Cultural Dimensions

I know I've joked about the Cultural Dimensions program, how I hadn't realized it was a separate program from CWY, and earned a certificate without understanding the language around me, but to be fair, both the woman in charge of the training camp, and the one in charge of the reintegration camp, were very nice and I did manage to catch a few somewhat relevant pieces from them.

I don't know exactly how these went, as I had them translated on-the-spot by people who were also adjusting to the language, but I think I can convey the gist of it.

We were told a story about four men who were blindfolded and requested to touch an object, and then to describe it. Each man touched the same object, but one reported that it was long and thin, like a rope. One reported it was wide and flat, like a wall. One said it was thick and round, like the trunk of a tree, and the other one said it was round and hollow in the middle. So, if all four men touched the same object, how could each one give such a different explanation?

The object was an elephant. The first man touched the tail, the second touched it's stomach, the third touched it's leg, and the fourth touched the tip of it's trunk. The point of the story is, that we can only know what we experience, but each of us can only experience a very little in this life. And depending on what we experience, we will derive different conclusions, that can appear to contradict one another, when in reality, each can be correct.

Yeah, so basically that's what each of our personal quests for enlightenment amounts to: briefly touching an elephant while blindfolded. Couldn't have put it better myself.

Another thing I heard was, if you something happens that bothers you, before you get upset, you should think about whether it will still bother you in: five minutes, five hours, five days, five weeks, five months, five years.

I remember we were in Quebec City, and we went to this ice cream place. The woman asked me if I wanted something in French, and I said no. Turns out it was chocolate, and we were in Quebec City's famous chocolate place. Like, it served it on ice cream, but it was more about the chocolate than the ice cream. And I missed out on the chocolate because I didn't want to admit I didn't understand something. Using that formula above, it's been over five months, and I'm still bothered, so I think maybe it's worth getting upset about!

I remember, Cultural Dimensions lady got us to play a card game. We separated into groups of four, and we were forbidden to speak once the game was in motion. Whoever won, would rotate to a different table and continue there.

Each group received a set of instructions, but each one had different rules. Some said Hearts were the highest suit, and some said it was spades. Some said Ace was the highest, and some said it was the lowest. So eventually, everyone's rotated around, and everyone thinks the game is supposed to be played in a different way. But nobody can talk, and there needs to be a decision on who won by the end of the round.

It was a test of our ability to adapt to an situation that falls outside our personal beliefs and what we've been taught. That game was hard, because it didn't seem like, at the end of it, there was a correct way to have done it. If you tried to impose the rules you thought were right... That doesn't sound good, and if you always cave and allow other people to tell you what the rules are, even though you're in a position of equality... does that sound better?

She just told us to "keep in mind" how we played that game. I must say, I kept an eye on how most people played, and it was a pretty accurate reflection of their behaviour further down the line