It may be true that cultures are becoming more alike under the effect of globalization and mass tourism. However, there often remains a gap between any two given cultures.
What enables for us to bridge this gap is often called cultural awareness. Empathy, i.e. openness of a mind and heart, together with the willingness to the step into someone else;s shoes, is a necessary condition for such an awareness to develop.
However, empathy on its own is not enough. We also need to develop an ability to look at our culture from the outside. This process should make us realise that all the behaviours, beliefs and values that we have always taken for granted may indeed appear strange to someone from another cultural group. In other words, we need to be able to make the strange look familiar, and make the familiar look strange. If we can achieve this, then we can develop what some sociologists call our cross cultural awareness.
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