Albatros

If you have never taken part in the Albatross exercise, it would be best to do so first before you decide whether it is useful for your training and orientation purposes. There are two parts to the exercise. The first part consists of performing a ceremonial greeting between members of an imaginary culture (Albatross) and foreigners (those participants being trained). There should be no on-lookers. The second part consists of an extended discussion. Albatross is an experiential learning device, but it is relatively useless unless the discussion following the ceremony is treated with particular thoughtfulness and attention.

1. SETTING UP THE EXERCISE

Albatross seems best done when in small groups, between 12 and 15. If possible, participants should be represented by both sexes, more or less equally. Normally, a circle of chairs is arranged - enough for the male participants, with one chair placed in the circle, prominently for the use of the Albatrossian man.

• • MATERIALS: Dishes or bowls for: 1. hand washing, 2. liquid to drink, 3. food to eat. Sheets or other cloth for the use of the Albatrossian man and woman, candles, incense or other "extras" as desired.

  • SEQUENCE OF THE EXERCISE:

It is Important first to realize that there is no set sequence or necessary pattern to follow. It may be best to create your own variations to meet situations, such as having participants all of one sex, or too many Albatrossians to include, etc. With that in mind, then, what follows is an outline of the "standard" way Albatross is run. There are other sequences which have been or can be developed. Some particular sequence is not important but it is important to have clear objectives and valid reasons for what is done.

A male and female Albatrossian are in their places, the man on the chair, the woman kneeling beside him. Participants are brought or directed into the circle of chairs, females with shoes off and males with shoes on. The Albatrossian couple Is dressed in their sheets, the Woman without shoes, the man with shoes.

The first activity (which can be done before, or combined with the greetings) is for the Albatrossians (mainly the man) to attempt tomove the female participants off any chairs they may happen to be sitting on, and down on the floor, and any male participants the reverse. This effort, and all other communication attempts during the exercise, are in a special Albatrossian language. Albatrossians are sedate, reserved, gentle and loving people who do not manhandle their guests. Touching is only done in ceremonial ways, such as in the greetings. Thus, the effort to get the participants into proper place is done principally through (1) a hiss, which indicates diapproval, (2) an appreciative hum, which indicates approval or (3) a clicking of the tongue, which basically serves for all sorts of getting-of-attention, transfer of factual information, etc.

The next activity is the circle of greetings. The Albatrossian man gets up and greets each male participant in turn around the circle, holding by the shoulders and waist and by rubbing the right legs together. After such greeting, the visitor should sit back down in a chair. Then the Albatrossian woman greets each female participant in turn around the circle. She kneels in front of a standing female guest and runs both hands down the lower legs and feet in a ceremonious way. The women resume a kneeling position.

After the greetings, a pause ensues during which all simply wait. The Albatrossians always maintain unsmiling (but serene, and pleasant) expressions, and do not register in facial reactions their various feelings or responses to what may go on in the circle. Visitors who giggle or talk or otherwise disturb the ritual are hissed at, but not with anger.

Then a bowl of water is brought around the circle by the Albatrossian woman. Beginning with the Albatrossian man, each male in the circle dips the fingers of his right hand into the bowl and lifts or waves the hand about gracefully to dry. The women's hands are not washed. The Albatrossian woman returns to her place for a few minutes before beginning the next activity.

She then -- upon a clicking cue from the man -- rises and offers food to each male in turn, beginning with the Albatrossian man. She sticks her hands into the food and stuffs a little into each mouth. Upon being fed the Albatrossian man indicates his appreciation by a loud hum or moan (which can be accompanied by a rubbing of the stomach). After the men are fed, the Albatrossian woman next feeds each woman in turn. After this, she returns to her position next to the Albatrossian man.

During these pauses, which should be prolonged for effect, the Albatrossian man gently pushes the woman's head from time to time downward as she kneels.

Next follows the serving of drink. In the same manner, the Albatrossian woman first gives the cup to the Albatrossian man to drink from, then circles among the male participants, then among the females, finally returning to her place and resuming her kneeling posture.

