Tonight's reading focuses on cultural anthropology and ethnography (the study of another culture). Geertz is interested in talking about what we are able to know when studying other cultures. Obviously, reflexivity is important, in such a situation, but so is some sort of objectivity, as well. For this blog entry, I'd like you to write a little about a cross cultural experience you had. Detail the event/group you were with. Briefly describe your experience. How did the people involved make sense of themselves? How did you, as an outsider, make sense of them? In your opinion, what do we risk and/or gain by such observations?
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This Summer I went down to North Carolina with my family to visit the Cherokee Indian Reservation located in the Mountains. It was pretty easy to get a grasp of there culture for the most part. My biggest thing was getting use to there gender roles. In Cherokee Society the Man marries into his wifes tribe and there for becomes representative of him. To me that is almost as if we would marry and take our wives last name. Another thing was there early beliefs about how things were created, but I took every thing with an open mind. The one thing I did find easy to concept was there belief in monotheism much like our stereotypical Christian society.
This summer i went to the Bahamas with my family. The culture over there is way different. The people over there are way more laid back and relaxed about everything. They are very outgoing and dont mind to talk to strangers. Many of the people over there produce their own things by hand and sell them in the markets. As for beliefs i could not tell you.
A couple years ago my family and I went on a trip to Europe. We visted Italy, France, and Englang. While we were overseas we had an obvious communication problem while we were in Italy and France. My family and I had looked into learning a bit of both languages before we left just so we wouldnt be helpless. Whenever we had to communicate with the french of italians we used the little we knew and also used lots of hand gestures. I dont feel like we risk much when in these situations however, I do feel that we gain a lot. We learn a lot about other cultures which in turn helps us to become well rounded human beings.
A couple of years ago my parents and I went on a vacation to Jamaica. Certain parts are made for tourism but when you explore outside of that the culture is very different from our own. It seemed like a very poor country. We would walk down the streets and there would be homeless people following you everywhere asking for things. Then at the markets people would bargin their prices with you just to sell their merchandise. Also many people woudl try and sell illegal drugs to kids. I guess this is just how these people have to live to survive because it is such a poor place to live. By being a tourist, the people just assume you have a lot of money to give a way. Im not sure what we risk by such observations except you my judge people in the wrong way, but we difantly gain a lot of knowledge of other cultures and how they work, and why they are the way they are.
From the time I was eleven I went to Tennessee every summer until I turned 16. The culture there is completely different than what a city girl would be used to. Thats what they called me. My uncle's wife grew up on a farm, so that is where I stayed, at her old home with her parents. The people down there are way more laid back and friendly. Strangers always want to talk to you, and have atleast 15 minute conversations. That was something I was not used to. The people I stayed with dont really care for material things, but are just thankful for the food on the table and the roof on their heads. They made sense of themselves as hard workers. I was fascinated with the difference between life up north and down south. They all wanted to hear me say certain words to hear my accent. I very much enjoyed their lifestyle. It's a simple one, but it is very rewarding to be a part of. I didnt feel as though i risked anything, but rather that a gained more appreciation for the easier life that I have. Working on a farm from 4 am until 6 at night is not easy. I also gained respect for my aunts family, more so than i had before.
i've been to many different places in mexico and the carribean, and ive noticed that their way of life and values are very different than here in the US. a value that stood out to me the most was their work ethic. most of the jobs people have down there are in the service industry like waitressing, cleaning, and gardening, because alot of those areas are very touristy. in the US some would consider those jobs "undesirable", and a lot of times people who work in that industry let their work ethic reflect their negative feelings about their job. however, in those latin american countries, i've almost always experienced friendly, hard working people who seem to enjoy there jobs, even though they make a lot less than the workers in the us. i dont know what part of their society would make them such hardworkers in such unrewarding jobs, but its definitley different than the US
I've only been out of the country once and that was over summer when my family went to Cancun, Mexico. I didn't notice much difference from the US because it's an Americanized vacation spot. The main difference I noticed was the obvious language barrier. However most people there spoke both Spanish and English.
