As you are checking your email, a notification highlighting an upcoming cultural event catches your attention. As you learn about the details of the event and admire the graphics of the announcement, you notice you become a little anxious. You pause and wonder, “Hmm what am I feeling right now?” You start to reflect on how your personal identities are different and perhaps think this event may not be for you. This may either increase your anxiety or pique your interest further. You also notice some ambivalence about attending in person versus online due to the current hybrid models we are presented with. However, you remember you made a commitment to increase your cultural awareness and decide, in your efforts to grow, you will attend the cultural event in person.

Life keeps you busy, and you forget about the event as you tend to your daily tasks and priorities and your anxiety dissipates. The day arrives, you're ambivalent and wonder if should feel pride in your willingness to sit with discomfort or should you attend online, as that feels safer. You decide to challenge your fear and biases you may have about entering an unfamiliar cultural space. You start thinking about strategies that can help you navigate this anticipated experience. You remember in your pursuit to increase your understanding across difference that you learned about cultural humility. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) defines cultural humility as, “a lifelong process of self-reflection and self-critique whereby the individual not only learns about another’s culture, but one starts with an examination of their own beliefs and cultural identities.”

You begin to ask yourself: “What are some of my cultural beliefs and identities?” You realize you hold intersecting identities and navigate various cultural spaces daily. For example, the way we engage with our peers at work can be very different than the way we interact with family members at home, with students in our classrooms, and even within our interpersonal relationships.

You reflect on your experiences as a member of your own respective racial/ethnic/social identities. You recognize not everyone shares the same political, ideological, or spiritual beliefs. Therefore, you may have different expectations and behave differently than individuals that share some of your most salient identities. This is further compounded by everyone’s beliefs around navigating COVID-19 precautions. Recognizing your implicit biases is also very important, as it will help to better identify why you may think, feel, or behave as you do. Understanding this will help you better navigate cultural spaces different from your own.

Our implicit biases are often much better predictors of our behavior than our idealistic hopes of how we believe we engage with others across difference. Therefore, when walking into new cultural spaces, I encourage you to engage in self-reflection first. You can ask yourself what identity is most salient within this context? Then engage in self-critique and ask yourself what reinforced these beliefs. Is there evidence to suggest these beliefs may be inaccurate or self-serving? As you gain insight into your own biases, I urge you to hold those thoughts lightly and allow yourself the opportunity to engage in a new and perhaps different experience.

As you enter the new space, take a step back and seek to understand others first by honoring their customs and ways of engaging. You can begin by scanning the room and offering a warm smile (even when wearing a mask, people can decipher a smile from other looks).

Center your learning by allowing members of the new culture to share their experiences before sharing your perspectives of how they are engaging with you or others. Truly engage in active listening by being fully present and attentive. Look for small clues of sameness or familiarity (such as objects, artwork, characters, or energy) that may suggest commonality or that create a welcoming feeling. As you begin to better understand the environment, you may realize that any preconceived notions you had may be inaccurate. The following strategies can help you navigate cultural spaces different than your own:

• Check own biases and take meaningful action to understand and mitigate them
• Show up to support cultures different from your own
• Display a genuine interest and open body language
• Pay attention to the ways individuals engage with others and be open to new ways of interacting
• Allow others to share and speak first, and ask open and honest questions to gain understanding
• Continue to learn about cultures different from your own, honoring and centering the experiences from members of those communities
• If you make a mistake, apologize, and own it

What I have discovered through my tenure at Iowa is that when I begin with self-reflection and critique, show up to events, continue to engage in relationship building, and learn about cultures that are not my own, I often receive the gift of friendship and become more humble and more aware of my own privileges. As human beings, we all have an intrinsic need for belonging and connection. To me, there is no bigger honor than to be invited back to cultural spaces different from my own.