[Journal 7 :Summary] Nonverbal Behavior: Some Intricate and Diverse Dimensions in Intercultural Communication

John Smith took a vacation to Puerto Rico, he can communicate with the people there. But he had a bad experience about the misunderstanding of cultural difference, he is angry about the salesman who greeted him then later ignored him in the store after John Smith politely told him to help the people he was already serving. Actually there is a communication breakdown due to a misunderstanding and unawareness of the cultural nonverbal cues. Although John can speak Spanish when he visit Puerto Rico, he cannot "speak" the nonverbal laguage of Puerto Rico. He misunderstood the Puerto Rican culture's preception of time. John Smith met a polychronic concept of time in Puerto Rico, where the salesman tried to serve all customers at the same time, instead of a monochronic pattern in North America. According to this, John Smith would felt he had done his duty and was polite enough, but ended up being ignored by the salesman. The salesman's behavior reflects a polychronic concept of time where communication at several different levels happens at the same time. It's simply a different cultural structuring and meaning of time in communication.