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Interculturality
Dear Sisters and Associates,
The Interculturality Committee has been meeting to determine effective ways to share with all of you some of the information and insights that we gleaned from the program we participated in at the Mexican American Catholic College in San Antonio, Texas with six other religious congregations.
We decided to begin by preparing a series of short videos for you. The theme of this first video is culture. We hope that the video provides some food for reflection and conversation. Attached you will find the video and a copy of the questions that are posed in the video for you to use for further reflection.
We want to thank you for joining us on this journey towards discovering how we can live in a broader more inclusive relational field with each other and in this beautiful yet wounded world.
Gratefully yours,
Interculturality Pilot Committee
Elvia, Giovana, Mary Elaine and Mary Ellen
Queridas hermanas y asociadas,
El Comité de Interculturalidad ha estado reuniendose para determinar maneras efectivas de compartir con todos ustedes parte de la información y los conocimientos que obtuvimos del programa en el que participamos en el Colegio Católico Mexicano Americano en San Antonio, Texas, junto a seis congregaciones religiosas.
Decidimos comenzar preparando una serie de videos cortos para Uds. El tema de este primer video es cultura. Esperamos que el video les proporcione algo de alimento para la reflexión y conversación. En el adjunto encontrará el video y una copia de las preguntas que se plantean en el video para que las utilice para una mayor reflexión.
Queremos agradecer a Uds. por unirse a nosotras en este viaje hacia el descubrimiento de cómo podemos vivir en un campo relacional más amplio e inclusivo entre nosotros y en este mundo hermoso pero herido.
Con agradecimiento
Comite Piloto de Interculturalidad
Elvia, Giovana, Mary Elaine y Mary Ellen
INTERCULTURALITY - VIDEO 1
Culture Video: https://video.ibm.com/recorded/129744529
Cultural Iceberg: Exterior/Surface Culture and Interior/Deep Culture
Reflection Questions / Preguntas de Reflexión
- Which of your cultural experiences opened and energized you?
¿Cuál de tus experiencias culturales te dio energía o te abrió un poco más?
- What were some of the cultural experiences that caused you to withdraw or pull back a little?
¿Cuáles son algunas de las experiencias culturales que te hizo retroceder o retirarte?
- Name one or two examples of your own cultural heritage?
Menciona uno o dos ejemplos de tu propia cultura.
- Reflect upon a time when you felt different because of your race or culture. What did you learn about yourself and the “other”?
Piensa en una ocasión en tu vida cuando te sentiste diferente por motivos de tu raza o cultura. ¿Qué aprendiste de ti misma y del otro?
- What struck you about what you heard in the video?
¿Qué te impactó de lo que has escuchado en el video?
- How do you express and live your culture in the way you pray, celebrate, and relate to others?
¿Cómo expresas o cómo vives tu cultura en la forma que oras, que celebras o cuando te relacionas con los demás?
The Interculturality Committee invites you to send any reflections, comments or questions that you might have to the email below.
El Comité de Interculturalidad le invita a enviar sus reflexiones, comentarios y preguntas a su correo electrónico.
September 14, 2021
Dear Sisters and Associates,
Greetings from the Interculturality Pilot Committee!
We have just completed a second video on the topic of interculturality, and we invite you to view it and ponder the questions that we have posed for your reflection and have attached to this email. The purpose of this second video is to help us understand the meaning of monocultural, cross-cultural, multicultural and intercultural living. You can view the video, which is 26 minutes in length, by clicking on the link below.
INTERCULTURALITY - VIDEO 2
https://video.ibm.com/recorded/132135266
Queridas Hermanas y Asociadas,
¡Saludos desde el Comité Piloto de Interculturalidad!
Acabamos de terminar un segundo video sobre el tema de la interculturalidad, y los invitamos a verlo y reflexionar sobre las preguntas que hemos planteado y adjuntado a este correo electrónico . El propósito de este segundo video es ayudarnos a comprender el significado de la vida monocultural, transcultural, multicultural e intercultural. Puede ver el video, que tiene una duración de 26 minutos, haciendo clic en el enlace a continuación.
https://video.ibm.com/recorded/132135266
Monocultural, Cross-Cultural, Multicultural and Intercultural Living
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
- What has been your experience of entering into another culture?
