Understanding a Different Place
Author: Kevin Smith
Project: National Institute of Speech and Hearing | Disability Resources Website
Year: 2014
Trivandrum, India
Overall, the experiences that I have had so far as part of the GIEP program have given me a wide range of new perspectives, on everything from my chosen field to my future as a professional. Most profoundly, however, my understanding of how to interpret and interact within a completely different culture from my own has been challenged and improved. Upon arrival in India, I found myself immediately facing language, cultural, and social barriers that I had never before experienced. It was daunting, exciting, and a bit frustrating simultaneously to navigate around using different transportation options, get something to eat from a local stand, and exchange currency to something usable. However, very quickly I found myself enjoying the experience, and learning a lot about human interaction from it. When my team got to NISH, we found another barrier - because many of the students and staff are hearing impaired, we faced another communication problem. However, we have improved communication vastly, through methods such as paper and pen, text messaging, and learning some sign language. It is remarkable to see the lengths at which people here have gone to not only communicate with us, but also make our time a memorable and comfortable one. Although communication may seem like a large problem, it has not been that big of an issue. However, what I find more interesting, is that some of the small differences in culture have presented me with the largest problems. For instance, learning to eat with my hands without making a complete mess proved to be a steep (although VERY delicious) learning curve. Understanding the "Indian head nod" also proved to be something I had to get used to, and until recently I had found myself staring at rickshaw drivers, waiting for their approval of my payment, not understanding why they were looking at me strangely. Also, learning to accept less personal space on public transportation was something that took me some time to feel okay about. However, at this point, I think that I have begun to really understand how things operate in a very new place, and I am really enjoying myself. All of the learning experiences I have had from a cultural standpoint will help me be more flexible in the future, as well as more quickly accept opinions and ideas that are different form my own. I have learned a lot of patience while in India, while both working on our project as well as living daily life in Trivandrum. My ability to step back and analyze a situation calmly and responsibly has greatly improved even in the last couple months, and I am excited at the notion of letting my learning experiences percolate and become even more meaningful.
