Communication and Culture

I live and work in very diverse cultures.  In my job, my colleges are all white, or African American, most are women.  The students are white, African American, Hispanic, Asian, and Russian.   My neighborhood is primarily African American; however the community I live in is much more diverse including large populations of whites, African Americans, Asians, and Bosnians.  My family is all Italian/Caucasian. With the exception of my family, I find that my communication with others varies more based on the location/setting I am in than the different cultural groups.  When I am at work, I am very professional.  I carry myself with confidence in what I am doing.  I am professional and firm, but sensitive and understanding at the same time.  In my neighborhood and community, I remain respectful, but I am much more relaxed and my language may be less proper.  Because of the culture of my family, I may appear to be much less sensitive, respectful, or understanding as I am very aware and comfortable with their boundaries.  I also know that in a family such as mine, one must be loud and direct in order to be heard (hence the Italian heritage).  I find the most important way of communication in all areas of my life is to be aware and sensitive to my surroundings, observing and listening to their communication culture.