In recent months, I have become more aware of my lack of cultural identity. As a result, I often speak in a way that is offensive to some around me. Because I don’t know my own culture, I assume others are just like me. This leads me to believe that when I am speaking, people should be able to understand all of my nuances. As indicated on page 9 of Third Place Learning, the first rule of communication is never blame the listener (Rimmington and Alagic, 2008). I am guilty of breaking this rule in both my professional and personal life on a daily basis. Sadly, my remedy has been to limit my professional and personal conversations. I am becoming a recluse. As a result of my recent studies, I am more aware of the need for my own cultural understanding and an understanding of other cultures. It is my hope that I will gain the skills to effectively communicate with others. I want to learn about others but am always fearful of saying the wrong thing.
I believe there are countless metaphors to choose from when describing intercultural communications; however, the cage metaphor is appropriate for the purpose laid out in Third Place Learning. Even with the cage metaphor limitations, there is a hope implied within the metaphor. If we can break through the bars of our own cultural bias, we might be able to break others out of their bars. This will ultimately lead to intercultural communications both in our our professional and personal