No tags yet.
Before we went on this trip, we were informed that there were differences in the values of hot climate and cold climate cultures and today I found that to be very true. Before we arrived in Trigo this morning, we decided that Brandon and I were going to drive out and plot a map of the community and take pictures, while Dan and Ms. Lockwood would construct a layout drawing of Trigo.
We got to Trigo and Ale told us we could leave whenever we were ready to go and map out the community. It took us a good hour to leave. Brandon and I were ready. I wasn't sure what we were waiting for, it was as if we were simply waiting for someone to tell us "go". I sat around with Brandon just observing the situation. Victor and Lety were walking around talking to each other and Ale was talking to one of the cooks. It was then that I realized the importance of what we had talked about before coming on this trip.
I am more task oriented; I enjoy being productive and efficient. However, we were in a culture that was more relational-focused. To me, the goal was simple: head out to the community snap pictures and map out the surrounding area. Victor, Lety and Ale shared the same goal as us, but the way in which they chose to reach the goal just varied from how we normally would choose to reach it. To them, sitting and socializing with one another was a part of reaching that goal. It was all a part of the process. It would not be right for me to expect them to follow the same process as we do to reach our common goal. In the end, Brandon and I managed to accomplish our task for the day. I'm glad I got to experience this today. It taught me that different people and different cultures value different things and that's what makes us unique, if we were all the same, the world would be rather dull.