Flora Mondi- Reflection #2

Flora Mondi

Getachew Godana

COMM 211

Reflection #2: Chapter 5

Identity and Intercultural Communication

            Chapter 5 talked about identity and how it is “a core issue for most people.” This chapter made me realize how many and different types of identity we all classify ourselves. As for me, I classify myself as many different titles that others might identify with or not at all. Immigrating from what is now known as South Sudan, my parents have always told us to “never forget where you came from.”

            That saying has stuck and will stick with me until the day I die. It is important for my family and many other foreign students to remember their birthplace and motherland. I feel that this is important because when you move to another country, you adapt the culture and you slowly forget about your own culture if you do not bring your culture with you which forms the melting pot. There are several ways that people can retain their cultural background as well as accept the new.

            For my tribe, Madi, we have yearly gatherings where we all meet in a state, which we all vote for the year before, to have our annual conference. There are actually two different conferences, one for the youth and the other for the whole Madi tribe. The youth conference focuses more on topics that the younger generation can relate too that the parents are afraid to talk about, like marriage. The big conference for the whole tribe is more of a formal and has more of a professional approach to it because the parents talk about government and leadership back in Africa and also in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

            The conference is 3 days long and over Thanksgiving break. During the conferences, we have questions and answers, topics where the parents talk about certain issues or problems that are happening back home in the motherland, and my favorite; the traditional dance. During the traditional dance, the parents usually go first followed by a competition from the youth from all the different states. By the end of the conference, we all come to realize how important it is for us to continue to hold on to our culture and identity as long as we can before we forget our language and the reason why we came to either the U.S, Canada, or Australia.

So, wouldn't you like to be able to talk to your sister or brother in a different language besides English when you don’t want others to know what you’re talking about?