I Woke At The Sound Of Roosters Greeting

We all lust after a new and unique cultural experience when visiting an unfamiliar country for the first time. While we temporarily leave our old lifestyle behind us and try to open-up to the new things surrounding us, it can be a challenge to absorb the environment we face due to cultural diffusion. Like in the poem, “Coca-Cola and Coco Frio” by Martin Espada, our speaker, fresh out of Brooklyn, is on a mission to discover a different aspect in Puerto Rico than what he is typically used to. Presented with the same commercial product found in the United States that is Coca-Cola, our speaker keeps searching for something new. At last, he finally bumps into a roadside stand near the beach where he discovers Coco-Frio and comes to realize how

Kandiyoti, Dalia. 2004. “Host and Guest in the ‘Latino Contact Zone’: Narrating Solidarity and Hospitality in Mother Tongue.” Comparative American Studies 2, no. 4: 421–46.

Visiting a different island in the Caribbean each summer has always been a family tradition of mine. The first few years never failed to make me fall in love with each and every one of them, but once my family suggested on visiting Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, the eighth year, my thoughts were not so hyped. Going to the same sea each year can get old and boring. When we finally got to Punta Cana, falling in love was too short of a term to describe what I felt for it. As soon as we landed we were greeted with songs and happiness all around. The nobleness lingering in the atmosphere, coconut smell in the air, and architecture went beyond my imagination.

Furthermore, the Nacirema seek help of the “temple” or “latipso” for other serious illnesses, comprised mainly of medicine men and other female specialists. The culture’s devotion to rituals is undeniable as a considerable sum is required for the service of the “temple,” although “these temple ceremonies may not cure, and may even kill the neophyte, in no way decreases the people’s faith in the medicine men” (173). This belief of the “temple” constitutes checking in to the hospital to treat diseases in the American culture. Often times a significant hospital fee needs to be paid for even a short visit and it is not guaranteed that one would be healed as a result. The American culture’s “ fundamental belief…human body is ugly and its natural tendency is to debility and disease” can help explain the society’s faith in hospitals

Culture makes up who we are, what we believe and how we behave. About four years ago, I had the opportunity to live in Ecuador. I found the relationships and communication perspective to be very interesting and after spending two years there, I was able to notice several distinct intercultural differences between the American and Ecuadorian cultures. Since my analysis of Ecuador is only based off of my personal experience, I’ve also invited my friend Luis Salas from Quito, Ecuador who is currently attending Brigham Young University to give his own insights. By gaining his perspective of what it’s like to live in America as an

I started this journey filled with nervous excitement and anticipation of traveling without my family to a foreign land. On my return trip I thought of what extravagant lifestyles we Americans live. If I had never traveled to Costa Rica I think I would still be taking things for granted and I learned to appreciate what I have. The Costa Ricans had very little, but they made the absolute best of what they did have. They are very different from us, Americans because our happiness comes from material objects. They were pleased with being able to share their knowledge, culture and language with us. As the Costa Ricans say Pura Vida meaning pure

Las Casas portrays how the poor treatment of the natives impacted their lives and his: “Some mothers even drowned their babies from sheer desperations... My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature, and now I tremble as I write” (Zinn 7). Additionally, comparing the vibrant life of the natives before Columbus arrived to the cruelty they endured after, aids the reader in seeing how the Spanish destroyed the native populations’ livelihood and hope. Arriving in what is now Cuba, Las Casas observes, “ [They live in] large communal bell-shaped buildings... made of very strong wood and roofed with palm leaves” and “They are extremely generous with their possessions and by the same token covet the possessions of their friends and expect the same degree of liberality” (Zinn 5). These depictions of Native American society reveals how peacefully they lived with one another without foreign intervention. However, the utopian world they thrived in is crushed after the Spanish arrive. Las Casas’ clear accounts allow the readers to harshly realize this as he explains, “But our work was to exasperate, ravage, kill, mangle and destroy...”(Zinn 6). As the conquistadors’ mission is immoral and horrifying, especially compared to the kind natives that populate the land, the reader sympathizes with the natives’ perspective, rather than

