Narrating our Global Intercultural Journeys Having shared intercultural experiences during our monthly gatherings, we determined to probe these experiences more deeply through reflective writing. Inspired by Baldwin’s (2005) “Storycatcher” prompts and questions, Circle members developed questions to prompt reflection so each member could begin to write their own narrative about becoming the intercultural person they are today. We began to share extracts from our writing at meetings. A few prompts follow:
- What would you consider your culture of origin? What do you know about your family’s cultural origins? Through what family or community traditions where these origins made evident to you? Tell a story about one of these traditions and how it is meaningful to you.
- Who were your best friends as you were growing up? Where were they from? Did they have any cultural traditions or practices that were different from your families traditions or practices? Tell a story about how they shared this practice with you and the impact it had upon you.
- What are your earliest memories of engaging with another person who was notably different from you? Perhaps they were from another community or country far from your home. Perhaps they have lived in your community for a long time. Tell a story about one of your experiences together and how it impacted the two of you.
- If you were to create a list of those people who planted “seeds of curiosity” about other places in the world or introduced you to different ways of thinking and doing things, who would be on your list? Tell a story that explains how one of them impacted you and your thinking.
- What culture(s) other than your culture of origin do you know well? How did you develop your understanding about this culture? Who helped you gain that knowledge? How did they help you?
- What other culture have you always been interested in learning more about? Why?
Extracts from Narratives…
If you would like to share you narrative, use this form: