Feeling like “Other” Essay

I will be exploring a time when I felt up like other, in this situation I was made to pure tone invisible, excluded and too visible all at the same time. In this situation I mainly felt excluded but nonetheless I felt all of the above. My husband is Nigerian and I am African American, he attends a Nigerian church and all of the members are Nigerian. Every time I go to church with him I feel as if I am too visible because I am the only non-Nigerian person there, yes we are all black but I know nothing near their culture and I do not speak their language. They lots sing Nigerian praise songs and do traditional dances and when this is occurring I often feel excluded and invisible because it seem like it doesnt matter if Im included since Im the only one who doesnt understand what is going on. Because of this I very seldom go to church with him, it would be nice for us to go to church together all the time but its not comfortable to feel excluded or invisible. You wouldnt retrieve you could feel excluded or invisible some your own race but subgroups of the same race often have different cultures and traditions that the other doesnt understand.In a lot of cases Africans who populate in America feel that African Americans have acculturated into society which is a form of assimilation wherein an heathen or racial group or an individual takes on the ethnical ways of another group, unremarkably that of mainstream culture, often at the expense of traditional cultural ways(2014). Being African American around Africans you often get a sense of ethnocentrism from this culture in regards to language, religion and behavior. Sometimes people are not aware that they are making the other feel uncomfortable or excluded simply because they get dressedt know how to include the other.Many people are not as culturally competent as they may think and this can cause a lot of discord betwixt differentcultural groups. Unfortunately both groups have been marginalized, having diminished value, importance, contributions, or attributes. Because both groups notice cultural differences we feel the need to be guarded and defensive at all times. This does not help with discourse and interaction between our cultures. One way for me to overcome this is exercising emotional intelligence which involves developing the energy to manage and appreciate differences.References(2014, November 1). Identity and Difference . Weekly Lecture. Lecture conducted from , . Harvey, C., & Allard, M. J. (2011). Understanding and Managing Diversity, 5th Edition. VitalSource Bookshelf version. Retrieved from http//devry.vitalsource.com/books/9781269562744/id/ch01lev2sec22