Cultural Analysis

While working at my service internship I saw many differences between British and American culture. For instance, my site supervisor Erim’s sense of humor. I was told that British humor tended to be more self deprecating than American culture and I realized that Erim liked to self deprecate himself while also teasing other people. He told me that when another staff member saw him with another intern, who is a large Irish guy, he joked saying, “Oh Erim, I see you’ve got yourself a bodyguard.” Bryan, the large intern, wasn’t offended and Erim wasn’t offended that someone would suggest that he even needed a bodyguard or that he was incapable of protecting himself. Values that I took from this situation was that it is important to be comfortable in your own skin when it comes to British humor. I also realized that my site supervisor Erim was less direct than bosses I’ve had in America. He would say “When you get a chance, please do that or this,” and because I had been warned I knew that he wanted me to complete these task right away. Important values that I took from this situation was that British people really value good manners and that it’s important to always be polite. I think that through these experiences at my internship I have improved my cultural competence in many ways. In America people find me to be very humorous and being aware of the self-deprecating nature of British humor has allowed me to gain many laughs from staff members at my internship. My experience in London has contributed to my experience as a global citizen by helping me to see how things actually are in London versus basing my opinions about London off stereotypes or fictional movies. I am more and more aware of my own identity, actions, values, and behaviors as a member of British culture every single day. I talk differently, I dress differently, and they’re aren’t many people with dreadlocks in London. One guy even asked me if I was Rastafarian and when I said no he teased me saying I had ‘cosmetic dreadlocks.’