Colombia Research Paper

From a mere trickle in the highlands of Peru, the Amazon swells mightily on it’s 4000 mile

Bolivia is a Spanish speaking country in South America surrounded by other Spanishspeaking countries; Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. Bolivia was conquered in the 1500’s by Spain, but became independent in 1825. Home to the Andes Mountains and several tropical rain forests, Bolivia is a major vacation spot. The country was named after a previous general from Venezuela who helped them gain their freedom from Spain. Interestingly enough, Bolivia has two capitols which are Sucre and La Paz. Despite the fun fact, that Bolivia has two capitols in their country, their history proves just how hard they had to work to get that freedom (World Book 442-446).

Colombia was one of the three original countries along with Ecuador and Venezuela that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830. Over the last 40 years, there has been a campaign to overthrow the government partially because of the drug trades throughout Colombia. The movement does however lack support from military and support from the necessary influences. In recent years, there have been challenges for control of the territories throughout Colombia and also for the drug trade.

Culture can be seen from the interaction of many things such as history, activities and developments. It is also represented in the form of people live. Living in two different countries is a unique experience that gives you a new way of thinking. In my case I have lived in Colombia and now in the United States. Despite bearing some minor similarities, the differences between this to countries are notable in geography, festivities, economic and food.

To begin with, food is perhaps the first difference that people notice between these countries. For example, Americans eat turkey and mash potato for Thanksgiving dinner while Colombians eat “ajiaco” as a typical dish. Cheeseburger is a traditional lunch for Americans. However, a traditional lunch in Colombia is called “bandeja paisa”. Americans love hot dogs, nothing complements a baseball game better than a hot dogs. In contrast, Colombian enjoys their games with “arepas” which is a mix of flour and cheese. In addition, neither American nor Colombian has a better food than the other; they are simply different.

Culture is one of the most relevant elements that can define not only a society but also a country’s cumulative beliefs and system. Often noted as the origins of a country, culture is definitive in the sense that it harbors all the elements that can provide justification on the traditions and norms set by the society for its members. More often than not, the society members follow norms in order to create a harmonious community, and the beliefs and the traditions serve as the poles or grounding rules for each member to follow. Culture is very dynamic in the way that it can change over a variety of foreign influences but what is permanent about it is that original elements about it often lingers with the influences, therefore making it multi-faceted and broad. More importantly, culture serves as an individual and unique trait each society has, and therefore sets it apart from other countries and other societies.

The United States of America used to be known as the world’s largest melting pot. Meaning many different ethnicities and backgrounds coming and living with one another, and sharing each other’s culture. This can also be defined as assimilation. The United States of America has slowly drifted away from assimilation to isolating those who are different and diverse.

The Department of the Army (2014) defines culture as a “Web of meaning shared by members of a particular society or group within a society” (p. 3-1). In a previous version of Field Manual (FM) 3-24 the Department of the Army (2006) defines culture as “A system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that members of a society use to cope with their world and with one another” (p. 3-6). Culture can mean many different things to many different people and societies. To put one definition on it will not work. Over the next couple of pages an attempt will be made to explain culture further as well as consider the culture of Mexico by looking at the Mexican physical geography, military conflict history and their impact on the

Social life in Colombia is very community oriented, with parties being a huge highlight of my Mom’s time spent there. Popular music is things such as dance and salsa music, which are derived from the mestizo and hispanic cultures that have brewed there. As well as this, the kind

Culture is what people learn and how they use it to maintain their lifestyle by how they were brought up. When it comes down to cultural diversity it is a culture in its own way by the elements and value of each individual and that is what make it a cultural diversity. The Hispanic that lives in the United States can be Mexican, Cuban, South/Central American and Puerto Rican or any other Spanish origin. In 1970s the term “Hispanic” came from a Census used for each individual in a Hispanic origin or culture of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Central/South

culture in order to fully become part of a different society (“Assimilate”, 2015). This type of

There are multiple cultures around the world that influence a country's way of living. A culture is the way in which certain groups behave, think, and what tangible objects they bring value to. The Colombian culture is profoundly influenced by the Spanish culture, but has many distinct factors that allow it to properly function.

As you can see, definitions of culture vary according to the focus of interest, the unit of analysis and the disciplinary approach (psychology, anthropology, sociology, geography etc.)

Another possibility is the integration of different cultures, which is a diversified phenomenon by participating fully into the dominant society that may lead to some shared values and features, while keeping their own distinctive cultures (Berry,

Culture can be defined in many ways due to the fact that everyone can have their own distinct and traditional beliefs and values. “ Culture is fluid, it is not a static entity which one takes out of the box on occasion. It is with us daily” (Cultural Handout). Someone’s culture is set as the characteristics of the group practices in language, religion, types of food, social traits and habits, and the distinct arts and music. There are a variety of different cultures for example, Western Culture, Eastern Culture, Latin Culture, Middle Eastern Culture, and African Culture. All of these different cultures have their own ideas, values, and individualism, laws that are implied, civil rights, and even technology. In our, “ Culture Handout” culture is defined as the tool of the mind, “ it is an individual’s way seeing and interacting within the world. It encompasses one’s values systems, beliefs, and perceptions of the world around them. Race, socio-economic class gender, sexual orientation, ability, geographic location, age, religion language, etc. all impact the formation of culture, but these various context are not culture” (Cultural Handout).