Francine Prose's Confessions Of A Ritual Tourist

To better understand the changes which occur because of cultural diffusion, we must realize how a peoples’ beliefs and travel are a dynamic duo when it comes to cultural exchange.

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

Daily, hundreds of thousands of people are traveling, whether it’s by plane, car, bus, boat, or foot, people are traveling to new locations and being immersed in different cultures. Many fail to realize how ignorant of a tourist they are. Kincaid explains that tourists are morally “ugly” and use other, less fortunate people, for their own amusement. She tries to enlighten those who are privileged to be more considerate when they are visiting new places. Published author Jamaica Kincaid wrote “The Ugly Tourist,” originally written in her book, A Small Place, where she tries to convince readers that tourists are, “a piece of rubbish” (207). Kincaid’s attempt to convey to the audience that tourists are ignorant and morally “ugly” is partially successful, due to her satisfactory emotional appeal, yet inability to produce a less angry tone, along with minimal logical appeal.

All things considered, we believe that ones culture may or may not inform the way he or she views others and the world around them. Some people do let their culture inform the way he or she views others and the world around them as shown in the story "An Indian Fathers Plea" by Robert Lake. Though many people do not let their culture inform the way he or she views others and the world around them as shown in the story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker with Dee straying from how she was raised. Yet those are just a few people who do or don't let their culture inform them about the world or others. Everyone is different and people should understand that yes some people do use their culture for information about things, but many people this days

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

Every Culture has a set of rituals that they partake in, that are often constructed over a long period of time. Simple Actions, and special moments contain so much meaning and make everlasting memories. All rituals despite the locations they originate from, or the location they are carried out in contain the same components, they are repetitive, symbolic, remind a certain group of people about their values and beliefs, and these rituals commemorate a significant moment. For example christians commemorate the birth of christ by attending mass, and many other cultures celebrate this moment in many different ways that have in depth symbolic meaning. In the book “Guests of the Sheik” by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea rituals play a major role. Fernea’s husband Bob is an anthropologist studying the occupants of a small village named El Nahra and their culture. Fernea has documented her experiences, and adventures, and her perspective of the many rituals that the townspeople participate in such as, Ramadan, Muharram, weddings, and pilgrimages. In Muslim culture pilgrimages are immensely important and can even lead to an elevated status. Such as the pilgrimage to Mecca. Fernea is able to participate in a pilgrimage to Karbala with a couple of the towns women she had befriended. The Pilgrimage to Karbala is a symbolic, and cultural ritual in the aspect that it is reenacted every year, and is full of symbolic meaning, commemorates an important occasion and reminds a culture about their

My life experiences with different cultures began in my hometown, when Prairie Island Tribal Council members educated students about their culture through lectures, dance, and band performances. This allowed me to appreciate my Mdewakanton classmates’ culture. My exposure to different cultures expanded during an internship at a medical examiner’s office, because death is universal. I learned being culturally respectful and sensitive begins by listening to their stories and experiences before answering their questions honestly and reassuring them the deceased would be treated with respect. As I traveled to rural Honduras on a medical brigade and as a student studying abroad in Italy and Germany, I realized by listening and observing without judgement, I began to understand the cultures. In addition, I discovered generalizations of a culture give an incomplete view and I cannot assume I understand a culture. Instead, individuals are unique based on experiences as well as their culture.

Perspective is the way you see something. Many people around the world see each individual 's different and judge then by how they look and dress. A lot of people do this to make themselves feel better just like Francine Prose in “Confessions of a Ritual Tourist”. She would think the other tourist are disrespectful for not appreciating the ceremonies and think she is better than them. There this famous quote “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. This quote means if someone is trying to pick a book to read, the first thing they look at is the cover to decide whether it interesting. If people took their time to opened the book and look inside instead of judging the cover, they would found good books. This relates to reality when people make fun of each other when they never met before. They do this because they 're jealous that the other person is living a better life.

When one is exposed to a different culture, he or she may experience a deviance. An example of a deviance behavior that is violating a culturally practice is wearing a Halloween costume to a grand business meeting. In any business meetings, the ideal attire is to dress up and act in the professional you want to be (Shandrow, 2014). Men are suppose to dress clean and be crispy looking from head to toe by wearing a suit, tie, black pants, and shiny shoes while women are dress with a blouse, blazer, and dress pants or a skirt that isn’t too short. Mainly, one should dress up appropriately to who the audience is. In contrast, dressing in a Halloween costume is

After reading “Sonny’s Blues,” and approaching this with a multi-cultural mindset I can say I know nothing about other cultures as I can not put myself in other's shoes. I can understand the cultural importance as an impact and the impact on myself, but I can

However, a recent event made me realize that because the last time I immersed myself in their culture directly was a long

I have always embraced people from other cultures. I have never turned up my nose to them. I often ask about their foods and the different traditions that they have. I have a coworker that is from India which we have become good friends. When I see her eating or drinking something that I am not familiar with, I’ll inquire and she explains to me. She always ask if I want to try some of the foods that she eats. Sometimes I do and other times I don’t because of the spiciness of the food. I even have done some of the concoctions that she has made. One in particular, a little bit of apple cider vinegar, honey and a cup of hot water, I drink daily.

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.

I also learned that no culture is greater or less superior than the next, all people are equal. I believe that culture has a big impact on who you are but it does not completely own you as a person. Just because your culture is opposed to something does not mean that you as an individual has to agree with that. While culture is important to embrace it is alway important to ignore. You could be proud of your individual culture but not judge someone if theirs is different than yours. “Regardless of our differences, we are all the same.”

What may have been the norm for one may not be the norm to another, especially when it comes to the cultures of foreign lands.   Cultural norms often are so strongly ingrained in an individual's daily life that the individual may be unaware of certain behaviors. Until these behaviors are seen in the context of a different culture with different values and beliefs, the