“The only real nation is humanity” (Farmer 123). This quote represents a huge message that is received in, Tracy Kidder’s, Mountains Beyond Mountains. This book argues that universal healthcare is a right and not a privilege. Kidder’s book also shows the audience that every individual, no matter what the circumstances, is entitled to receive quality health care. In the book Kidder represents, Paul Farmer, a man who spends his entire life determined to improve the health care of impoverished areas around the world, namely Haiti, one of the poorest nations in the world. By doing this the audience learns of the horrible circumstances, and the lack of quality health care that nations like Haiti

Author Blanco indicates that it is unnecessary to seek for recognition from others to buttress one’s belief in one’s cultural identity. The narrator is not reserved with his cordial welcome to his cousins, who are from New York and are the most “American” girls in his Cuban family. However, when the cousins arrive, they are thrilled to be entertained with the Cuban food they have been craving for months. The narrator is bemused by this contradiction and says, “How weird. Why should my primas crave anything Cuban?” (Blanco 121). The author draws a dramatic contradiction between the girls’ obvious American identity and their longingness for their Cuban heritage. Thus, the author promotes the narrator’s confusion and leads him to reconsider his

Julia Alvarez displays a beautifully written piece of literature in “How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents”, describing a family's experience during the revolution in the Dominican Republic and how these drastic changes to their lives impacted them individually. In this piece of literature Julia actively portrays Dominican teenagers adjusting to American life and desperately trying to discover themselves as they’re struggling to comply with their parents strict rules and Americans heinous ridicule and judgement. Alvarez is often congratulated for accurately portraying the cultural shift majority of foreigners are impacted by, and especially those who’ve shared similar experiences with the Garcia family such as being pushed away from their homes and sense of security, family, and everything they’ve known since they were kids solely by the cruel revolution going on there during that time. In the beginning of the book, Alvarez begins with Yolanda finally returning back home to the Dominican Republic for

The country was foreign, a first for me. Dilapidation and ruin scattered the horizon as far as one could see. Guatemala is a place where poverty has a strong grasp on its people. We traveled tirelessly for hours to reach the poorest of the poor. Upon arrival old, young, and natives of all shapes and sizes formed receiving lines, eager to welcome us with gifts of smiles and gratitude. It was an experience that forever changed me. This was the first time I had stepped outside the boundaries of the American culture into a world where nothing is taken for granted. Each day spent on my mission trip brought a fresh awareness of gratefulness. Any pre-trip reluctance quickly became a vague memory as my emotions welled within bring a fresh change to

In my travels of the world I have found myself immersed in many cultures and varieties of ethnicity; I have been very fortunate to live in a day and age where such communication and experience is possible in one lifetime. I have seen La Cathedral de Notre Dame, the Statue of Liberty, the home of Da Vinci, and so many more wonderfully spiritual and historic monuments. Yet still I can say with the utmost certainty that no location has left such a lasting impact on my soul as the quaint, simple country of Costa Rica. Although many places have penetrated me with a sense of what the majestic earth and her inhabitants are capable of and have forced me to question whether or not anything is beyond the grasp of human ingenuity, none have brought

My passion for global health stems from my experiences as a child. Growing up as a child of Mexican immigrants to the United States, I had the opportunity to visit family members in southern Mexico every few years. While I savored reconnecting with relatives, my awareness of inequalities bolstered with each visit. My relatives live in rural areas where economic adversity is persistent and access to quality healthcare is sparse. Contrasting my relatives’ experiences and opportunities with my own exemplified to me how one’s life is shaped by economic conditions, healthcare access, education systems, and one’s birthplace.

Dear journal, I have finally made it to the Yucatan Peninsula, in the morning, a lookout screamed “Land!”. The Yucatan Peninsula is the first piece of land I have ever seen in forever! As we landed on the shore I felt very nervous and thoughts of the people of the land scared me. Will they be welcoming? Will they attack us? As we walked to the villages, peasants welcomed us into their homes.

Morales talks about Puerto Rican cultures by explaining what Caribbean people like to do: eat, sing, how they have different ways to dance and enjoy different types of music. “I am Caribeña, island grown. Spanish is in my flesh, ripples from my tongue, lodge in my lodge in my hips; the language of garlic and mangoes, […] (Morales 1174). She associates with those specific tastes and her home culture. Food is an important element of cultural identity.