- In which type of culture have you spent most of your life?
- Can you identify under which cultural scheme we move most of the time in our community?
- What changes or adjustments are we willing to make to move closer to a more intercultural life?
INTERCULTERALIDAD – VIDEO 2
La Vida Monocultural, Transcultural, Multicultural e Intercultural
PREGUNTAS DE REFLEXION:
- ¿Cuál ha sido su experiencia de entrar en otra cultura?
- ¿Puede identificar bajo que esquema cultural nos movemos la mayor parte del tiempo en nuestra comunidad?
- ¿En qué tipo de cultura ha pasado la mayor parte de su vida?
- ¿Qué retos o ajustes se nos invita a plantearnos para acercarnos a la vida intercultural?
INTERCULTURALITY - VIDEO 3
Dear Sisters and Associates,
The Interculturality Committee is pleased to share with you our third video. This video explores the differences between low and high context styles of communication. It is our hope that as we increase our awareness regarding the differences in communication styles, it will enable us to understand each other better and consciously adapt our own personal style of communication when we find ourselves in different circumstances. Listening with a sense of curiosity is a way to create bridges of understanding in all our interactions with others.
Thank you once again for taking the time to watch this video and ponder its content. We hope that these efforts will continue to foster a deep appreciation for the beauty of the differences among us.
Blessings and gratitude,
The Interculturality Committee
(Mary Elaine Anderson, Giovana Fuentes Bendivez, Elvia Mata Ortega, and Mary Ellen Higgins)
Video1 is in English and video 2 is in Spanish
1. https://video.ibm.com/recorded/132135396
Video 3 - Styles of Communication
2. https://video.ibm.com/recorded/132135689
Video 3 - Estilos de Comunicacion
Queridas Hermanas y Asociados,
El Comité de Interculturalidad se complace en compartir con ustedes nuestro tercer video. Este video explora las diferencias entre los estilos de comunicación de bajo y alto contexto. Esperamos que a medida que aumentamos nuestra conciencia sobre las diferencias en los estilos de comunicación, nos permitirá entendernos mejor y adaptar conscientemente nuestro propio estilo personal de comunicación cuando nos encontremos en diferentes circunstancias. Escuchar con sentido de curiosidad es una forma de crear puentes de comprensión en todas nuestras interacciones con los demás.
Gracias una vez más por tomarse el tiempo de ver este video y reflexionar sobre su contenido. Esperamos que estos esfuerzos continúen fomentando un profundo aprecio por la belleza de las diferencias entre nosotros.
Bendiciones y gratitud,
El Comité de Interculturalidad
(Mary Elaine Anderson, Giovana Fuentes Bendivez, Elvia Mata Ortega, and Mary Ellen Higgins)
Video1 is in English and video 2 is in Spanish
1. https://video.ibm.com/recorded/132135396
2. https://video.ibm.com/recorded/132135689
INTERCULTURALITY - Interview with Sister Miriam Joseph Reinhardt
Dear Sisters and Associates,
The members of the Interculturality Pilot Committee invite you to watch our newest video on the topic of interculturality. The 13-minute video is an interview with Sister Miriam Joseph Reinhardt.
https://video.ibm.com/recorded/132138466
Sister Miriam Joseph wrote us a letter after she watched the committee's second video on interculturality. In her letter, Sister told us that her experience of entering into another culture was different from that of the sisters interviewed on the video. She then recounted her experience of growing up in a family with German and Austrian-Hungarian parents before, during and after World War II. Her story touched our hearts, and we believe that it will touch yours as well.
Thank you, Sister Miriam Joseph, for your openness and willingness to share with us your experience of entering into another culture.
The Interculturality Pilot Committee
(Mary Ellen Higgins, Elvia Mata Ortega, Giovana Fuentes Bendivez & Mary Elaine Anderson)
