mid-week Connect: 4/12/23 ~ Cultural Delights Part 1
Greetings and Happy Midweek!
I came across a quote this morning and was ‘delighted’ by the thought it expressed, so I decided to share it as our Connect today…and further explore it next week as our mid-Month Connect RAP. It has to do with the broad topic of delight, which fits nicely into the Collaborative component of our Global SKILLs’ PROACTive Framework. Making Life delight-full and, as part of that, laughing together are certainly collaborative efforts, yes?!*
The quote is “Laughter is an instant vacation.”** And how true that is, I dare say, around the world.
Let’s focus on the laughter this week and return for the instant vacation next week! When I think of cross-cultural scenarios for laughter, I have a memory of one in particular which to me at the time totally illustrated that delight and humor are at least partially defined by culture.
A few years ago, I was at a premier showing of a movie in the States and to be honest, I don’t recall what the movie was about. However 9/10ths of the audience were African American folks. Something was said and literally the whole place exploded in laughter…but I totally did not ‘get it’! A collaborative response would have been to ask the nice people sitting next to me what was so funny…I am sorry I did not do that, at that moment - or at least, after the movie was done!
When we work and play cross-culturally, there are lots of times we have an opportunity to collaborate on cultural delights. Whether it’s a good story about someone’s antics or something ‘funny’ which happens organically, a joke or a shared memory…delights are everywhere. Not always interpreted as such by different cultural orientations, I hasten to add! But if an effort is made to share interpretations, this becomes a chance to laugh together for all the wonderful benefits that brings.
How about you ~ what’s a good cross-cultural belly laugh you have delighted in recently?
Share about that with a friend or note it here.
And check out the Global SKILLs LINKs below for more on laughter…
Thanks for being part of this Connect community.
Until next week,
Betsy
Global SKILLs LINKs
~ laughter around the world - typed online: https://www.boredpanda.com/how-do-you-laugh/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic
~ laughter and culture shock: https://leap.london/culture-shocks-humour-across-cultures/
~ and a bit of science behind cultural differences in humor https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00123/full
Notes
* Through my business Global SKILLs and several partner subsidiaries I offer unique cross-cultural consulting and training including:
3 Dimensional Dynamics Model:
1st dimension = HOME ; 2nd dimension = HOST ; 3rd dimension = HARBOR)
PROACTive Learning Strategies:
PRO = PROfile, PROcess, PROgram
ACT = Application, Collaboration (which we explored this week) and Transformation
~ contact me for more information on this model and these strategies and how you might use them in your current programming: betsy.barbour@gmail.com
** the quote by the way is from Milton Berle, a 20th Century American actor and comedian
2023 ~ Celebrating 40+ years of working in
intercultural communications and global community building
“It takes a community to build a community”
Please Note: this is copyrighted content.
Please do not reproduce or share without my permission (betsy.barbour@gmail.com)