Intercultural Negotiations

After being in Australia for over a week, I have noticed many differences between the US and my host country. The largest difference would be the residential college life (like our residence halls) and conduct within. I wasn't worried too much about the language barrier although I was expecting local slang to be the most difficult to overcome. However, I quickly discovered there are many differences between how I conduct myself and how the Aussie's do. Haybel mentions that the culture we are raised in influences perception of everything and everyone we encounter (58), and I have certainly experienced this idea in my time here!

During O-week, we had many events planned not just by the university, but also our residence hall, Uni Hall. After 'Fresher' move-in day, we each found a bucket in our rooms with all kinds of things from the hall including a Uni Hall O-week event list, rules of O-week, and the 10 commandments of Uni Hall. One thing all the Americans noticed on the O-week schedule was that most of it involved alcohol in some way. From previous knowledge, I knew Aussie's liked to drink but was still surprised by the sheer amount of drinking involved in just 1 week at Uni. At one point, Hybels states that our actions and words reflect our culture because this is where we learned them and likely all we know (58). Because we Americans were raised to accept that 21 years old is the legal drinking age, we were not prepared for a setting where drinking was very commonplace as most uni students are of the 18 year old legal age in Australia. After a short Fresher orientation meeting, I found out about the hall spirit and unity along with the fact that O-week was basically an initiation for Freshers joining Uni Hall. It seemed as if the older hall members, Fossils, formed a pretty tight-knit group, so our O-week was basically a right of passage to become a member of the Uni Hall family. At JCU, the residence colleges compete with each other in sports like rugby, cricket and soccer each trying to win the ultimate prize, Fisher Shield. The Uni Hall mascot is the Dragonslayer and we even have a chant! I would describe the overall experience as a mix between the House Cup in Harry Potter and a fraternity in the US.

Uni Hall 10 Commandments and O-week (initiation) Schedule

 I am a member of a sorority at Allegheny and even though there is a lot involved in joining a Greek organization in the US, here there was open hazing, drinking and swearing going on at all the Uni Hall events. There were also many derogatory comments about women in conversations and our chant. I was definitely not prepared for any of this upon arrival in Australia! Many of the Australian's from Queensland seemed to be prepared and fit right in to the events that conspired, but some Australian's from other areas across the country were just as taken aback as I was. Hybel states, "...you must accept "what is, as is," in other words, accept whatever it is that the universe serves up" (73). I was originally horrified by the language that seems commonplace here, but I have decided to embrace it and accept it as the norm of the Aussie culture. Now that O-week is over, many of the Fossils are very nice, so again it seems as if we are a family similar to Greek life at Allegheny.

Although the conduct between people in the States versus Australia differs, a person willing to accept and adjust to new viewpoints will truly begin understanding the complex culture of a new country. I have learned in my short time in Australia to not be easily offended by derogatory remarks or the constant swearing. I have accepted that it is just part of the language here and is often not meant to be mean or upset anyone. Acceptance is a key factor in immersing oneself in a new culture and being able to enjoy it!

Hybels, Saundra and Richard Weaver II. "Intercultural Communication." Communicating Effectively,
     10th Ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 62-97.