Cultural Fusion

The Happiness Project and Broaching Difficult Subjects

Yesterday's post on the Happiest People in the World reminded me of an article that I read recently in Real Simple magazine by Gretchen Rubin, titled "10 Ways to be Happier. " This other Gretchen is the creator of The Happiness Project, a one-year endeavor of her own to be happier.

What she ended up creating is this amazing blog with all sorts of tips on being happier posted every Wednesday.  One in particular that I like is the Eleven Tips for Broaching Difficult Subjects.  Frequently, when we're faced with a cultural misunderstanding, we tend to talk to others or try to ignore the problem rather than broaching the difficult subject with the alleged offender.  This often leads to disastrous results.

What do you think of Gretchen Rubin's tips?  Any other posts of hers that you particularly like?

The Happiest People in the World ...

... are Danish!

I'd be happy, too, if I got to eat pastries all the time.  Ha, ha, ha.  OK, bad joke, I know, but I couldn't resist.  It's my husband's sense of humor rubbing off on me.

How do you measure happiness across cultures?  It's a daunting task to be sure.  Adrian White, from the UK's University of Leicester, used the responses of 80,000 people worldwide to map out subjective wellbeing.  Here's a sample listing of how some countries ranked:

• 1. Denmark
• 2. Switzerland
• 3. Austria
• 4. Iceland
• 5. The Bahamas
• 23. USA
• 41. UK
• 90. Japan
• 178. Burundi

Not into lists?  Check out this awesome world happiness map: Download world_happiness_map.pdf   (I like maps).

So what makes people happy?  Could it be freedom and security?  Certainly, Zimbabwe shared the bottom listing with Burundi.  After my recent cruise, my vote would be for the amazing scenery and weather (minus the hurricanes) in The Bahamas.

But what determined the measures of happiness were health levels.  Go figure.  Anyone who's had major health challenges, and also had to fight to get health care expenses covered, will tell you they indeed make you miserable.

Propserity and education came in next in terms of determining happiness.

What do you think?  From your cultural viewpoint, do health, prosperity and education determine happiness (or lack thereof)?

Everyone's a little bit racist ...

Wow, did I get your attention?  It's a bold statement to make, that's for sure.  And it's been made in an upbeat, catchy song! 

That's right:  I'm talking about the Broadway musical Avenue Q.  I saw it in Denver this past weekend and was reminded of all the outrageous things that only singing puppets can get away with saying in a public forum.

The sentiment of the song's lyrics are true, though.  If we all acknowledge our biases, "maybe we could just get along."

Here's a recording of the song with publicity photos from the musical:

Check out the Avenue Q touring schedule if you live in the United States (and won't be in New York).  It's the best touring production of a musical that I've seen in Denver.  The cast are able to make you laugh until you cry and then hit levels of pathos that make you actually cry.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Just a reminder that tomorrow is International Talk Like a Pirate Day! 

This is a great example of cultural fusion.  Obviously, talking like a pirate is a great day of utter silliness, and not a desire to be an actual pirate.  Pirates were (and are) nasty and barbaric people.  But pirates has taken on its own meaning in international popular culture.

Not sure how to talk like a pirate?  Check out the 'official' International Talk Like a Pirate Day Web site.

Disney Cruise Line and Age Diversity

My husband and I just returned from a trip to the Bahamas via Disney Cruise Line.  It was truly a wonderful and interesting experience which I'll be talking about in the next few posts.

I noticed right away on the first day the tremendous amount of diversity onboard the ship.  The passengers were much more diverse in terms of age and ethnicity than I had seen on a previous cruise with another provider.  Of course, there were lots of kids!  But there were also a variety of couples and adult groups as well.

The remarkable thing I discovered about Disney Cruise Line is that they accomodate all of these groups very well.  They call it the "no compromise" vacation.  You can spend time as a family together at Toy Story:  The Musical and then drop the kids off at supervised youth activities (don't worry - the youth activities staff will make sure they get fed) while you take in a romantic dinner at the fancy Italian restaurant.

At Castaway Cay, Disney's private island, there's a snorkel lagoon, family beach, teens only beach and on the other side of the island, a beach for adults 18 and over only.  At the end of the day, everybody's tired, happy and hopefully, not too sunburned.

Obviously, if you can't stand kids or a hint of silliness, you would not have enjoyed this cruise.  But the fact remains that Disney Cruise Line has hit the mark in accomodating as many different configurations of families as possible.  And yes, I do consider a couple without children to be a family!

Where are you on the cultural competence continuum?

Determine where your organization fits along the cultural competence continuum.  The following examples indicate levels of cultural competence of systems, agencies, or professionals:

• Cultural Destructiveness:  Practices which seek to denigrate and destroy other cultures.
• Cultural Incapacity:  The organization or individual does not intentionally seek to be culturally destructive but rather lacks the capacity to help diverse clients or communities.
• Cultural Blindness:  An organization or individual believes that culture makes no difference and that we are all the same.  All populations are expected to assimilate and adapt to the services that best serve the dominant culture.
• Cultural Pre-competence:  There is an acceptance and respect for differences and continuuing self-assessment regarding organizational culture.  The culturally competent organization works to hire unbiased employees.
• Advanced Cultural Competence:  This point on the continuum is characterized by holding culture in high esteem .... The culturally proficient organization hires staff who are specialists in culturally competent practice.  Such an organization advocates for cultural competency throughout the system and improved relations between cultures throughout society.

(Adapted from T. Cross (1988).  "Cultural Competency Continuum,"  Focal Point, The Bulletin of the Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children's Mental Health, Portland State University.  Check out a full document on the continuum published by the National Center for Cultural Competence at http://www.nccccurricula.info/documents/TheContinuumRevised.doc.)

Cultural Competency: A Definition

Cultural competency is defined as an ongoing process and practice that builds the capacity of organizations and individuals to understand, accept, value, and honor the unique contributions of all people, including but not limited to people's:  ability, age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, geographic region, health, language, mental health, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and spirituality. 

(Source:  The Colorado Trust - check out this fabulous foundation's work and resources at www.coloradotrust.org.)

Cultural Fusion: A Definition

Culture:  more than just one's ethnic group; a combination of all aspects of one's background, the strongest factors of which are geography and socioeconomics

Fusion:  binding together as if by melting or forming a coalition