After another pause, the two Albatrossians rise and proceed around the circle of guests, communicating with each other through the customary clicking sounds. Without making clear indications to the participants, they select the female guest with the largest feet. That participant is then led over to the Albatrossian chair, and she -- like the Albatrossian woman -- kneels next to his chair.

The last activity of the ceremony is a repeat of the greeting. The Albatrossian man rises and makes the round of the circle, greeting each male participant. He is followed by the Albatrossian woman, greeting each woman in turn. At that point, the two Albatrossians indicate to the selected participant left kneeling by the chair to follow them, and the three people leave the circle, concluding the first part of the exercise.

• CULTURAL ASSUMPTIONS AND RATIONALE:

As elaborated later, part of the point of the Albatross exercise is to provide an opportunit for people to learn by observation, to infer meaning from the totality of what happened. Since this "cultural observation" aspect is important, it is best to conduct the exercise with as much consistency as possible, and within some frame of reference agreed on by all Albatrossian performers. Following are some of the "standard" cultural assumptions which usually are in play, and which the participants have the problem of figuring out as the exercise goes on.

Though the exercise is deliberately set up to indicate otherwise to an American audience, in fact the Albatrossian society values women above men. The Earth is sacred; all fruitfulness is blessed; those (thus women) who bring life into being are one with the Earth, and only they are able (by virtue of the inherent qualities) to walk directly upon the ground. Thus, men must wear shoes, and thus their greeting does not deal with the Earth, where that of women emphasized the ground and feet. Only women are able to prepare and offer the fruits of the Earth.

The roles of men and women in the society reflect this relationship to Earth, though to the new observer it may appear as if other meanings are present. For example, the fact that the Albatrossian man pushes down the head of the kneeling Albatrossian woman is a pursuit of his obligations in the society, it is his duty to remind her of sacredness, to approach it through her, to protect her from fogetfulness. He drinks and eats first to protect her (and all that she represents) from harm or defilement.

Albatrossians have a language, though only some part of it is required or used in the greeting ceremony (the clicks, hums, hisses). It may be useful to approach the language question on another assumption: that Albatrossians communicate via mental telepathy, and that the few sounds they use are mainly means of getting a person's attention.

The society values calm, serenity, stateliness. The Albatrossians are peaceful, welcoming of strangers, generous, loving and tolerant. They eat and drink things which they like (though they may not agree to the taste of foreign visitors). Their patterns of life and their ceremonies (such as the greeting ceremony) are time-honored and are considered to be self-evidently correct and adequate.

This last is important. It is important for Albatrossians to bear in mind (and for participants to realize later in discussion) that what is, is -- and that ALbatrossians are no different from any other people in making the unconscious assumption that what they are is "normal." Thus, they assume that the visitors want to be greeted, that the visitor knows as well as they what is correct (though they are tolerant and gently correcting of lapses); that the woman with the largest feet among the participants is completely ina ccord with the necessity of her selection, etc.

The ceremony is a greeting one -- it is not to be implied as the totality of the society (e.g., a church service is both a bona fide segment of cultural behavior, and yet not indicative of everything in that culture). Performers of Albatross may wish to create various philosophical or behavioral rationales, but usually the foregoing are more or less sufficient. During the discussion following the exercise, any inconsistencies in performance, or tricky questions can always be explained as "tribal differences."

But it is important for those doing Albatross to make the jump into a different culture, one that is not at all needing to be "explained" or justified. One should attemp to enter into a spirit of "suchness," i.e., that an Albatrossian is as much of a whole, self-evident, implicitly assumed person as is an American.

• • THE DISCUSSION:

This is the most important part of the exercise. There are basically two broad levels obtainable in the Albatross exercise. The first is the "cultural observation" level. The exercise gives participants a chance to test their powers of observation, to infer correct behavior from non-verbal or indirect clues, and to get some idea (at least a beginning one) of what the Albatross society is like. The second broad level is one of self-awareness -- of participants being given a chance to assess their own reactions and feelings and thereby to add to their self-knowledge.