The other thing I noticed were the differences in restaurants. Places like Carlos n Charlie's as well as Senor Frogs aren't like any place in the States. They greatly promote alcohol and are very loud with their music. It almost reminded me of a pub setting with a clubs music. A decently new experience indeed.
You dont have to travel very far away from home before you are able to find cultures that are different from yours/ours. The southern states of the United States are a perfect example of this. As close to home as Kentucky people start to take a different approach to living. The southern states are know for being hospitable, laid back, and much more each going compared to our always in a hurry northern attitude. The people in the southern states hardly ever seem like they are in a hurry. The southerns that i have met are willing to drive slow and be five minutes late compared to flying down streets to make it on time.
A few summers ago, I got the opportunity to go to Sao Paulo Brasil for a month. As a foriegn exchange program, the americans and brasilians each had a family to stay with. We realized how close family was in brasil. How they do everything together and what was in the best intrest of eachother. I was also shown extreme poverty and wealth in Brasil, how you are really rich or really poor. It was an opportunity I won't easily forget.
This past summer my family and i went to disney world in orlando. Oddly enough when i walked into Magic Kingdom, it was a huge culture shock. I looked around and listened to people and it seemed like no one spoke english. This soon got under my skin and got on my nerves. After a few days of listening to this I began to make observations on how these people act and behave differently then i do. By the end of the week I left with more of an open mind to other cultures. I ended up thinking that it was pretty neat to get to experience different ways and different languages then i am used to even if i couldnt understand them still. Overall i thought that it was a great experience for me.
During the summer i went to Atlantis, Bahamas for the second time. The houses and buildings were clearly not well kept up or very nice. On our way to the resort the cab ride was scary, I really thought we were going to wreck. The traffic was out of control. The men were extremely nice and friendly. The woman seemed to have an attitude and not so friendly. The people who were at the resort were all white and most were in the upper class. At night everyone would go to the casino and get all dressed up in suits and dresses. It was amazing to see how much money people put down at the gambling tables.
I was born in South Africa and moved to USA when I was about four years old. All of my relatives live either in Africa or in England. Even though I was very little when we moved away, I still remember things in Africa being very different than things here in Ohio.. those thoughts are reinforced whenever my family comes to visit. There are obvious things such as accents and grammar that show how we differ, but there are also other things like their beliefs of other races and things like that.
A couple of years ago I went to Mexico with my church group. We were on a mission to help rebuild a neighborhood and pass out food for the poor. While in Mexico, I noticed how nice the people are to each other . I remember a incident where a man welcome couple of random homeless people to stay the night at his house that we helped remodel. I am not exactly sure what their beliefs are.
Over the last 4 years of my life, I had the luxury and joy of venturing to Iraq twice. As soon as you get off of the plane in Kuwait it is an instant culture shock. There are those that speak english, but it is few and far between. Most people in Kuwait and Iraq can speak in broken english, however, it is VERY broken english...
The language barrier isn't the only thing though, culturally they are all very religious people, going so far as to have 5 prayers a day to allah, and these are broadcast to the entire city via loudspeakers on the tops of the mosques.
The food is also very different, they do not eat pork at all, and the rest of the menu is very non-western oriented. It is a hodgepodge of ingredients that one would think would not taste good together, but miraculously in the end it is delicious. But alas, cleanliness is a little difficult given the climate.
A cross cultural experience i have hadf is when i went to mexico. it is kind of a shock because a lot of peeople do on know your language. they do things a lot differently down there. they eat dinner at like 3. its not hard to get used to their culture.
I lived in Japan for a year when I was six and seven. As an outsider, I didn't particularly feel out of place, because as a kid I had a lot in common with other kids. I went to an international school that was full of kids from all around the world. At that time I didn't fully understand the experience, but I loved it there. I couldn't hope to fully understand the people around me, but I adapted.
