My American Culture

I saw my father, young and determined, working at the crack of dawn in the brickyard, while my mother stayed home to childproof their small apartment. Using the potent mixture of caffeine and chemicals contained in Mountain Dew, he was able to resist the urge to doze off during his daily classes. I saw myself running around the large oak tree that dwarfed our first house, and couldn’t help but smile as I thought about my mom, pregnant with my sister, walking me to the library to play with the puppets and pick up books about my favorite dinosaurs. I saw the terrifying night that the oak tree was stuck by lightning, and heard my mothers voice over the phone at school, eagerly telling me about my new baby brother. My stream of consciousness was broken as we entered the scorching area where they bake the bricks, but I quickly zoned out again as my grandpa began to explain the technical aspects of brickmaking. This time, the memories took place in a new house, as our cozy home had turned claustrophobic with the addition of a fifth member. Quiet walks to the library were replaced with chaotic days at the pool. The cards began to pick up speed, as I got deeper into my life. The dark years of middle school, when my hair covered my eyes and I

1. How can an understanding of the complexities of culture help us make sense of the day-to-day world which we live? Give an example from your life to illustrate your answer.

Because my neighbor is considered suburban it often gets a bad rep. A lot of people think that suburbs are boring and aren't interesting. As this suggests, the problem is also cultural. For the most part, American culture and opinion are still created, even in the Internet age, in cities at either edge of the continent. If intellectuals do deign to look at the suburbs they assume that so much banality must be hiding something deeply

My entire family was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. After three and a half years of living there my family decided to seek a better future in The United States. My father would go to the United States back and forth to work and earn money to send to us in Mexico. Eventually my mother was able to get a visa and my brother along with my little sister had an alternate way into the United States. We lived in Dallas Texas and Atlanta Georgia before settling in Howard county Maryland in a very small apartment. Luckily we were doing pretty well with my dad being the only one knowing English at the time. My father was working two jobs and I was getting ready to start kindergarten. I was very excited because the education we would have received in Mexico was nothing compared to the education in Howard County. I was excited for what was to come, but there were disadvantages of knowing only Spanish. Being bullied because of my poor English had an impact on me. I was in completely separate classes learning things that were simple compared to the regular course. I was excluded from certain activities, field trips and assemblies. I was clueless at first though as I slowly learned the language I understood things a lot more.

American culture has been referred to as a “melting pot.” Different cultures have added their own distinct aspects to society, making America a diverse country. Despite the plethora of cultures, certain norms, mores, and folkways are evident in American society. These ideas are vital to the function and stability of America. They provide guidelines for what is acceptable and not. In virtually every society, there are people who engage in deviant behavior and do not abide by the values that the rest of society follows. Theorists have debated if people are socialized into acting this way and if it is a social or personal problem. The sociological study of culture focuses on norms, mores, and folkways.

Spanish is my native language, however, my mother advised my siblings and I to speak only English. This was because she was afraid that we would be rejected from professional careers if our English wasn 't unaccented, fluent, and similar in refinement to the working class whites. With time, I became a fluent English speaker with a developed Central American accent but like, any other young girl, I thought nothing of it. That is until one event, in particular, occurred that would cast a shadow of embarrassment onto my Spanish language. This event not only led me to desert my entire native language but a sense of my cultural identity, as well.

Even though my mother was Mexican it was hard for me to speak to my friends who knew mostly Spanish and a little English because Spanish was not my first language. As years went on, I went to high school, where now I can have a full conversation with my Spanish speaking friends, and since it is an international high school, it brings in more cultural diversity. With this international high school in El Paso, it has helped me learn new cultures and experience the dozens of traits they do for activities or how they celebrate

The details on how my family arrived in America have been passed down by various members of my family. The accuracy and detail of these memories have diminished with every retelling. Some of my family arrived in America so long ago that all that remains of their experiences are rumors and stretched truths. As a story gets retold over and over it loses much of its accuracy. While much of my family history relies on this kind of storytelling, there are some in my family who were alive and experienced the challenges faced by immigrants. Though born in the United States, my maternal grandfather, Sebastian Passantino, was very familiar with the hardships of being an immigrant.

As a child, I had to navigate from an English speaking classroom to a Spanish speaking home. From eight in the morning I was given instruction in English by my professors at school. After three in the afternoon at home I engaged in Spanish conversation with my mother, father, and siblings. When the summer vacation came around, it was back to speaking Spanish only, and then I regained the Mexican accent that had faded away during the school year.

Being separated from English speakers in Pre-kindergarten, translating English to Spanish for my family, ,making scavenger hunts at La Pulga to find affordable clothes and furniture,looking for books in Spanish for my Abuela so she could have something to read, waiting for my parents to come home from long work days, watching I.C.E vans appear at my neighborhood on my way to school, being told that I'd end up pregnant before I even got a chance at going to college and that I shouldn't speak Spanish because I'm in America, I was very conflicted with how I saw my family and background.To be Hispanic was no different that realizing that once the word is broken down, His-Panic, was nothing more than something shameful.This was my world, my childhood

Growing up with mostly Dominican parents, I eat Hispanic food, listen to Hispanic music and also speak the language. Spanish was my first language. I speak it fluently and everyday at home. I grew up with a large amount of aunts, uncles and cousins so family was big part of my life. I’m glad my parents taught me it when I was younger because now its very easy to communicate with other my family members.

The classic American style diner is home to all-day breakfast, the most comforting of comfort foods, and seemingly only anyone over the age of 60. The restaurants lain all across this glorious country, particularly in the Midwest and Northeast are the epitome of American culture. These restaurants originated in the late 1970’s and have become so popular that corporate chains like IHOP and Denny’s, have popped up and begun imitating the mom and pop ambience. However, those little family owned restaurants are always the best.

In North America the culture is very diverse. In Canada french and english are the dominant languages. Just south of Canada is the United States of America the dominant language in the US is english. In Mexico spanish is the dominant language. North America is one of the most diverse places in the world.

As the world’s only superpower and biggest economy by a huge margin, almost everyone on the planet knows something about the USA, even if they’ve never been. The Statue of Liberty, the Empire State, the Hollywood sign, Las Vegas neon, Golden Gate and the White House have long been global icons, and American brands and images are familiar everywhere, from Apple computers and Levi’s to Coca-Cola and hot dogs. Yet first-time visitors should expect some surprises. Though its cities draw the most tourists – New York, New Orleans, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco are all incredible destinations in their own right – America is above all a land of stunningly diverse and achingly beautiful landscapes. In one nation you have the mighty Rockies and spectacular Cascades, the vast,

It was a luminous day where the slightest touch of a ray in the line of the sun could hug you from any direction. The air was sweet with the aroma of kettle corn to the bitter taste of salt from the crashing waves along the shore. On this day I was struck with the strong sensation of deja vu in a very real childhood sense. My cousin and myself were strolling down the main street of a family town called Springfield. The town that seemed to never change when everything else did, to revisit Springfield it was like I was revisiting childhood all on it’s own. I watched my cousin Erin walk as if she was