he may make that

may result in the further preservation or loss of it. He feels like he would be further separated if

he becomes a US Citizen. I do agree in that sense but the idea that culture should be protected is

a real drag in some respects. Cultural differences arise based on regional differences and if you

think you can protect your way of life if you move thousands of miles away to a place that has a

different climate and landscape then you are going to have conflicts keeping certain aspects of

your culture alive in your life.

These conflicts are left to fester in the individual. Fulano is from a climate that doesn’t

get snow and having not experienced snow the cultural traditions of this area of sledding,

tobogganing, skiing, ice skating, snow ball fights, driving in the snow, and other cold weather

related activities are quite foreign to him and the warm year around temperatures of central

Mexico is quite the opposite. There are activities that he has done in Mexico that can’t be done

here and activities that are done here that can’t be taken to Mexico. The cultural aspects that are

based on ones climate must be changed to fit that of the new climate. Once he learns to let go of

these environmental based cultural differences he will live a better life.

There are also aspects of culture that don’t change because of geographic differences

between two people. The broader views and beliefs that a person holds true in their hearts will

be taken to the new location. The way you carry out your beliefs will be different. It’s often

very easy to point at the way people carry out their beliefs. This is because we are able to see it.

People aren’t able to see into someone’s beliefs.

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What does this have to do with Fulano and me? First of all let me define a few terms for

you. First order is the internal cultural beliefs of a person and is characterized by their

broadness. The second order is how the beliefs are carried out which can be through specific

activities. For example, a Brazilian farmer believes that social relationships are positive and a

Goshen, Indiana Mennonite man beliefs the same thing. The Brazilian farmer holds an outdoor

after dark barbecue each Friday night with his workers. The Mennonite is actively involved in

small church group that meets every other Tuesday night for dinner in his home. Are the two

people all that different? The answer is both. It depends if we view first or second order

differences. In this example, the first order is the same and the second order is carried out

differently. So Fulano has second order cultural activities that he remembers doing when he was

in Mexico. Fulano is in conflict with his second order and sadly some of the second order that he

is in discontent with are not going to change if he becomes a citizen of the United States or not.

I have thought about the differences more than he has and on a deeper level and that

worrying about the second order is a wasted effort. I haven’t moved to a place that directly

challenges my first order and neither has Fulano. For example, I believe that regular physical

fitness will lead to a long and healthy life and there are cultures out there that don’t believe that

and if I were to move into an area where this was the case I would not want to change and I

would not assimilate in that regard. If I moved to another location of the United States like

Alaska then I would have to find a different way to carry out my belief in physical fitness. It

may be cultural tradition to run and that’s all I have done. It is a part of my heritage. I have run in

two marathons, but what am I going to do in Alaska during the winter time? Running is second

order so I would simply swap it out to say cross country skiing. Embracing the second order of a

new area leads me to retain my prized cultural beliefs.

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The next person you meet that is culturally different from you I challenge you to take

some time to get to know them. Discover your differences. Determine if the differences are first

order or second. If they are second order then open them up to new ways of carrying out their

first order. The topic of the next paper will be about handling first order differences.