Essay Comparing the Culture of Cambodia and American Culture

It doesn’t matter what kind of ethnicity you are, or how you were brought up. Everyone is deeply rooted in their own culture. “Culture” has a different meaning to everyone. Comparing American culture to Chinese culture we will find many different meanings to the word “culture”. For example, we Americans are always looking for something bigger and better for our future, and the Chinese are content with a small reserved lifestyle with no intentions of changing it for something bigger. A culture is a way of life of a group of people-the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and are passed along by communication and imitation from

The streets of Ho Chi Minh City are beautiful around the summer time, but my favorite city was Huế, the city of cheap eats. My siblings and I have never been to Vietnam before, so it was an experience for all of us. As we were sitting down in a restaurant, looking at the menu, an old lady came up to us to take our order. My mother used to order for my brothers, so she ordered for them. When the lady looked at me, waiting for me to give her my order, all I could do was point at the picture on the menu and give her a smile. The look on her face was clear displeased. “She was born in America. She doesn’t know Vietnamese,” my father quickly told her, apologizing for my lack of knowledge. I felt embarrassed, lowering my head whenever she came near us. It was not my fault that I did not know my native language, but it was not my fault entirely for being able to learn it all these

The following paper will discuss Vietnamese Americans and their journey to America. I will talk about how these incredible and resilient people fought to succeed it a world that seemed to hold the odds against them. The culture, beliefs, and challenges of Vietnamese people are a precise paradigm of their strength and perseverance.

Cultural differences are apparent from one group of people to another. Culture is based on many things that are passed on from one generation to the next. Most of the time people take for granted their language, beliefs, and values. When it comes the cultural differences of people there is no right or wrong. People should be aware of others culture and respect the differences that are between them. The United States and China are two very large countries that have cultures that are well known through out the world. There are many differences between the United States and China, but there are many contributing factors that shape the cultures of these two countries.

For this paper I will examine Vietnamese culture according to the five essential questions all cultures must answer (according to Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck). I will then take those answers and compare then to out culture here in America. I realize that some might argue that using North American culture as a starting point is an attempt to simplify this writing, but I believe that any initial examination of something new is most effectively done in comparison to what one already knows.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive” (Mahatma). Our culture identifies who we are and how we behave in social environments and provides us with a foundation in which to live our lives and raise our families. Each individual culture has certain customs and courtesies that are important. Exposure to the cultures of others can be intimidating and can leave a person feeling confused and unsure about how they fit in (Schaefer 60). Culture shock can leave a person feeling out of place in an unfamiliar culture (Schaefer 60). Our diverse societies demand understanding and acceptance of other cultures. Learning and understanding these cultures before being

According to Kashima (2010), defining what culture means is a difficult task. Culture can be considered the individual differences of identity. Culture is established by numerous things such as ideology and beliefs. While categories of culture are not limited to only country, a common classification of culture is that of different countries. Vietnam’s culture is diverse, influences from many countries have played a role in shaping Vietnam’s culture. Years of Chinese rule, French imperialism, social conflicts and war have given Vietnamese culture a unique richness of language, music and history.

Culture is not a fixed phenomenon, nor is it the same in all places or to all people. It is relative to time, place, and particular people. Learning about other people can help us to understand ourselves and to be better world citizens.

Loung is tired of hearing how women are supposed to be sweet, kind and delicate. She wants to be independent and wild like the girls she sees on T.V. One day when Loung was playing with some friends she had accidentally hit Li and cut her lip. After she went home she sat in her closet so angry and ashamed. Meung sits outside the closet doors and consoles her. Telling him it was an accident Muang proceeds to tell Loung “You are not a boy, You don't need to play so aggressive” (58). Loung acts a different way at home than she does at school. Being a proper girl is a very important aspect of the Cambodian culture. Being proper and having the best etiquette is a way to show how high your status is. “Women demonstrate their high status through proper behavior. This includes both proper comportment and correct actions. Women are to walk slowly and softly, be so quiet in their movements that one cannot hear the sound of their silk skirt rustling”.(Ledgerwood 112). Loung starts to wear more revealing clothes as she grows older. She puts on makeup and flirts with boys as she sees the other girls in her class doing. When her brother starts to notice he gets angry at Loung, Accusing her of throwing herself away to impress the kids at school. This causes all of Loungs Cambodian friends

Americans can wear their shoes around the house, while cambodians have to take their shoes off right when you get in the house because it shows a sign of respect. One rule that I don’t practice or believe in is the marriage. In America you get to choose your partner based on love. In Cambodia your parents choose who you get to marry based on who they like. Instead of going to church every Sunday like americans, cambodians practice buddhism daily. The Buddha is like the cambodian god or

In “Buffet Etiquette” by Hieu Nguyen the author discusses how his transition from Vietnamese culture to American culture, has caused tension and hardship between his relationship between his mother and him. Nguyen’s use of candace, tone, and volume accentuate the message that losing the roots someone came from can cause hardship.

Knowledge about some differences between yours and the other person’s culture can, for instance enable you to plan an event so that you have the best chance of enabling the communication to run smooth. It helps us to have curiosity and knowledge about the customs and norms of other cultures and the meanings associated with simple actions so that we can understand reactions and can influence the action by preventing misunderstandings as far as possible. This involves being aware of our own rules and prohibitions so they can be evaluated and examined in terms of appropriateness in different situations, otherwise we make judgment based on acceptable criteria.

There are many genocides that people are not aware of. One of them is the attempted genocide carried out by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge was able to gain power and remain in control of Cambodia for years without interference because they isolated the country from any foreign influence. Other countries had no idea what was happening inside Cambodia until years later. The Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot, wanted to create their own ideal communist society. So how did The Khmer Rouge gain so much power and control? Some argue that Pol Pot was the only one responsible for the power and control gained by the Khmer Rouge. On the other hand, others say that the notion of social hierarchy was

Being an ideal global citizen must include the passion for accepting others beside yourself. If people would inquire the customs of others we would have a better understanding of one another. With that, it could avoid children growing up to typical stereotypes, or blaming others for dilemmas in the world. In general, it’s really a commonality we share with foreign countries, its just done slightly different.

Some of the reasons to learn about a different culture are when people choose to live in another country or they are forced to immigrate to other places for security purposes. Learning about a new culture means that people will keep their own culture