Week 4: Cultural Frames


We have made it to week four in our SPICE Program and each week brings new adventures. We visited Bruges, Belgium this past week. It was a small but cute city with many fun things to do. We went to a french fry museum and went in and out of a TON of chocolate shops; not to mention we had some really cool hostel-mates, one from England and one from Portugal/Spain!

This weeks objective is Cultural Frames. We take what we know from our background and experiences and apply it to our reality (Remland, 2015). Us, as Americans, try to take our social norms and apply them to our environment; and with a different culture comes different social norms. I was once told that Americans have really short goodbyes, but what I found in Bruges, is that they have an even shorter goodbye. You will be purchasing something from the shop and before you have your credit card back and receipt in hand, you are basically pushed out the door.

A cultural frame that sticks out to me from the chapter is the Ingroup/Outgroups. This is a frame I have definitely experienced. Not in Belgium because we didn't have much time to meet natives or other people, but typically right here in Germany with some German students in our class. When we have breaks in class, Ashley and I typically go outside of the classroom to some little tables. Two very sweet German girls join us and we have some conversation. The conversation is about all different topics we can all relate to, but it doesn't last more than ten minutes and we find ourselves often talking to only our friend. Ashley and I are in our own "in-group", while the German girls are in the "outgroup". Sometimes it is much easier to speak to someone who understands everything instead of having to explain it all.

A second cultural frame that I found interesting was Reframing. This is where you take someones perspective on something and try to understand it. This also happens a lot in our class with the German students. They have different experiences and opinions about things that are always interesting to hear about. Their perspectives and opinions range from politics, the news, the weather, fashion, etc. The topics can go from complex to simple. It's really amazing to listen and see the world through a new pair of eyes because we all come from such different backgrounds and places.

Here are some pictures from my travels to Bruges, Belgium :)








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