D.I.E

"The first step is D: describe.  -Describe the situation in concrete, observable terms.  

The second is I: interpret.  -Try to find at least three different interpretations of the interaction or occurrence.  

And finally, E: evaluate.  -Evaluate what you observed or experienced.  Consider how you might have felt if you were a member of the host culture and held the dominant cultural values and beliefs."  

An Uncomfortable Situation

The only thing that I can remember that was uncomfortable during the trip was the way people greeted each other by a kiss on the cheek. With each greeting, the correct way to say hello was to have a kiss on the cheek with the person you are seeing. With some people, we would only have the kiss and with other people there would be a kiss and a hug. There were also people that would not hug or kiss me when we saw each other.

Description: During the New Years celebration, the extended family came over to watch the fireworks. I met aunts, uncles, cousins, and my grandmother. My host mother took me downstairs to the parking lot, but I didnt comepletly understamd where we were going. I though we were going to the store, but we stopped at a car full of people. I waited on the side for her to talk to the strangers, but she called me and introduced me as her gringa. I was told their names and gave them all the proper greeting. When they started unpacking food from their car I realized that they were part of the family and I understood the conversations more. There was a lot of attention on me and everyone was talking really fast, so I couldn’t keep up. I was really confused amd uncomfortable and I didn’t know where to stand. There wasn’t enough time to stop my host mom to explain the situation, but they all were nice and patient with me as I tried to remember the names and understand all the relationships.

Interpretation: A lot of my discomfort came from trying to focus of too many things at one time. I was trying to remember names, understand relationships, remember that I had to kiss everyone, and I was still making noises and movements from my episode on the train. The greeting was uncomfortable because they are more intimate than our greetings in the United States. We keep a little distance from people most of the time amd that is especially true for stramgers. I am not used to anything closer than a handshake or hug when I see people, so it took a little of my security away from me. My personal space was different. I was also insecure about my spanish. I was afraid to speak to the original host family because I had just met them and then I had ten more people to communicate with when I spanish was not strong enough. I didn’t want them to think I was stupid, but they had to repeat things many times for me to start to understand. The final thing was I wanted to present myself in the best way because I was a represe tation of my real family. I was trying to find things to help with so I would not look like a lazy American, but I did not know the vocabulary to form my questions. I was very anxious for the first part of the night.

Evaluation: My family has been hosting students for a long time, so they knew what I was feeling in a mew environment that had a different language and culture. They introduced me to everyone individually, so I would not have the chance to hide in the corner. They did everything possible to make me feel like part of the family. They did not seem frustrated from having to repeat themselves, but they probably had the same anxiety as I had about being accepted and presenting themselves in a friendly way. Everyone made it a priority to keep me in the conversation or talk to me themselves to learn about me. If I were in their shoes, I would have been nervous about being rejected or ignored because it would be hurtful to have your family and culture disrepected.