Culture. What is it? Is it the way we dress? The music we listen to? What we eat or the way we prepare our food? Actually, it‘s all of these things, and yet there’s so much more to its meaning. Though, one thing for sure, everything we do is influenced by culture: the way we give and receive information, use time and space, and view authority. In its most simplest definition, Culture is a framework of behavioural patterns, values, assumptions and experiences shared by a social, ethnic, or age group. However, on the flip side, Culture also influences how we send and interpret messages, as well as shapes and molds human conduct within a cultural group. Hence, Culture can also be seen as a kind of filter or lens through which we view others, affecting the way we see them and developing multiple perspectives. Our belief is like the second picture above. It represents the visible aspects of culture such as behaviour, eating habits, or clothing that are quite obvious. In reality, however, what we see is the first picture. Our outlook in life is “scrambled.” The beliefs, values, customs, experiences, and assumptions that could help us understand the reason behind certain behaviours are in hiding, and due to several sources such as the media, past perceptions, and racial differences, we cannot see past these dissimilarities. Until we can make informed evaluations of global counterparts and avoid misunderstandings, we will be only wasting our time and damaging our relationships. If you do see yourself in one of these pictures and would like to have it taken down for personal reasons, please comment and I’ll be happy to do so.