Perceiving is Believing

At the “Perceiving is Believing” discussion on Tuesday 9/18/07, opinions of American society and culture where presented by students attending Chico State from other countries and from those who have traveled abroad. Most of the panel was from other countries (Mexico, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, France, Czechoslovakia & Australia) and the other student had traveled abroad to India. Many of the perspectives that were offered are different from those which we are raised with, and gave insight to how our country is viewed from the rest of the world. This was an informative discussion to attend and I found it to be both beneficial and interesting. Topics that were covered included: common stereotypes, how Americans communicate, values in which we believe, and American lifestyle.

The discussion was casual and allowed interaction between those presenting and the audience. Being able to see how one student from Saudi Arabia had come from a country with many of the same luxuries and amenities we have even changed my view of that country. Our media provides a narrow view of the Middle East and to hear that they share similar ideologies we do changed the way I see them. Before I was under the impression that Middle East is mainly like the images we are shown of Iraq, and never could I have imagined Saudi’s driving large vehicles and drinking at Starbucks. How Americans communicate as far as when and how we meet people was also presented. As when we are unsure how to great somebody, whether you shake their hand or hug, and this is not true of other countries. For example in France you shake a man's hand and kiss a woman’s cheek. In India you would never physically greet a woman; however you may walk hand in hand with a man. The idea that here we worry so much about personal space was shocking to see when looking from the outside in. Perceiving is Believing offered many outside perspective on our own culture that are greatly overlooked some good, some bad. Overall I was pleased with the lecture and found it to be an eye opening experience.