>But how can we, who maybe don't have access or time, who haven't had the
>opportunity to take a cultural anthropology course, increase our
>understanding and knowledge of cultural differences (and samenesses :-)
Seems to me there are two parts of cultural competence. One is knowing
the basic principles of culture - best described in cultural anthropology
literature (I'm sure others can recommend basic texts and articles in
this area much better than I)
The other part is learning about the culture or cultures in which
we operate. We can't possibly learn about everyone in depth, but
we can learn about the people with whom we work. This comes from
reading books, articles, children's books, mythology, etc, talking to
people, aksing lots of questions  (when questions are asked with
sincerity and respect, people are usually more than happy to answer),
listening to radio programs geared for that cultural audience, attending
festivals and other cultural events. This may sound naive, but culture is
basically to be lived not studied. Once one has the basic tools of
understanding how culture works, get out there are experience it,
ask questions about it, enjoy it. As one internalizes the particular
culture through these experiences, it reflects itself in the way we
approach clients.
  Naomi Bar-Yam

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