Over spring break last year my family and I wen to San Diego California for vacation. During one of the days my dad and me decided to cross the border and go to Tiawana Mexico. The cultural differences were so entirely vast compared to ours. Since it is a tourist area for the most part, the natives are constantly trying to sell products to you. Shop after shop are placed next to eachother all basically selling the same things. There were children trying to sell their family's products to us. It was really very sad to see how much poverty was going on in this part of their country. In the time I spent there I saw a prostitute, the drinking age was lower than our so I was allowed to drink, and I saw a billboard talking about child prostitution. It was so completely different then what I am used to.
A few years ago I went to Punta Cana Dominican Republic. The culture there was very different. The food was native, but they also tried having some Americanized food like burgers and hot dogs. Also, it was a nude beach and that wouldn't fly here either. No one spoke English so I was hard to communicate. Therefore, I was able to know much about the people since we didn't speak the same language.
I am lucky enough to have done some extensive traveling in my lifetime. I have been in contact with numerous cultures. The majority of them being very similar. The people that stood out the most were the French. Even for the little time I was there, the pride that they take in their language and culture was obvious to me. They come off as stuck up, but the source of this I feel is the pride they have. More specifically, they are very proud of their history as a country. As an observer, you risk being jealous and forgetting your own culture. However this can be a reminder to take pride in your own culture as well.
This past summer I went to Italy and it was my first time in Europe. I went with friend and her family for vacation and to see her brother play basketball in the Macabbi Games held in Rome. It was the most wonderful experience I have ever had. It was so eye opening and amazing that I never wanted to leave. Italy was so rich with culture and history that it was so interesting to learn about everything. The people were extremely nice and seem to have adapted to a lot of the American customs. Most all of the people I dealt with in Rome knew basic English and communicate really well with us. When I visited a smaller town about three hours from Rome called Positano it was a little more difficult. All of the people were rich with Italian heritage and costoms of their own. This experinence in Positano was amazing and although it was more difficult for them to understand us, seeing these people in their element was amazing. I really don't think that I risked anything by being their and taking in their culture, but I gained so much. I have a new appreication for my own country and town because of the clean enviornment, but also feel that I have grown so much by going on this trip. I got to experience and see so many things that I know now what is out there and what I am missing out on.
Last winter my family and i went to New Mexico where we visited a Pueblo indian village. The townspeople there were struggling to hold on to old traditions like making their own clothes, farming their own food, and continue religious practices while American standards are being forced on them. The village we went to was very depressing because their were so few pueblo indians that still lived on the reserve, and they had to resort to selling cheap jewelry or pottery to tourists. But I liked that they did alot of their own farming and hunting still and did not buy in to all the American commercialism yet. I think observations like this can give you a new respect for another culture, and perspective on things you are not happy with about your own society.
This past summer I went to Sweden to visit my Father, who owns an apartment in Malmo, as he works over there. The complex was occupied primarily by Swedish inhabitants, so contact with them was inevitable. They are a very nice and friendly people, but incredibly introverted. They walk down the streets with their heads down, rarely making eye contact or saying hello to others. Though this behavior may be mistook as stuck-up, it could not be more opposite of that. Their hospitality towards foreigners and knowledge of other cultures instantly demands respect. I have been to many other countries, though none as welcoming as Sweden. Truly one of my favorite places I have visited.
This past summer I went to Ireland for my cousins wedding. It was my first time in Ireland and it was amazing. The people are much more laid back. I was able to walk into the bar at any time and order myself a beer and people wouldn't think twice about it. The doorways were much smaller in Ireland because everyone seemed to be much shorter. The wedding was awesome, everyone, even some really old people, stayed up till about 5 in the morning drinking. Throughout the week that I spent in Ireland, people acted like they were our best friends and family. No matter where we went, we were recognized as Americans and treated like close family members whether we were or not. Im pretty convinced that Ireland has the nicest people in the world.
I haven't been to another country like alot of people are saying, so my story isn't as interesting. My boyfriend's family is from the south, so even after moving to Ohio they still carry over some of the things they used to do in Florida. For New Years they have a big meal with black eyed peas, sauerkraut and all the other traditional food for bringing in the new year. My family has never done anything like this, so when I was invited i thought of it as unusual. His parents still have a bit of an accent and different dialect. They walk barefoot in the summer and wear sandals year round. It's just the little things that are different from myself living in Ohio my whole life. I've come to better understand them and fit in a little more as time goes on.
