DESCRIBE A SITUATION WHERE YOU HAD TO WORK OR CLOSELY ASSOCIATE WITH SOMEONE FROM A CULTURE VERY DIFFERENT FROM YOUR OWN. WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU FACE AND HOW DID YOU RESOLVE THEM?
5 feet 9 inches,V faced, brown eyes, black hair, slender body and a little sense of humor was a complete description of Zilkiflu Umar.Zilk was dark-skinned, I was light-skinned. Fura de nunu, a northern dish was his favorite dish which he ate in a way that disgusted me. My country, Nigeria, is one with a diverse culture with over two hundred and fifty ethnic groups. Several cultures were similar but those of the north and east were two extremes which was a major difference between zilk and i. He originated from the north while I originated from the east.
Unfortunately, by 11th grade, we were both assigned to the same room and I thought "how could I cope?" this proximity made me realize more disparities between us, his mother tongue, Hausa, a northern language altered his English leaving it with an accent. This made communication a problem for he had to repeat his sentences slowly before I could comprehend. After several weeks of coexistence, I came to the conclusion that we were definitely from different worlds.
The young Farmers" club was to present a project which had to be done in pairs. I began to suspect some unseen forces when zilk and i were paired despite our protests. With barely forty-eight hours to the presentation,i approached him and had a chat with him.it was a rough start but we eventually agreed to set aside our differences and aim for a common goal, success. Those hours of working together brought out our similarities. He enjoyed reading, helping junior students or classmates with their assignments and loved humanitarian services, all of which I loved.
After the project, we became like a matchstick and a matchbox, we were needed together to produce light which was evident in other activities. Such activities included heading the Red Cross team in the school's Inter-house Sport competition, donating drugs and a DVD Player to our high school clinic and so many others. My encounter and relationship with zilk made me realize that diversity is not a barrier to peaceful coexistence and productive living
5 feet 9 inches,V faced, brown eyes, black hair, slender body and a little sense of humor was a complete description of Zilkiflu Umar.Zilk was dark-skinned, I was light-skinned. Fura de nunu, a northern dish was his favorite dish which he ate in a way that disgusted me. My country, Nigeria, is one with a diverse culture with over two hundred and fifty ethnic groups. Several cultures were similar but those of the north and east were two extremes which was a major difference between zilk and i. He originated from the north while I originated from the east.
Unfortunately, by 11th grade, we were both assigned to the same room and I thought "how could I cope?" this proximity made me realize more disparities between us, his mother tongue, Hausa, a northern language altered his English leaving it with an accent. This made communication a problem for he had to repeat his sentences slowly before I could comprehend. After several weeks of coexistence, I came to the conclusion that we were definitely from different worlds.
The young Farmers" club was to present a project which had to be done in pairs. I began to suspect some unseen forces when zilk and i were paired despite our protests. With barely forty-eight hours to the presentation,i approached him and had a chat with him.it was a rough start but we eventually agreed to set aside our differences and aim for a common goal, success. Those hours of working together brought out our similarities. He enjoyed reading, helping junior students or classmates with their assignments and loved humanitarian services, all of which I loved.
After the project, we became like a matchstick and a matchbox, we were needed together to produce light which was evident in other activities. Such activities included heading the Red Cross team in the school's Inter-house Sport competition, donating drugs and a DVD Player to our high school clinic and so many others. My encounter and relationship with zilk made me realize that diversity is not a barrier to peaceful coexistence and productive living
