Week 2 Blog

Intercultural communication is another of my favorite focuses in the communication major. My boyfriend Dan is originally from Japan, and I was born and raised right here in California. Our perspectives on life and all the aspects of it differ so much and I think a lot of it is based on our schemata which the text defines as knowledge structures that people develop out of their personal experiences to use towards interpretating all sorts of communication. A very simple example I can think of is our childhood differences. For me, I grew up with barbies, skip it's, Charlotte's Web, and G.I. Joe. As a boy growing up in Japan, Dan didn't know any of those things and instead has memories of different toys (mostly electronic games). Another example of our different schemata's includes our difference of sex. As a woman, walking around downtown San Jose at night scares me. Experience has taught me that while most people are safe, it isn't a good idea to put on a mini skirt, get drunk, and hang out in dark parking lots. Dan on the other hand, has no such fear or nervousness about being out and about by himself. All these things influence how we communicate with each other, and with other people. While I can use childhood memories that I share with other Americans to have a conversation, or use as an example, Dan must think of different ways to understand someone's story about their favorite childhood toys in a comparative manner.