From the course: Communicating Across Cultures

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The ever-evolving cultural context

The ever-evolving cultural context

From the course: Communicating Across Cultures

The ever-evolving cultural context

- In my international business class, I asked students to connect with their international student counterparts on virtual get to know you meetings. Later, I debriefed them about their first impressions and takeaways from the conversations. In one of these sessions, my student, Gigi, raised her hand and simultaneously blurted out, "Their Instagram posts are so extra!" Now being her senior by more than a few years, I had to ask for clarification. "By 'extra,' Gigi, do you mean extra large or there's extra number of pictures?" And she said, "No, no, no, neither. I mean extra curated, staged, fancy, and perfect." "Oh," I said, "I get it." Maybe in a culture that is formal and big on reputation and pride, this is the typical college students social media post. This sprung off an extra discussion between the US and international students who started comparing their concepts about private and public self across…

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