We're all living in the same community. These two statements, one from a Peace Corps Volunteer during her first year of service and the other from a Returned Volunteer 14 years after his experience, speak volumes about the challenges and benefits of global education. Peace Corps Volunteers and other cross-cultural sojourners often begin their journeys thinking about differences, then return home understanding our similarities. Along the way they learn about culturethe daily living patterns and the most deeply held beliefs that a group of people have in common. That is, any item of behavior, any tradition or pattern, can be evaluated correctly only in the light of its meaning to the people who practice it, its relation to other elements of the culture, and the part it plays in the adaptation of the people to their environment or to one another.
Cultures are systems of behaviors and customs passed from one generation to the next.
The rules, language, religion, family systems, recreation, and education that a group of people share provide predictability and safety in their daily lives. When people are bound together by common beliefs and practices, they understand each other and the world around them has meaning. As Brown suggests, a culture is a complex and evolving pattern of life, rooted in tradition as well as place. Culture is indelibly a part of each person's identity, but individuals also influence culture. It defines how we see ourselves and how we perceive others.