Since participants after an Albatross usually are full of their own reactions, it is usually best ot structure the discussion on this pattern:

1) Collect ideas on "where they have been," i.e., what happened, what sort of activity were they just doing. This develops into a generally agreed understanding that they have had contact with some kind of "culture." This is more than a perfunctory introduction to the discussion. The reason for exploring ideas on the nature of what happened -- letting these arise without either immediate confirmation or denial -- is that it thells the discussion leader much about the group at hand: its state of being.

2) Then the discussion can move on to what was objectively observed. Collect all possible impressions: "they did this" or "their language is..." It is helpful to ask participants to screen out for the moment their own feelings and reactions -- to tell what they observed and now know about the culture, and later to tell what happened to them personally.

This part of the discussion will get into whether Albatross (the name can be used at any time or not, as desired) is a land where women are oppressed, "an MCP society," etc. It is best to let all ideas flow if possible and not supply "answers." Likewise, it is best if contrary views can arise from within the group rather than from the leader. Eventually, someone will question the assumption of male superiority, and the discussion leader can build on it naturally.

In this area of cultural observation, the major points which need to be realized are: how our observations are colored by our own cultural assumptions; how well we observe even to begin with (do we really notice details, or pay close attentnion?); that we can, in fact, infer a lot of useful information and learn what is expected of us without being told in so many words; that things don't alway mean what they seem.

Thus, this part of the discussion consists of sharing of (1) informaiton and (2) opportunities to be thinking about the participant's own skills in observation. At some point it will be valuable to make the additional point clear that many, if not most, of the observations offered by participants will be highly value-ladened. Here again, one of the participants will eventually probably point this out, and the leader needs to be alert to see that the idea is heard and digested by the whole group.

In this are of observation, there will usually be a strong tendency on the part of participants to want answers from the discussion leader: "why did they do...?" "Do all Albatrossians...?" The goal here should be to try to get responses to such questions from the group itself, varied ones, contradictory ones, some of which at the appropriate moment the discussion leader can confirm, or suggest be taken as probably right, or as hypothesis. The leader should try to help the group see that questions as "Do all Albatrossians...?" are inherently meaningless questions in light of their own common sense and cultural experience. Finally, the leader should be alert for ways in which to see that some grasp of the limitations in "why" is gained. This means that "Why o Albatrossians do such and such?" followed by "Albatrossians do such and such because of..." simply confirms in participants a limiting pattern of thinking. While some questions might be given "here's why" answers, the leader should aim toward creating the awareness that they "why's" of human behavior do not usually lend themselves to simple, neat (sociological/anthropological) concepts and answers.

3) When the purely information elements begin to get exhausted, it is good to move the discussion clearly into the area of personal feelings and reactions. Usually it is not difficult to get middle-ground reactions, "I got tired of sitting..." or "interesting..." It may take prodding to get participants to express more extreme opinions and reactions, positive or negative. The thing here to try for is to help participants see that their own reaction is very relative: that next to them is sitting someone with quite a contrary reaction. In other words, a good discussion leader takes opportunities as they arise to enable participants to see that the exercise is no t"good" or "bad" or "boring" or any other categorical label. Rather, that the exercise per se was none of these things, bu takes on this or that character through the experience of individuals, that each person sees through a pair of personal glasses. The basic idea here is to let any and all reactions be expressed, yet to develop the awareness in each participant that he or she is essentially responsible for what "happened."

4) As participants often do not like their own reactions and behaviors, inevitably the comments arise that "if the exercise were done differently..." or "had it not been an artificial situation, I would have..." Sometimes this question of artificality arises from someone who had no adverse reactions, but who wants to offer advice on how the exercise can be improved.

