Directions: In 200-300 words each you must reply to both of the classmates post below. Be sure to label each reply so that I know which one you are addressing. Please note that "I like what you said," "That's a good point," and "I disagree with your point" do not count as complete replies in and of themselves. Rather, stating why you liked or disliked the comment, adding additional thoughts or ideas to the original point, and/or providing alternative ideas or thoughts when you disagree will count as a reply. You are expected to be courteous in any disagreement with a classmate. Thus, personal attacks or calling an idea "stupid" or another derogatory remarks are not acceptable, and your grade will reflect such behavior. The specific amount of points deducted will be left to the discretion of the instructor. Be sure to cite and reference all sources. Graduate quality work is expected to be free from spelling and grammatical errors, written according to the most current APA formatting guidelines, and adhere to the specific assignment instructions that are provided.

Patricia (Post1):

This week's interviews centered on the cultural backgrounds of Mahito and Orlando. Mahito is a male student who is living in the United States and attending Liberty University (Mahito, 2010). He is originally from Japan, and has been in the United States for approximately one year. Orlando is an adult male who grew up in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which is a United States territory (Orlando, 2010). He left Puerto Rico when he was eighteen to attend Appalachian Bible College in West Virginia, and has lived in the United States ever since. Both men stated that religion is an important part of their identity and in how they maintain social connections. They also both stated that they experienced some culture shock when they first came to the United States.

Mahito shared that one major difference between Japan and the United States is the behavior of the people. For example, students in the United States are much more assertive and outgoing than those in Japan, especially female students (Mahito, 2010). Japanese women are usually very quiet, and even shy when attending school in Japan. Another difference that Mahito addressed in the interview is that of family. He feels that families in the United States are much more connected and involved in each other's lives. In Japan, Mahito explains, there is a distance and formality in families, especially between fathers and sons (Mahito, 2010). Sons respect their fathers, and fathers support their sons, but in a much more formal manner than what is typical in the United States.

Orlando explained that his parents fled to Puerto Rico from Cuba to escape political and religious oppression. He was raised in a large, close-knit family that he is still deeply connected to today. Puerto Rico is a United States territory, which means that Orlando is an American citizen. Regardless, he still faces stereotypes about being a "foreigner". In fact, he said that one major misconception that he faces is the idea that all Latino people are from Mexico (Orlando, 2010). This led him to remind the viewers to be careful about stereotypes when interacting with someone from the Latino culture.

Both men cautioned the viewers to be mindful of cultural differences when working with Japanese or Latino clients in counseling, and this seems that it would hold true for other cultures as well. Mahito and Orlando both suggested that the counselor needs to be a good listener and be sensitive to nonverbal cues as well. It is important to understand where the client comes from and his or her background in order to be an effective counselor. It is also important for the counselor to be respectful of cultural and religious differences, and consider how these differences might affect the counseling relationship.

References

Mahito (2010). Presentation: A Japanese Student's Experience. Retrieved from https://learn.liberty.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_255025_1&content_id=_9976692_1

Orlando (2010). Presentation: A Latino Experience. Retrieved from https://learn.liberty.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_255025_1&content_id=_9976692_1

Korrin (Post2):

Orlando is a Latino who lives in America or "the main land" but is from Puerto Rico; His immediate family is originally from Cuba. They left Cuba because of the change in government officials and because his father wanted better for the family. Other members of his family still live in Cuba, Miami, and other countries around the world. In Puerto Rico, Orlando and his family were able to hold on to their heritage because Puerto Rico has obtained its Spanish culture and language throughout the years. Orlando comes from a Christian family and still holds these values today. When he came to the United States the food, language, and stereotypes were new to him. When it comes to the language, he already knew English because it is taught in Puerto Rico, however how he was taught is not how he always experienced the language. Orlando gave the example of an encounter he had with a southerner who said "matoes" and "tatoes". As for the stereotypes, when he came the United States, is when he first experienced it through terms such as "wetbacks" or that all Spanish people are from Mexico. Also upon coming to the United States he learned of the immigration tension that exists.

Mahito, on the other hand, is from Japan and did not speak as much about his family as Orlando did, I am sure this is because of the differences in culture. According to Mahito the Japanese culture is not very good at expressing themselves and they are very careful about what they say. They also don't have a closeness and connectedness to family members like Americans or even like Orlando's family. Some literature suggests that Japanese families have a hierarchy however according to Mahito this is false, although the father does place a more laid back role. When it came to prejudices or stereotypes, unlike Orlando, Mahito did not seem to experience this too much because he feels unity at church that is beyond culture. This is unlike how the text describes the experience for Asian Americans, according to Hays and Erford "Asian Americans continue to encounter contemporary forms of institutional racism" (2010). Also, I think that he did not experience anything negative, unlike Orlando, because in Japan they already have a negative outlook on everything so coming to the United States, where we generally have a positive outlook, he was able to adopt this. Overall it seems like these two men had more experiences that differed than were the same.

References:

Hays, D.G., & Erford, B.T. (Eds.). (2014). Developing multicultural counseling competence: A systems Approach (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.