I went to Florida this past summer to visit a friend of my moms. They are an African American family that lives in a prominently black neighborhood. This was a total culture shock for me. For the first time in my life, I was the minority. I was used to living in all white town where our high school only had one black person. I quickly became accustomed to their culture and they quickly accepted me into the hang of things.
I think we gain a lot by things such as this. You become more diverse and open minded to certain things. I have never been a racist in my life and this experience has made me so much more intolerable to those who are.
I have never been able to really be outside of my culture. So I guess the first thing that comes to mind would be when I went to North Carolina and South Carolina for spring break. Me and my friend went to McDonalds for breakfeast in North Carolina. All of the customers left their trash and trays on the table. I have never done this or really seen this where I come from. Where I come from you clean up after yourself, especially at McDonalds. In South Carolina it was defenitley a different culture. The houses the people just seemed more rundown and dirty. Of course that was only certain areas. I didn't really come in much contact with the people there, but I could tell they knew I wasn't from there. I tried my best to understand that people towards the south are raised diffrently. I think we can always gain something from other cultures. If it isn't something that directly affects you it may be something that helps you understand another person.
During Spring Break I visited Daytona Beach, Florida and had an eye opening experience. It was black college reuinion week and over 10,000 African Americans were there. Prior to this weekend I did not think they would treat me differently, but they did. They called me names and pressured me to get off the streets. I came from a high school with not many african americans so this subject was new to me. I was a little uncomfortable at those points but overall it was a good experience
My high school had a large Somalian program for students who did not speak English. It was difficult for me to understand why there where non-english speaking students in my school. Also their religous garments and rituals where not my own. It made me feel as if they where inferior. I was ignorant to the fact at the opportunity they where given. They left a war torn country to come to the U.S. I began to realize that they had the same goals as me and that they where no very different even though i percieved them as being different.
I can recall a cross cultural experience from this summer when I was in Turkey. I was with my father in Bodrum and we were waiting to fill a dulmus. It's a big taxi. While we were waiting I had to use the restroom, so I said,"tuvalet?", and the man pointed me towards it. I did my business as anyone would and I left the bathroom. Then a moment later, as I sat down to have some cay (tea), a big man came and pointed an enormously fat finger at me. I was scared. I figured out that he was saying,"you pay", in Turkish. I was not aware that I had to pay three stinking dollars to go to the restroom. It was just normal in Turkey for a person to have to pay for a public restroom. I had to learn not to take things for granted here.
I went to mexico with my family and i being a brunette like most mexicans and my sister being blonde they were called barbie and we thought well the closet thing they had to a blonde was a barbie doll and that is how we made sense we thought it was funny and my sister could like convince the mexicans to get things at a longer price but i couldn't hopefully it was because they were blonde and not because i was slightly fat at the time.
This past summer I went to Topsail Beach, North Carolina. It seemed to me that the culture for the most part wasn't really different, except in almost all the businesses there were workers that were mexican, or of different decent. And most of them couldn't not speak really good english, so if I needed help with something, I couldn't get because neither I nor they could understand. The biggest problem was just with them speaking spanish. I mean I took some spanish in high school, but I don't know it well enough to speak it, or understand people speaking it.
This past Spring Break my mom, a friend and her mom went to Cancun, Mexico for a week. The way of life in Mexico was completely different. I didn't experience much outside of the resort and it was very americanized but there was a definite language problem. The majority of people living and working there could speak a good amount of english. When we did leave the resort it was a lot less americanized but still a lot of the people spoke a decent amount of english. I saw them all as determined people. I had a conversation with our taxi driver about his life and he talked about earning his way to America with his family. I gained knowledge about what others have to work to get that we take advantage of.
Two summers ago I went on a vacation to the Hawaiian islands and the culture there was much different then in the US mainland. The culture was more relaxed and it seemed that possessions were not held as highly valued because all of the natives seemed to already live in paradise.
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