The question of artificiality is central to the whole matter of those insights into self-awareness the exercise offers. The leader must make it clear that the Albatross exercise was artificial insofar as it was a simulation. It was not "artificial" in the aspect which matters most: that during a given period of time, a group of people did such and such in that room, and that each participant had real reactions. It is up to the participant to admit that whatever those reactions (and behaviors) were, they happened, and that it essentially is immaterial how "well" or how "realistically" the exercise was run. It may help to run it realistically and theatrically well (for the benefits to be gained from the cultural observation level), but as an event in the lives of the participants, it was as real as anything which may happen to them.

This insight, if it can be gained, is valuable. It will seem self-evident to some, and totally meaningless or alien to others, but the leader should try. In this, it helps to point out to the participant that Albatross is a device which he personally can use to look at himself. Each person known how he reacted. It is up to each person to realize that (1) those reactions happened and were real, (2) that whatever caused those reactions, he has responsibility for what he does with those reactions, and (3) that there is no "right" or "wrong" to the exercise, simply it means whatever it can be seen to mean in each person' inward awareness.

Vorbereitung

Frau in Leintücher gehüllt, ohne Schuhe.

Den Raum vorbereiten (Stühle, Bänke, usw.)

Allgemeines

Keine Worte -- Kommunikation

1. Zischen (bei Ungehorsam)

2. Summen (bei Lob)

3. Zungenschnalzen (bei Aufmerksamkeit)

keine Emotionen durch Gesichtsausdruck zeigen, nicht Lächeln... aber auch... Freundlich sein!

Ausländerspiel

The Albatross

Discussion

Questions:

• • - No Schoes

  • - Women serving food / drink

  • - Men eating / drinking first

  • - Men in chairs / women kneeling

  • - Men pushing the women's heads to the ground

  • - Ceremonial greeting

  • - Forms of Communication, i.e. moaning, clicking, hissing

  • - Female with largest feet

  • - Men washing their hands

Answers:

• • - The society values women over men, because women can bring life to the world, they are one with the earth

  • - Earth is sacred

  • - Only women are able to walk directly upon the ground, by virtue of their inherent qualities

  • - Only women are able to prepare and offer the fruits of the earth

  • - The female's greeting emphasizes the ground and feet

  • - The Albatrossian man pushes down the woman's head in pursuit of his obligations in the society, it is his duty to remind her of sacredness, to approach it through her, to protect her from forgetfulness.

  • - The man eats and drinks first to protect her (and all that she represents) from harm and defilement

  • - Different rituals within each society

  • - Each culture has its own form of communication

Keep in mind:

• • - The Albatrossians are peaceful, welcoming of strangers, generous, loving and tolerant. They eat and drink things which they like. Their patterns of life and their ceremonies are time-honored and are considered to be self-evidently correct and adequate.

  • - Albatrossians are no different from any other people in making the unconscious assumption that what they are is "normal". Thus, they assume that the visitors want to be greeted, that the visitor knows as well as they what is correct.

  • - It is not to be implied as the totality of the society.

  • - Differences in group experiences can be explained as tribal differences.

  • - An Albatrossian is as much of a whole, self-evident, implicitly assumed person as is an American.

Relating the game to hostility towards foreigners:

• • - Observing a different culture

  • - Defining a different culture

  • - Fitting in a different culture

  • - Accepting a different culture

  • - Fear from not fully understanding other cultures

  • - Prejudices coming from looking at other cultures through our standards

  • - Anger or outrage which stems from looking at cultures through our standards

  • - Albatrossians are no different from any other people in making the unconscious assumption that what they are is "normal". Thus they assume that the visitors want to be greeted, that the visitor knows as well as they what is correct.

  • - It is not to be implied as the totality of the society.

  • - Differences in group experiences can be explained as tribal differences.

  • - An Albatrossian is as much of a whole, self-evident, implicitly assumed person as is an American.

Relating the game to hostility towards foreigners:

• • - Observing a different culture

  • - Defining a different culture

  • - Fitting in a different culture

  • - Accepting a different culture

  • - Fear from not fully understanding other cultures

  • - Prejudices coming from looking at other cultures through our standards

  • - Anger or outrage which stems from looking at cultures through our standards