Are you a cultural broker?

You may be wondering how to respond to the title question when you don't even know what a cultural broker is. Let me try to explain through something I experienced the other day.

Recently I found myself frustrated when a simple 15-minute trip into CostCo to purchase a few items turned into a 45-minute nightmare. I left convinced that CostCo was one of worst places in the world to buy groceries, not because of food quality or customer service, but because it is impossible to get in and out quickly. I found myself playing "chicken" with people walking down what I thought was obviously the wrong side of the aisle, standing and waiting for customers who thought the middle of the aisle was the best place to stop and look as scared and confused as a deer in the headlights, or waiting for those who seemed to think that taking a slow stroll through CostCo while blabbing on their cell phones was a good way to spend their Sunday afternoon. Noticing that many of the individuals who contributed the length of my CostCo trip were not speaking English, I soon became embarrassed by my thoughts. "Shouldn't they be shopping at the Asian food store? Don't they know we walk on the right side of the aisle? Hasn't anyone told them that grouping together in the middle of the frozen food section is inconvenient for everyone else?"

Now before you think anything less of me as a person, please understand the purpose of me confessing these thoughts. It is NOT to point out flaws in other people, but to point out flaws in the way American culture teaches us to think. Whether it's intentional or not, we are taught that we deserve the best, fastest, most convenient service all the time, and anything that gets in the way of that is bad. We are taught that change is negative and something to be scared of. We are taught that our lives should be comfortable and whatever threatens that should be avoided. We are taught that to be different is to be wrong. All of these notions are completely contrary to the idea of a cultural broker.

So you are still wondering what a cultural broker is. Essentially, a cultural broker is one who helps ease others into a new culture. Whether it's helping a new freshman understand how to be successful in high school (quite a culture shock for some), showing an individual who just arrived in the United States how to use his/her new stove, microwave, refrigerator, or washing machine, or offering counsel to a migrant worker who doesn't understand the American laws, we can all do something more to help others integrate into new cultures.