My Cultural Experience

Arriving at a foreign country at the age of eleven years old was and exiting and yet intimidating experience. High buildings, wide roads, newer and nicer cars on the streets were some of the first things I noticed when I arrived to the city of Los Angeles CA. Living in a country where you were not born in could be difficult some times. Although Spanish is spoken at a grand scale in CA, it was difficult to communicate with and understand the teachers from my classes at the elementary level since all they spoke was English. Los Angeles is a city of great diversity, therefore it is believed to be the perfect place for any person arriving from another country to not feel like a foreign, such believe

I'm originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, where there is an abundance of Hispanic culture. Hispanics are often defined as people from Spain or any country that is Spanish speaking in Latin America. In this essay, I will share with you some affects that Hispanic culture had on me and how it opened my eyes to better understand diversity. Among the United States, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics according to The U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanics are estimated to be 48% of the total population of people living in New Mexico, which is the highest of any other state. Hispanicization is the process by which a place or a person absorbs characteristics of Hispanic society and culture.

My first recollection about my cultural background started in junior high school because this is when people start fitting into groups or cliques and people tend to be in groups with their friends. The different types of groups included the preps, jocks, band geeks, hoods, druggies, and bookworms to name a few examples. Of course, I was not into sports so much or band, however, I fit with many different groups because I had friends that belonged to different things, however, I was more of a bookworm because I was concerned about doing well in school. People that were considered outsiders were people that were loners, troublemakers, or anyone that did not fit with a specific group. In addition, sometimes it was difficult to be involved with other groups because sometimes I hung around with people that might be considered outsiders and that did not always work because people in my group were not so understanding.

I contemplated for a long time on where I would do my cultural immersion experience. I wanted to go somewhere where I was an outsider in a part of my own culture. It was then that I realized I didn’t have to go far for this assignment. For as long as anyone can remember, my family has been Catholic. Despite that, I have never been to church and I don’t know much of anything about Catholicism.

On Sunday September 17, at 10 a.m until 6 p.m. I went to an event to celebrate Las Fiestas Patrias. La Que Buena; a speaking Spanish radio station made this event happen. The radio station had guest like “Voz de Mando” “Christian Nodal” “Maximo Grado” and many more. These artist play “Regional Mexican Music,” they are different type of music that fall into this category. For example; corridos, mariachi, banda, Conjunto norteño. The musicians just go play live for the audience and people enjoy eating their favorite Mexican food and listen to them play. There was food like, tacos, birria, posole, menudo, quesadillas, etc. Also, they had Mexican desserts and candies like, “Tostilocos” one of my favorites, nachos con carne asada, mangoniadas, raspados

The girls I see this evening are young teens who are wearing too much makeup trying to be seen by the young boys who are wearing expensive sneakers and saggy pants. A few of the young girls I see are young mothers pushing baby strollers and conversing

Srinivas Maddineni and I come from different backgrounds and cultures. Srinivas—or as he likes to be called “Jake”—is from India and can speak Bengali and Hindi. I, on the other hand, have ancestors from Eastern Europe and speak my religion’s language of Hebrew. Despite these cultural differences, Jake and I met and forged a meaningful relationship because of our shared interest in economic empowerment. Before I talk about my relationship with Jake and how our friendship impacted an organization, I’ll first discuss how I came to know him. Before coming to Emory, I was originally set to attend George Washington University (GW). I will admit that I was not excited about the prospect of going to GW; it was low on my “college list” and I did not feel passionate about the school or its academic

Integrated set of values and material traits of a racial, religious and social group is culture. Of course, there are many other attributes that pertain to each individual that influence their culture. As for myself, I identify as a Black American male. The notion of referring to a black person as an “African American”, as more socially acceptable, I personally disagree. Simply since the white man brought my ancestors here against their will, and stripping them of their ethnic background, I have no ties with my African roots. With the prefix of african, in my opinion, insinuates that I am familiar with the customs in a country in Africa; which is not true. As a last resort, I have to stick with the stigma the white man constructed to categorize people of color. The only customs I am familiar with is black american traditions that my race has curated on their own. Furthermore, my sexuality, family and friends impacted my authenticity today

Culture Class was where Essence and I first meet. Her first impression of me was that I was very high strung she believed that I didn’t know how to let loose and enjoy life.

Culture is beauty. The incredible variation in language, religion, thought, art and cuisine that exists in our small planet among our fellow human beings is simply breathtaking. I desire to meet individuals from as many cultures as I can; to experience as many places and foods as possible; to learn of all the religions and understand their ideas; to speak and understand as many languages as I possibly can and to see the natural beauty this entire planet has to offer. This is why, with the help and support of my family, I have begun to work towards these ambitions to live what I feel is a fulfilling life. I have been incredibly blessed to experience some of these things thus far.

For my second culture immersion project I went to eat at a Mexican restaurant. I went with my group members Ryan, Brian and Brian's girlfriend. I went this pass Tuesday after we had our group meeting. I don’t recall the name of the restaurant but I know it was downtown Appleton near by the Walgreens. . This was good choice for the project because I never have eaten at an actually Mexican restaurant before.

From my cultural experiences, I learned a multitude of things about cultures different than my own. When I attended the Latin Gala, I experienced different music, food, and customs. There were salsa and chips, and a potato dish called papas rellenas which I really enjoyed. People also sang in Spanish and danced to lively Spanish music, and there were several performances. I also visited a restaurant called El Burro Loco which provided authentic Mexican food, and a cultural atmosphere. There was Spanish music in the background, and Spanish artworks, pinatas and sombreros adorned the walls. I ordered the Camarones Al Mojo De Ajo dish, which was described as sautéed shrimp with toasted garlic and cilantro. It was my friend’s birthday, so we were all served flan, and the waiters gave us sombreros to wear as we all sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to her in Spanish. I also went to another restaurant called La Taquiza, which is a very small Mexican restaurant. Since they possess a Taco Tuesday deal where they serve tacos for a dollar each, I usually opt to get three soft shelled veggie tacos with a certain green sauce which is spicy, but I like a lot. La Taquiza doesn’t play any music but also has a lot of Spanish artwork which portrays many religious

The environment, family, and community I have grown up in has shaped me as a person. So far, I grew up in the same house all seventeen years of my life. My personality has grown and molded over the years of middle school and high school based off the lessons I have learned and the things I’ve been through.

(Origin) When thinking about my family and our roots I identify my family’s places or origin as Germany and Ireland. A majority of my family is of German ancestry and the one exception is my grandmother and she is Irish. I identify these too places as where my family came from due to stories that I have hear from family members and to the traits that each member of my family carries. A majority of my family are all blonde hair, with blue or brown eyes which have a lot of similarities to people from Germany. My family as very few of the traits from the Irish side but the only ones the I have been told are that some people in our family freckle a lot

One of my earliest childhood memories was in a huge playground with kids the same age as me, laughing and talking in a foreign language, except I was the only one lost in translation. The memory was of a time when my parents sent me to an all-girls boarding school in India at five years of age. Learning how to adjust to a new culture was difficult, to say the least. However, I have grown from this unique experience. I developed a new mentality to adapt to any situation, and truly believe friends can help support anyone through any circumstance. I also learned many new cultural experiences that influence my life today. It is these experiences at my boarding school that has shaped me into the person I am today.