Appreciating communication and culture

The second semester is almost over; I’d say it’s been overwhelming, mind blowing yet super inspiring term. It was really worth a try, learning was not limited to communication and culture only but Development Communication as a whole. The instructors were so motivating and the subjects were really interesting. I developed the culture of reading and writing. I met new friends by instigating conversation and I learned how to socially communicate with my instructors which actually I never did before. Through this subject, my long time plan of starting a blog has materialized. Words that were only inside my mind were now what are you reading. Homework were overflowing but I was really happy something changed my everyday routine. Thinking how to start my article was quite a challenge for amateur writer and once I started writing words came pouring down don't know which one to use first. We were tasked to create our own blogs; my very first one was to write about our own definition of culture and even elaborated it further by comparing it to other culture. And of course, culture was not created without communication. I also found out that the Philippines practice collectivist rather than individualist culture. I was more than motivated to dig deeper on my hometown’s culture to understand the collectivist culture better. Through series of reading, observation and

interviewing, I realized that communication is also the reason that our culture has been created, shaped, learned and preserved from one generation to another. Though culture is changing, its underlying foundation is still there. My understanding of culture has greatly increased which truly helped me communicate better. I then recognize that everything we do whether we say it or use gestures is a culture. And every individual or organization has its own unique culture and able to develop new cultures as time goes by. I was able to share developing culture in my workplace too. Communication played a very important role in my journey to my subject Communication and Culture. Why? As the culture of BSU-OU is once a month meeting, most inquires and discussion with classmates took place over the internet and through the Smartphone. Another blog we did was about the importance cultural competency which greatly enlightened me that communication and culture co-exist, without communication there’s no culture and without the knowledge of one’s culture there’s no communication. These two words must work hand in hand in order to establish a better communication. Communication also made it clear to me that it’s not just an exchange of information or conversation between two people or group of people.

Communication is also vital for social change and by understanding the culture of an individual or community that needs change, thus achieving development is possible.

Finally, I really thank our instructor Mr. Nelson Dacawi in initiating us this blogging activity. For me, this is one way of preparing us when we start on our thesis later on.   There’s so much to learn and write about and I am looking forward to another exciting and challenging semester. I hope to see my classmates and instructors again. Happy vacation!