Account of a Personal Experience: Conflict in Ireland

Chapter 8: Culture, Communication, and Conflict-Social and Economic Forces

While abroad, I traveled abroad to Galway, Ireland, and met so many interesting people. One of the men I met was one of our tour guides who was taking us to the famous Cliffs of Moher on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. He was telling us thousands of stories while we were there with him riding in the bus, and one of the stories had to do with the conflict going on in Northern Ireland, which is now isolated from the Republic of Ireland. I actually was not truly aware of a huge conflict in history there, and I felt a little out of the loop because of it. But he explained to all of us in the bus that there is, and has been for some time, a religious conflict in the North between Catholics and Protestants. The English tried to push in and settle Northern Ireland bringing in their Protestant ways, but some Catholics in Ireland greatly opposed this. He told us that this social conflict has caused so much damage, and back when Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, shifted into an economic center for the country, the social and religious tension of the people flocking into the city were at an all time high. To this day Protestants and Catholics do not see eye to eye in the area. It is truly a clash of social ethnic groups that were pinned together in the same city they needed for economic survival. There are so many stories just like this strife that exists in Ireland. Differences of religion and belief can most certainly divide and cause hatred to be spawned in others hearts. Social inequality and social problems have existed here in Ireland since

Newspaper Article: Pope Takes to Twitter

Pope Takes to Twitter

Chapter 1: Studying Intercultural Communication-Technology and Human Communication

ROME — After struggling with the touch screen of an iPad, Pope Benedict XVI dispatched his first Twitter message on Wednesday. “Dear friends,” it read, “I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart.”

More Tweets From the Pope

Benedict XVI

@Pontifex

Any suggestions on how to be more prayerful when we are so busy with the demands of work, families and the world?

17 hours ago·

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Sitting at a desk in the Vatican hall where he holds his weekly audience, the pontiff, 85, touched the iPad with a wavering hand adorned with a large gold ring, as the audience applauded.

Video footage showed that the pope seemed confused and had trouble hitting “send,” forcing Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, the president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, to step in and touch the screen to send the first papal message.

Last week, the Vatican announced that Benedict, who writes in longhand, would begin posting messages on Twitter in eight languages under the handle @pontifex, a Latin term for pope that means “bridge builder.” Claire Díaz-Ortiz, the director of social innovation at Twitter, was at the ceremony.

Later on Wednesday, the pope responded to questions that included the hashtag #askpontifex. “How can faith in Jesus be lived in a world without hope?” the pope wrote in one post. “By speaking with Jesus in prayer, listening to what he tells you in the Gospel and looking for him in those in need.”

In another, Benedict said: “We can be certain that a believer is never alone. God is the solid rock upon which we build our lives and his love is always faithful.”

The Vatican has said that the pope will be using Twitter to engage with the Roman Catholic Church’s 1.2 billion followers.

The pope gained more than 200,000 followers on Wednesday alone, pushing him above 800,000 in English, more than Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, with 65,800 followers, but less than Justin Bieber, who has 31 million.

The Twitterati had a field day with the pope’s postings. “@Pontifex tweets from a tablet? Big deal: Moses had two,” wrote Jared Keller, the director of social media at Bloomberg L.P. Another user wrote, “If someone gets blocked by @Pontifex on Twitter ... does that mean they’re automatically excommunicated?”

Earlier this year, the satirical newspaper The Onion published an article that said, “Pope tweets picture of self with God.”

The Vatican has said that the pope will not follow anyone on Twitter, or retweet messages. A Vatican official has said that papal Twitter messages, as with everything written by the pope, will be part of the church’s teachings, but that they will not be infallible.

Others used Twitter to send messages to the pope criticizing the Catholic Church for the sexual abuse scandal and the church’s ban on condom use. In Italy, many sent complaints that the church does not have to pay most property taxes.

Benedict will be posting messages in Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish. Other languages are expected to be added in the future.

I thought this would be a good article to make an account about because it truly shows how far we have come as a society technologically. It has become so easy these days so stay connected with people from all different corners of the world, who are consistently using different languages and dialects. Also, there are so many forms of online social media out there on which we can stay connected. At first we had the phone, and text messaging came after. Now we have so many forms of online media, it is honestly hard to keep up with sometimes. This wireless and mobile revolution has most certainly impacted our communication between others. A prime example is the Pope, who recently just got a verified Twitter account. He posts in different languages and also has multiple accounts according to different languages. He has answered questions already on the online social media website, and hope to use Twitter to engage with all of the followers of the Roman Catholic religion. This just clearly goes to show how connected we are with the internet these days, and how easily we can cross cultural borders through wireless technological connections. The pope will be adding more languages as soon as he can, catering to all who wish to watch him tweet on the internet.

Quote/Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Chapter 1: Studying Intercultural Communication-Becoming an Ethical Student of Culture

“I say to you all, once again -- in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.”

-Albus Dumbledore

(J.K. Rowling)

This excerpt from the novel "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" truly does relay a great message that pertains to how we are learning about different cultures, and how we should learn to understand them. At this point in the book, three different schools of wizardry are visiting Hogwarts as part of a magical tournament. Unfortunately, things go for the worse when the villain of the series, Lord Voldemort, returns and kills a student at the school. The Headmaster of the school, Dumbledore, is trying to console the students but at the same time reminding them that they should try and foster and continue the relationships they had made with the other students from the different schools. They need to band together and unify to better understand each other and help fight the evil that Voldemort promised. The last line in the excerpt is probably the best and one of the most true things to be said. If we go into a situation with open minds and try to learn, and listen intently to a person of a different culture, we have a better chance of being able to respect and understand them. These are steps in becoming an ethical student of culture, and they are steps for life in general.

