The older I get, the more I see how much of a privilege it was to grow up in a space surrounded by people from a wide variety of countries. It provided a space to see that my “normal” wasn’t necessarily everyone else’s “normal”, cultural clashes and embarrassing mistakes are a natural part of cross cultural interaction, and we gain so much more when we work through the initial discomfort that comes when faced with difference.
I’ve been in my “home” culture now longer than I was out of it, but working with international students for the last eight years has only solidified my belief that a culture is only healthy when it is open to difference.
In the face of difference, many are currently retreating to a concept of culture that is flat and fearful of anyone deemed “other”. Sadly this is increasingly done while claiming to follow the teachings of a middle eastern man who early on in his life had to flee his home.
I won’t go so far as to say Cultural Intelligence (CQ) training will save th…