Communication and Culture

When I think about the cultural diversity that I see in my neighborhood, in my workplace, and also at my child’s school, I do find that I communicate differently with different groups and cultures. I think that I have gotten to know many of the people I see each day in work, in my neighborhood and at my sons school and I have become aware of how to communicate and interact with them based on what I know about them. At work I interact and communicate differently with my staff who have been working for me longer. We are able to joke with each other a bit more because we know each other well. When I communicate with my supervisor however, I am more reserved and professional. At my sons school I often speak with one staff member about baseball because he really enjoys the sport and so do I, however, another male teacher hates sports and we often talk about current events. I also communicate differently with people based on my feelings and happenings throughout the day. In the morning I may be real friendly and say hi to many of my neighbors and at the end of the day I tend to be more reserved because I have been around people most of the day and often want to be alone with my son when I get home. This is sometimes difficult though because I have to walk by a play structure to get to my apartment and many times the children that are there want to play with my son and then the parents want to talk with me. I have noticed that I often walk by real quickly and make sure to be on the phone or try to be occupied with something. I know I may come off rude and I don’t intend to, but I prefer to have some time alone.