Cartoon: Native Americans

Chapter 12: Intercultural Communication and Education-Culturally Specific Education

This particular cartoon deals with the large topic of Native American assimilation and the neglect that the America government gave them in years past. Because the government thought they knew what was best for Native Americans, after already pushing them off their own land, they decided to try and assimilate them back into White society through boarding schools. However, by doing so the Native Americans who were put into these schools started losing their sense of self identity and their cultural traits of their tribes, which made them so wonderfully unique. These Indian Schools paved the way for the gradual loss of culture. Even today, our "White" society is probably not fully familiar with Native Americans, their story, or their culture. As evidenced by this cartoon, the man on the right is a sports fan thinking that his mascots and phrases are actually supportive toward the culture of Native Americans. It is however a misrepresentation of what it means to be Native American. This proves that the culture is unfortunately slowly dying away, made possible in the past by the removal of the Natives from their land, many government acts, and Indian boarding schools.

Account of a Personal Experience: Rocio

Chapter 5: Verbal Issues in Intercultural Communication-Communicating Across Differences

While I was abroad in Valencia, Spain, I got the opportunity to volunteer and teach English at the local high school called Colegio Pio. The class was of about 20 fifth graders, with a wonderful teacher named Paloma. The point of the class was to get the students accustomed to English and trying to have them speak it the entire class period. We would do exercises that were on cassette tape, matching games, partner activities, and sometimes I would simply just read to them so they could listen to my voice. However, I soon saw that I needed to change the way I was trying to communicate. On various occasions the teacher told me I should probably slow down when I talked, so that the kids could better understand and follow me. I realized that just as I am trying to learn Spanish while here and I think it's difficult when Spanish people speak so quickly to me, that it must certainly be hard for these fifth grade students to comprehend what I'm saying. From that point on when I was in small groups with the kids, I definitely used something along the lines of an "improvised performance" with the group, so that we could work through the language barrier to simply understand the point of the game, or the message in the story I was teaching. One little girl and I connected one day due to this use of improvised performance while speaking. Her name was Rocio and I was trying to get to know her better before class started for the day. She and I were alternating back and forth between Spanish and English, and both of us trying to use less slang and speak clearer to each other. I finally understood her story, and I was so surprised at what she had told me. For Valencia's giant festival, Las Fallas, in March, she was the princess for the entire occasion. She told me how often she would be on television and in the news so that I could look for her. I am so glad I decided to sit and have conversation with Rocio that day before class, because I made a connection cross culturally I never thought would happen. I felt more connected to the festival and Valencia as well. I would see her in the news and in the central plaza in front of large crowds, but also every Thursday in English class.

Account of Personal Experience: Antoine

Chapter 2: Intercultural Communication- Stereotypes

One of the most significant intercultural relationships I think I had while I was abroad was meeting my friend Antoine Bieniek, who is from Lille, France which is located North of Paris. He was studying abroad from France in Spain at the Catholic University that was five minutes away from our study center. There were certain classes that Florida State University was offering in their course program that related to his major, so he came to our building each week to take classes. I was lucky enough to be in two of his classes that semester. Originally, I am ashamed to say that I unfortunately did have the stereotype in my mind about French people. Americans tend to think that they are stuck up and rude, not even willing to give us the time of day. What is more, I had heard that people who are from the North of France are equally as strange and different. I found the exact opposite in Antoine. He was more than friendly to me, always wanted to know about my life back home in Florida, and asked me to hangout multiple times. We became good friends and still keep in contact. I found no sense of rudeness about him, like some stereotypes about French people lead you to believe here in America. He and I connected and broke through the stereotype together. He and I laugh at the fact that we want to switch places in our lives; while I want to go back and live in Europe, he wants to live and work in America. It is true that stereotypes exist, but in no way did it hinder me making a great friend while abroad, and I'm happy about that.

Photos in Valencia, Spain during Las Fallas

Chapter 4: Identity and Intercultural Communication-Identities are Influenced by Society

Through my time in the city of Valencia, Spain, it was hard not to become a part of the society and feel like you belonged. This was because of one very special festival Valencia has each year in March called "Las Fallas". During this festival, young girls are dressed up in ornate dresses and parade around the city, sculptures are burnt to flames in celebration, and fireworks light up the city during the day and night. The preparation and time that goes into the festival is immense. You can feel the sense of pride and togetherness in the city during the weeks before the festival and of course during. They create an identity for themselves, which is formed by society. Specifically, the different neighborhoods or "fallas" are created and come together for individual parties and dinners. The neighborhood that our apartment was in actually invited us into their Falla tent where we were able to eat and dance with the locals. They were so welcoming and wonderful to us. The society I was in at that moment and during my entire time abroad certainly shaped my identity as a person. I consider myself someone who knows so much about Valencia, I feel like a true Valenciano. The history and tradition that goes into Las Fallas each year shapes the Valencian's identity as a society, and it certainly shaped mine when I experienced it for the first time last March.