Cultural Encounter By Ana Menendez

Jawaharlal Nehru once said that “Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit”. Sadly, this widening is not as easy for some as it is for others. Many people struggle to overcome and look past the stereotypes that have been embedded in our cultures for as long as our cultures have been around. The cultural curiosity meaning used in this essay deals with being willing and able to develop greater cultural awareness. Amelie Nothomb shows us in her novel, both sides of this.

The chapter continued to discuss how people experience other cultures when they are removed from their area to a different place. This occurs in the form of culture shock people experience new traditions that are unfamiliar to them when the come to a place that is home to another culture. Human development may also include joining the ideas of various cultures and forming it into a new concept. It puts heavy emphasis on learning other cultures in an unbiased form in order to compare and make observations. This chapter also studies of culture have been able to advance over time and how change is an essential aspect of

In my analysis of this novel, The Adventure of Don Chipote or, When Parrots Breast-Feed by Daniel Venegas, I kept in mind that Nicolás Kanellos put great effort into getting this novel circulated in Spanish and in English. Kanellos argues that Spanish-language immigrant novels more accurately present the “evils” of American society such as oppression of the immigrant workers and deconstructs the myth of the American Dream, which permeates in English-language ethnic autobiographies. I believe Kanellos felt so passionately about circulating this particular novel was due to the fact that in Venegas’ novel we see clear representations of the three U.S. Hispanic cultures that Kanellos presents which are the native, the immigrant, and the exile cultures.

“The Indian presence precipitated the formation of an American identity” (Axtell 992). Ostracized by numerous citizens of the United States today, this quote epitomizes Axtell’s beliefs of the Indians contributing to our society. Unfortunately, Native Americans’ roles in history are often categorized as insignificant or trivial, when in actuality the Indians contributed greatly to Colonial America, in ways the ordinary person would have never deliberated. James Axtell discusses these ways, as well as what Colonial America may have looked like without the Indians’ presence. Throughout his article, his thesis stands clear by his persistence of alteration the Native Americans had on our nation. James Axtell’s bias delightfully enhances his thesis, he provides a copious amount of evidence establishing how Native Americans contributed critically to the Colonial culture, and he considers America as exceptional – largely due to the Native Americans.

Author, Pablo Medina, in his reflective memoir, “Arrival: 1960” illustrates his transition from Cuba to New York as a young boy. Medina describes how his first impressions differed from what he thought he would encounter. He faced new challenges, involving his race, that never occurred back in Cuba. By reflecting on this experience in a first person point of view, Medina depicts the disappointment that he and other immigrants face while adapting to their new world.

How do you deal with stereotypes towards yourself or others that have experienced them? People are stereotyped by their physical features and by the information we know about a certain group. They are judged by their physical features instead of seeing what they are really capable of doing. Usually not being involved in such a diverse community can cause that because they are accustomed to what's near them. Exploring and learning about others will help shatter stereotypes. We'll explore in Sucheng Chan and Judith Ortiz Cofer essays on how they've been stereotyped and what they've done to shatter the quo.

Culture plays a significant role in defining our identity and worldview. For newcomers, culture is the primary frame that shapes their interaction with other newcomers and with established residents in their new community. This interaction can occur anywhere and

First of all, the setting of this novel contributes to the Rivera family’s overall perception of what it means to be an American. To start this off, the author chooses a small American city where groups of Latino immigrants with their own language and traditions, lived together in the same apartment building. All these immigrants experienced similar problems since they moved from their countries. For example, in the novel after every other chapter the author

The author first makes readers feel cozy when he says, "Within its walls, my young parents created our traditional Cuban home, the very heart of which was the kitchen." The tone that the author uses makes the reader feel warm, giving them the joyful image of the cozy Cuban home. Then Rodriguez continues, "Here, the innocence of childhood, the congregation of family and friends, and endless celebrations that encompassed both formed the backdrop to life in our warm home." The author describes his young life to his readers, making them feel warmth by depicting the memory of the innocent and happy gathering of loved ones. Finally, Narcisco Rodriguez sets a warm mood by recalling his memories of how everyone helped each other out in their times of need. He says, "It was a close-knit community of honest, hardworking immigrants who extend a hand to people who, while not necessarily their own kind, were clearly in need." The thought of such a well-woven community of kind people spreads a warm feeling amongst readers' hearts. This relates to the thesis in the sense that the immigrants created a sincere environment for Narcisco and family. In brief, the story portrays a mood of warmth to its readers using its kind and joyful

The earlier historical settings gave an opportunity to the Europeans to visit the primitive cultures of the world. As time progress the settling of the Europeans in different areas provided an accumulated firsthand knowledge which defined the means for existence for human beings. By looking around us we can observe the later stages on cultures that are as a result of the process that was initiated at the late age of colonization and exploration. The culture of the people has spontaneously been affected by this occurring changes thus causing cultural readjustment that has significantly contributed to transformation and new ways of social interaction. When cultures interact, then there has to be cultural exchanges that are experienced.

First and foremost, this section carries out a detailed interview on Jose’s life before his arrival to the United States of America. Where I discussed his family bond and focused on his growing up environment and his biculturalism through playing Mexican and American games and the constant migration and tourism that revolved around this city.

“Hey look ‘la niña de afuera’ (the outsider).” That’s all I ever hear when I go visit my “Hometown.” As soon as I arrive to the airport and I breathe that satisfying fresh air, an air so pure and so fresh, breathing becomes so much better; I become so content until I reach the door of the airplane and I start to make my way down the stairs and they’re already giving me stares. No matter how hard I try to fit in I will never be “one of them.” I can dress like them, I can talk like them, and I can even become “one of them”; because I am one of them and still they’ll look at me weird and they’ll treat me differently. They seem to forget that not so long ago I used to be just like them, And now I’ve become “the stranger” in the village, of my own village. It’s like no Cuban American teenager has ever set foot on this island.

Unique Shoes Have you ever put yourself in someone else’s shoes and acknowledged how they were raised differently? The way we are taught to behave and reflect on our actions impacts the way we view others around us. Various authors have proved that everyone has a different perspective on culture even if two people share the same culture. Some characters are super appreciative of where they came from and how they were raised. While others might not embrace it or truly understand where they came from.

The article “The Life of Carlos, an Undocumented New Yorker” exposes the dehumanizing atmosphere Honduras reveals to its population at a young age, causing many teenagers, such as Carlos, to be in search of a new life in the United States while losing their innocence along the journey to survive. When Carlos arrives to the United States, he is quickly thrown into an adult detention center, but then temporarily released to be with his U.S. citizen Grandmother. Alexandra Starr’s about Carlo’s journey is coupled with Edward Keating’s photographs of him. Starr’s writing focuses on the story of Carlos which vividly includes many situations an average person will never experience in their lifetime, except Carlos experienced this all before the

In the past few decades, people are starting to shift towards learning cultural anthropology to explore human variations. In fact, it has come to be a bit of a fascination. “There is cultural intermingling and each country is learning more about other cultures.” For example, studying abroad for college students has greatly increased in recent years. Students realize that living and learning in another country will give them a broader knowledge of the culture and gain a deeper understanding of their own identity.