Internationalmatt's Blog

The Women from Venus/Men from Mars thing- In All Cultures?

Never have read that book, but then I do not read self help books. However, it is a catchy title and this week gave me the opportunity to observe a few humorous examples of how it does not matter what the culture is- Women and Men seem to have humorous differences.

Last night in my class I shared a saying we have in America while we were reading a story about how the @ symbol began to be used. I shared with the class “the difference between men and boys is the price of their toys”. When I said that, I young mother from Mexico started laughing and nodding her head in agreement. I asked her if she had a son and she said yes and that her husband likes to buy electronics and tools that are more expensive than her son’s toys, but both love to play with their toys.

On Tuesday I had some new students, four women from Mexico,  join my Family Literacy Class which had women from Iraq, Syria and Sudan in it. I wanted to help them see that they share some things in common, so I asked some questions of the group and had them raise their hands if it is true for them. I acted out pulling my hair and asked, “how many of you feel your husband is crazy sometimes?”. all them laughed and raised their hands. Then I asked, “Who does not understand why their husbands do things sometimes?” and again there was laughter as they all raised their hands. The next questions, which were related to their children, also drew unanimous response.

I asked them, “Who loves their children more than anyone else in the world?”. They all raised their hands. I asked, “Who wants their children to have a good education and a good future?” and again they all raised their hands.

Apparently Men and Women not always understanding each other is a Cultural Universal as is the love of a mother for her children.

July 21, 2011 - Posted by internationalmatt | children, Education, International Friendships, international students, women's issues