Getting to know others of different backgrounds can be rewarding as you get to experience different worlds through the other individual's personal experiences.
When getting to know someone from a different cultural background...
Learn details about their culture. Leading questions may include:
Where are you, or your extended family, from?
What are your favorite foods, native to the culture?
How does your family celebrate different holidays?
What are your favorite family traditions?
Try to put yourself inside that culture and imagine what it would be like to be them or a part of their family.
REMEMBER
It's okay to make mistakes as long as you are genuinely trying to get to know the mentee. Make sure they know you are trying to build a strong relationship by better understanding their culture and who they are.
Another way to get to know someone is to conduct an informal interview.
Exercise:
Start with the following:
- What is your name?:____________
- Where are you from?:____________
- Today you wish you were: ____________
- You choose friends who are: ____________
- You would like to learn how to: ____________
- Your favorite pastime is: ____________
- If you could have any job it would be: ____________
- Something you would like to do is: ____________
- The last book you read was: ____________
- If you could travel anywhere...you would go to: ____________
- Your favorite food is: ____________
- If I knew you better what might I know about you?: ____________
- The main reason you are in this_______ (whatever public location or setting) is: ____________
Okay, now that you have completed your interview, what did you learn about this person? Do you share anything in common?
About Me
If someone were to present me with this questionnaire, my answers would be as followed:
- Many people know me by: Nelly.
- I am from: the Caribbean, West Indies.
- Today I wish I were: with my children and family.
- I choose friends who: share the same values as I do.
- I would love to learn how to: dance.
- My favorite pastime is: deep sea fishing in the middle of the ocean.
- If I could have any job, it would be A forensic Investigator.
- Something I would like to do is learn more about: coding and website development.
- The last book I read was: "The Summons" by John Grisham.
- If I could travel anywhere...I would go to: Japan.
- My favorite food is: Oxtail.
- The main reason I am on this platform (https://knightvision.ink): is to share and inspire others through articles of positivism and learning; share with others, the diversity and culture of prose, poetry and stories around the world, and to introduce readers to my published works.
Now that you know some of my answers, do we have anything in common?
Visitors & Readers Assignment
List some ways you have gotten to know someone in the past from a different culture.
If you are reading this post, I would love to get a chance to know you, and I believe so would others who read this post as well. In the comment section, please introduce yourselves my answering the questions in the exercise above.
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