Assignment: Immersion Project—Dialogue Plan

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Culture Immersion Project

Name: Faiileono Tiumalu

Instructor: Professor. Jan Ivery

Date: June 20, 2021

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Culture refers to the way of life of a particular group. It can be divided into two; material

and non-material culture. Material culture refers to resources, physical objects, and spaces that

represent a specific group. Different cultures have different ways of designing and building their

homes, houses, offices, and cities, weapons and hunting instruments, household articles, food, and

drinks, as well as ornaments. Others use technology to gain a competitive advantage in the

business world.

On the other hand, non-material culture refers to beliefs, values, language, symbols, and

rules that define a society. A logo is a sign used to represent something. For instance, the United

States flag represents democracy, freedom, and the values of the American people. Another

common symbol is shaking hands which is evident in different communities. It is used to convey

friendship or a sign of greetings.

The culture I would love to focus on is Asian culture. The growth and diversification of the

Asian civilization over the past decade have been phenomenal. Driven by immigration and refugee

settlement during the '70s and '80s, Asians have emerged as the fastest-growing racial group (Kim,

2007). In the United, States Asians are at least twelve point five million individuals and represent

more than thirty different ethnic groups such as Lao, Filipinos, Bangladeshi, Japanese, Chinese, Sri

Lankan, Hmong, Cambodian, Malay, Vietnamese, among others. Moreover, the Asian culture

depicts differences in the local dialect, educational level, political perspectives, and religion. For

instance, two Filipinos may communicate in English because one's native language is Ilocano

while the others in Tagalog. Another factor that contributes to the complexity of the Asian culture

is the increasing number of interracial marriages. Thousands of Asian children have American

roots where their parents are from other cultures. For instance, a Vietnamese teenager may have an

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African American father but a Korean mother, therefore learning English as his language of

communication.

The most common cultural customs in Asia include, first, the way of greeting. As different

communities are used to shaking hands to greet people in Asia, this is not the case. The most

common method to greet a person is "Wai.." An individual brings his hands together and gives a

slight bow of the head while saying hello. It is also a sigh of respect, especially in Japan and South

Korea (Kim, 2007). Different etiquette rules accompany the bow; a deep depth is used for a formal

setting, such as funerals or religious events. Second, removing shoes before entering an Asian

home is a sign of courtesy. Most homes have indoor slippers to make the person feel more

comfortable.

Third, a person's feet and hands are regarded as an essential part of the body. A person is

not allowed to be touched their head or feet. The feet are regarded as the dirtiest part of the body.

Considering, this culture loves sharing food among themselves, hygiene is really maintained to

avoid illness. Forth, when served with a drink, a person is not allowed to pour it since it shows

disrespect to the host family. The host family keeps refilling the guest glass as a form of etiquette.

Lastly, public display of affection is not allowed in the Asian culture. It is rude when members of

the opposite sex are seen kissing or holding each other's hand in public. These are regarded as

intimate acts and should be done in private. My current perception of this culture is that they do not

use spoons while eating, which is different from other cultures, and they do not shake hands.

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Reference

Kim, K. H. (2007). Exploring the interactions between Asian culture (Confucianism) and

creativity. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 41(1), 28-53.