Essay on My Country, Culture, and History

All my life people have always questioned my ethnicity. My mom says it makes me mysterious and intriguing. She says, "You look like you could be born in any part of the world". Any time I 'm in a crowd the question always comes up, "what 's your ethnicity?", "are you mixed with anything?”. I look at them and smile thinking in my head of course you just asked that. I give a big sigh and say "I 'm white and Pakistani". Some look at me with great confusion and ask, "What is that?" I hit them with a huge eye roll and I have to explain where Pakistan is located in Asia. I really think some people did not take World Geography because they 're still so lost. They usually just blurt with "oh, so you 're middle eastern?" It boggles my mind that

Uganda is a country that covers 7,108 sq mi in area and a host of 33.3 million people found in East Africa. It is bordered by Congo on the West, Kenya on the East, Tanzania and Rwanda on the south and Sudan on the North. It

Angola, formerly Portuguese West Africa, is the seventh largest country in Africa. The country can be divided into three major regions: the coastal plain, a transition zone, and the vast inland plateau. Angola has a tropical climate with its vegetation including tropical rain forests, savannas, grasslands, palm trees and even deserts. A great variety of animal life ranging from elephants, rhinoceros, giraffes, and even crocodiles can also be found in this African country (Microsoft 1).

The word family has changed so much in the past century. A family back in the 1950’s was probably considered a husband, wife, and one or more children. Times have changed and families have become much different. The Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others book defines family as a, “Unit made up of any number of persons who live in relationship with one another over time in a common living space who are usually, but not always, united by marriage and kinship” (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond, 243). Families can be broken up into five different types. The first is the traditional family, which includes a mother, father, and their biological children. Next, is the blended family which includes

Historians have learned a great deal about the Crusades from chroniclers like William of Tyre and Ibn al-Qalanisi. Today, reporters and newscasters travel all over the world to report on international events, including conflicts. Reporters and world leaders use social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook to connect with the public. Imagine what we might know had there been access to television, cell phones, and social media in the 13th century.

Russia has many cultural characteristics that have shaped the country we know today. A nation 's culture can define its actions and make them more predictable as a state on the international level. Understanding a nation’s culture gives great insight into the motives and reasoning behind their aggression or acts of force. Factors such as geography, weather, political landscape, military, and key infrastructure provide a clear understanding of Russian culture and how it has shaped the nation over the past century.

The short story “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor reveals that evil comes in many disguises and that it will try to harm believers and even nonbelievers. Manley Pointer’s character serves as evil and is similar to the serpent in the bible. Manley Pointer has crafty evil ways, he is malicious, and deceitful just as the serpent was to Adam and Eve in the Bible.

Anderson, K. (2013). The Difference Between Macro and Microeconomics | Mint.com. Retrieved October 13, 2013, from https://www.mint.com/the-difference-between-macro-and-microeconomics/

My story begins on August 31, 1999 when I was born in Beth Israel Hospital, from there I was raised in Andover, Massachusetts my whole life. I am half Japanese as my mother immigrated from Japan to the United States when she met my father during college. My father being a Caucasian male created an interracial family that I was raised. I went to a technical school where it was predominately a Hispanic culture where much of the students were bilingual. Coming from a family that is solely not one race and going to a school where many students shared a different culture allowed for me to get a unique view of society.

Sir Frances Bacon said, “If a man be gracious to strangers, it shows that he is a citizen of the world, and his heart is no island cut off from other islands, but a continent that joins them,” (Jenkins, 1994). This quote represents all the core values that I cherish and to which I adhere. Personal culture doesn’t have to be linked to a certain country of origin or a specific ethnicity; it can be as simple as a person’s core values. The Southern way of life is a culture all in itself.

When comparing cultures, one must form a definition of what culture is. Culture can be easily defined as the social behavior and normality’s found in human societies. It can also be easily made up of a composed arrangement of educated conduct and thought designs. Culture is a sorted out framework since it includes many parts. Throughout the world, there are many cultures that are both very different and also very similar. "Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at table, how we greet visitors, how we behave and one million other things." (Cristina De Rossi.)

It’s crazy to think that the way you were raised is what has made you become the person you are today. Everyone has their own story about how they were raised, where they were raised, and who they were raised with. Each person has their own type of heritage with how they are raised based upon their family, where they were raised, religion, family traditions, values, and beliefs. The way you were raised in life has influenced your personality. The way you act and the way you are viewed as are both influenced by your family’s heritage.

I believe that schools have hidden cultural agendas, stemming from their policy makers collective cultural backgrounds, which controls what curricula is used, and how knowledge is taught within the system. I further believe that not all students fit the cultural mold defined by our schools, and that those students that find themselves outside the established "norm" cannot fully benefit from their school experiences.

While looking upon my personal culture and my family’s culture in an attempt to find appropriate dishes for this assignment, it became apparent to me that I have no definite culture. Whereas I have lived in Canada my whole life, my family’s background has engaged me in varying cultures, though I have never felt truly attuned to one culture. On the other hand, my father is a first generation Canadian, his parents both from Scotland. Though aware of my Scottish origins and my grandparents’ migration to Canada, Scottish culture has never been explicitly celebrated amongst those in my family. Furthermore, my family previously migrated from Ireland during the Irish famine, resulting in Irish culture to also represented in my family’s culture. Variously, my mother’s side of the family has lived in Canada for many generations, but I do not consider myself as being authentically Canadian. Accordingly, throughout my childhood, I was never encouraged to celebrate an explicit culture. Furthermore, religion was never prominent in my life either, as my parents decided against baptizing any of my siblings and me, as per the family tradition, because they wished for us to have religious freedom. However, because of the rest of my family’s religion, as well as my background, my family has always celebrated Christian holidays, though I have never been to church for a reason other than a wedding. I find that without any cultural ties from my family’s history and practices, that the culture I

Cultural differences effect many aspects of our daily lives. With the many different cultures embedded in the United States, it is important that everyone has an understanding and respect for the melting pot that is encountered daily in our communities, workplaces and schools.