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  • Anais Zhang '24 RGLP Reflection - Culture and Capoeira: Leaning Into Discomfort

    November 23, 2021

    Fua Nascimento, master of capoeira, crooned at the top of his lungs while tapping a steady rhythm on a conga drum and stomping his bare feet on the sleek hardwood floor. My peers and I stood in a circle around him, captivated by the lilt of his voice as he sang traditional songs. In this experiential learning session of RGLP, through the practice of capoeira —a Brazilian form of martial arts — I learned to let go of my inhibitions, to approach a setting with openness and curiosity, and to dive into the culture of another country.

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  • Skylar Wiseman '24 RGLP Reflection: A Dialogue of Difference; Skills We Should Want to Develop

    November 23, 2021

    Over the course of RGLP I've had much concentrated exposure to differing cultural norms, values, and shared experiences. This has not necessarily been a comfortable process; from Capoeira to eating with chopsticks (which is probably disproportionately hard for me compared to others) to considering and overcoming my own cultural biases. I've learned that one of the most important tools one can employ in conducting dialogues across difference is a toleration of ambiguity and uncertainty.

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  • Teddy Truex '22 RGLP Reflection: The Importance of Adaptability in Intercultural Settings

    November 23, 2021

    Adaptability has always been a strength of mine and something I value highly in leaders. As a leader in an ever changing world, it is extremely important to be quick on your feet and be able to adapt to any situation or environment that may arise. RGLP reinforced this belief for me and exposed me to new dimensions of adaptability that I had never thought about before. In approaching intercultural interactions of any kind, adaptability means many things. It means being conscious of how your own culture affects the ways you communicate and express yourself.

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  • Alex Rego '24 RGLP Reflection - Cultural Embodiment: Culture as a Fusion of Mind and Body

    November 23, 2021

    Separation of mind and body is a hallmark of Western culture(s). As a product of a Czech-American household, my own interest in intercultural studies has mimicked this divide. Epistemology has for all my life been relegated to the brain, to intellect. I have thus always interpreted intercultural knowledge, intercultural communication, and intercultural conflict as being purely mental phenomena. Developing intercultural intuition, however, is far more comprehensive. Intercultural intuition is visceral, it is felt.

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