Hold up which finger was that?!?!

Throughout the world there are many differnt cultural norms. Anything from hand gestures, to the way you eat, to the way you use the bathroom, there are cultural barriers throughout the world. Sometimes these barriers can prevent us from communicating our ideas affectively. For example, if I were to ask a Japanese person a question, and they scratched his head, it would mean that he is embarrased. However, in American culture that means that you either have an itch or are thinking. So as I am waiting for an answer the Japanese person is probably thinking why does this guy not leave, and it is becasue of the cultural barrier. These cultural norms however also reveal the way a society thinks. In Japanese culture the way they use a toilet and bath and wash themselves reaveals the value that they place on cleanliness, as opposed to its lower value in American culture. Our job is to learn these different cultural norms as best we can so that we can start to break down cultural walls.