Ep. 092: Getting Along With Others
Guest: Mafalda Arias, Cultural Integration Specialist
Why do we have so much trouble integrating cultures?
That is the question that Malfalda Arias, a cultural integration specialist, wants to address.
She says at the core of the problem is our inability to define what Canadian culture is. “Because we don't know who we are, or what is our culture, then we go to another place or criticize the culture of the different others. As a result, we don’t know what to think or what to question. Why do I do this, this way? Why do you do it that way? We're not aware.”
According to Arias, we need to understand not just what we do but why we do – what drives our behaviour. Then we need to be willing to ask the same questions of others. It’s challenging because the dominant culture wants to stay the same and requests that newcomers adjust. What slows down the process of integration is a dizzying array of ingredients that frequently start with us expecting others to know what the dominant culture is and how to automatically adjust to it. She points out that if we can’t define what we are, then we need to have open conversations that help one another find a common understanding and way of being.
