Application Cross Cultural Experience Essay

Cross Cultural Experience
by Nathan Danielsen

Attending UC Berkeley has been an experience that I have found reaffirms how opened minded, adaptable and confident I am in who I am. When people speak of diversity and multiculturalism, they often associate it with the liberal UC Berkeley campus environment. Ironically most of the cross cultural skills that I have used at Berkeley are those that I refined growing up around conservative areas of Orange County and Los Angeles County. In both of these areas, I often found people that were set in their own ways. They were not interested in what you had to say because they assumed they are right and you are wrong. This is what I imagine many of the communities that Peace Corps volunteers serve in to be like.

The best solution that I could find to this “cultural gap” was to not consider it a “cultural gap.” I consider it an opportunity to better understand them and not judge their culture or their perspective. Traveling back and forth between the liberal bay area and the conservative Orange County has allowed me to be a member of both worlds. I often try to explain the others point of view to each other. It often has provoked people to realize how similar they are to one another. I can do this because I have taken a non judgmental and open approach to dealing with others. While being nonjudgmental I am a careful observer and constantly myself adapting to make the other more comfortable with my presence.

I use this approach with whoever I encounter. This strategy allowed me to become a Parisian when I studied abroad in Paris. I observed and mimicked the locals in so many aspects that at the end of my program people would regularly ask me for directions in the street. In my program group, I was voted the “American Gone Native.” Some of the funniest experiences that I had were in the local cafes talking to locals and North African immigrants about American Presidential politics in 2004. I had the interesting task of explaining why George W. Bush was reelected to office. The people I met responded to my openness and willingness to hear them out. Those were some of the meaningful contacts and genuine quick friends I made during my travels.

Many people feel that they are set in a style, culture or ideology. I am confident in who I am and confident enough to try new things. Being proven 'wrong' in a particular context just allows me the ability to adapt, refine and better myself.