Definition:

Intercultural competence is the ability to communicate effectiveley and appropriately in a variety of cultural contexts. 

+ Cultural humility 

respect for the valitdity of other people's cultures

+ Cultural Aelf-Awareness

recognition of the attributes and patterns of your own culture

When an individual and collaborative group become responsibly connected to a community through the service activity

I have encountered citizenship during this experience by continuing to stand up against disparities towards the people I serve at CSL (both deaf/hard of hearing and disabled) outside of my service hours. For example, when I hear someone discriminating against or being insensitive towards either of these groups, I speak up against them and do the best I can to educate them with civility. This includes the commonly used “r-word” slur which I repeatedly hear among students on and off campus. When I tell others about how I study ASL, they often have misconceptions. Even though these are not done with any harmful intent, they simply might know any better, so I provide clarification.

The responsibility of being accountable for our actions and choices. It requires us to consider the ramifications of those we are serving and of the change efforts we are hoping to be a part of.

I am being accountable for my choices while at my service site by allowing myself to “fail”. For example, I do not always know how to phrase what I am trying to say into ASL, and instead of choosing to not say it, I try my best to ask for help or use wrong signs in effort to seek help and improvement. I feel as though this shows that I am willing to learn from mistakes instead of hiding them. 

Being intentional about evoking change, seeking growth, and wanting to benefit the community you are serving.

This class has given me valuable experience and knowledge concerning barriers and inequities exist for the deaf community. I have started to reframe my mind into finding these issues and thinking about how to improve them one step at a time. I go into greater detail on the "Agent of Change" tab.

The Long Goodbye

Deaf goodbyes are significantly longer than hearing goodbyes. It is considered rude to leave without saying goodbye, and it is more likely they will also say goodbyes to individual people instead of to everyone all at once. The deaf community places emphasis on in-depth goodbyes becuase the next deaf-friendly interaction might not be for a while. In our hearing-centered world, deaf and/or ASL conversations are more rare and savored. 

One time I left CSL saying goodbye to the supervisor that was in the room. I did not go to find the other one who had left the room breifly, so I did not get a chance to say goodbye to him. It was not long after I pulled out of the parking lot that I recieved a text from that supervisor telling me goodbye and to have a good weekend. I came to feel guilty that I left without saying goodbye and realized that it was rude of me to do that.

In-Depth Introductions

One thing I have noticed is how in-depth some deaf people have gotten with getting to know me the first time meeting. This can seem uncomfortable are weird for someone who is used to just exchanging names and basic information. Some people asked a lot more questions than I was expecting and some were more personal than what I was used to. I later came to understand that this is done with good intention, and to get to know me better in a short amount of time. The deaf and signing community is reletively small and typically people like to be connected with those who they can comfortably communicate with.

Visual Strategies of Attention-Getting

Polite ways to get someone's attention who is not looking at you in hearing culture include things like knocking on a door if it is closed and using your voice, but these are not useful or accessible stretegies for someone who is deaf. These are strategies I've seen deaf people use instead:

flicking a light switch

gently taping on the shoulder

hitting their hand on the table to make vibrations felt by others

stomping their foot to vibrate the ground

What makes these examples of culture rather than accessibility is how one chooses one over another in certain situations. For example, flicking the lights or knocking more softly on a table might feel more appropriate for professional settings or with people who are unaware with these behaviors. 

It might also depend on how comfortable the person feels with who they are trying to get the attenetion of. Deaf spaces are more accepting and understanding of hitting tables and stomping feet than some hearing spaces that might mistake it for being rude.

Clear & Direct Communication

With the help of my professors, Kristin & Marla, I was encouraged to "stop being so polite...," No, they did not mean to start being rude, but rather to stop "beating around the bush" as it's commonly called. This is becuase more clear and direct communication is much more efficient in deaf culture. In hearing culture, talking around unpleasent topics is polite and being over-assertive is rude. Deaf culture tends to get to the point more bluntly and directly. I found myself wanting to experience a different setting at CSL that was not the Day Program, and below I will demonstrate how I might approach my supervisor following hearing vs. deaf culture.

hearing culture example:

"So I was wondering if maybe we could meet up sometime to discuss the possibililty of exploring other settings at CSL different than the Day Program."

The hearing example is inefficient because it does not clearly state the goal and uses indirect words such as "maybe" "exploring" and "sometime". Even though I knew what I wanted to ask, I did not clearly state it. No plans were made, and the conversation was pushed off to an unknown date, who knows when it will happen.

deaf culture example: 

"Hi Trena, I want to serve in another setting at CSL, are can we discuss the residential services tomorrow at 2pm?"

The deaf example clearly states that I wanted to try a different setting, specifically the residential setting. In addition I suggested a specific time for the meeting rather than pushing it to an unknown future time. I got straight to the point and have a clear timeline of when this will happen.

Moral of the story.... just be ASSERTIVE!