Personal Narrative: My Peruvian Culture

Culture is defined as a whole basis of knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, and customs that define a person or group of persons. Culture differs is so many ways and that culture is what defines each of person as an individual. This concept comes from the cultural that was taught and developed from after birth and through our adolescent years. Our culture is the foundation of who we are. It identifies the lifestyle and pursuits that are practiced in the group of people we interact with in our society. Culture beliefs, values, and practices are learned from birth.

Culture is one of the most relevant elements that can define not only a society but also a country’s cumulative beliefs and system. Often noted as the origins of a country, culture is definitive in the sense that it harbors all the elements that can provide justification on the traditions and norms set by the society for its members. More often than not, the society members follow norms in order to create a harmonious community, and the beliefs and the traditions serve as the poles or grounding rules for each member to follow. Culture is very dynamic in the way that it can change over a variety of foreign influences but what is permanent about it is that original elements about it often lingers with the influences, therefore making it multi-faceted and broad. More importantly, culture serves as an individual and unique trait each society has, and therefore sets it apart from other countries and other societies.

Culture is a large part of every person’s life, it is what makes each person unique. Within culture there are many aspects such as food, music, clothing, tradition, and many more. Since culture makes up such a large part of our day to day lives, it is almost always responsible shaping and informing our view on the world.

Culture is a mixture including knowledge, belief, art, law, morality and conventions shared by nearly all the members of a specific society and separating one group member from another; other skills and habits; also common attitudes and responsibilities learned subsequently, such as original lifestyles, emotions, etc. It has played a crucial role in human evolution, allowing human beings to adapt the environment to their own purposes rather than depend solely on natural selection to achieve adaptive success. Every human society has its own particular culture, or socio-cultural system.

There are various aspects that make up a culture in today’s world, ranging from necessities needed for survival, social groups, and the unique traditions they value within the specific culture. That’s why we all are able to conclude that culture is the fluid set of traditions, customs, beliefs, values, and practices developed over time by a specific group or community.

The term “Culture" can have many varying meanings, traditionally, it is thought of as the shared beliefs, traditions, religious practices and values of an ethnic group; or the beliefs, customs, practices, and social behavior of a particular nation or people. Culture can also be defined as people with shared beliefs and practices: or a group of people whose shared beliefs and practices identify the particular place, class, or time (era) to which they belong. It can also be defined as the shared attitudes or particular set of attitudes that can characterize an ethnic or religious group of people. Culture is also art, music,

Culture is an intermingling mesh of traits that, although unique to each person, brings groups of people together. It is comprised of numerous different aspects that are passed down through generations, including religion, food, clothing, language, music, morals, and greetings. Because of its extensive range, it is easy to see how much culture impacts a person’s life. One’s culture vastly affects how he or she views the world due to ingrained traditions, stereotypes, and values within his or her heritage.

The feeling of comfort vanishes as I stand in the middle of an unfamiliar dirt road, choked with the feeling of uncertainty. The air was dusty and so were the people as they inundated me. I turned to a little girl among the cluster of the sun-kissed figures. Her face was as brown as the dirt, but her eyes illuminated with happiness. Longing for a friend, I reached out my hand to give her a teddy bear and asked if she wanted to play. As she took the bear her face filled with confusement. Yearning to win this Peruvian girl over, I pulled yet another toy from my backpack. As I filled the tiny beach ball with air, she became noticeably interested in me. Like a pint-sized thief, she stole the beach ball to indicate she finally accepted me. Once

As the phone rings, it sounds as if a fire alarm has gone off. I realize that I have only recently found out that Ms. Gomez-Lobo and her mother are immigrants. My heart rate spikes as I think about the interview. Sweat is dripping down the side of my forehead. I realize that this is the first time that I’ve ever asked lots of questions to someone about immigration. My nervousness starts to come into play. I wonder if Ms. Enchinique is nervous or excited about the interview. I think to myself, how would I feel? I would probably be nervous to tell somebody about something that changed my life, but I would also be excited because I would also want to share my life experiences with someone. When the phone is finally picked up, I don’t know what to expect, and I’m trying to say something, anything. “Hello,” I finally croak, and my worries are gone.

Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects, and behavior. It includes ideas, values, and artifacts of groups of people (Schaefer, 2006). Understanding culture can be tricky, ever ask “why do people act the way they do?”, “what made me do that”, “what was I thinking?” Physical abilities, educational background, and social background of how I was raised are important aspects of my life. The environment in which I was raised is very important aspect of my life.

Culture is described as the symbols that individuals, groups and societies use to make decision of daily life and to assure their values. Culture is a model of basic assumptions invented, discovered or developed by a given organization as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaption and internal combination, which has worked well enough to think correctly and, so to instruct to new comers as the valid way to observe, consider and feel in relation to these problems. Culture consists of manner, mind-set, values, rituals, religious belief, law (written and unwritten), arts, ideas, custom, belief, ceremonies, social institutions, myths and legends, individual identity and behavior. Cultural pattern classifies are used to describe the dominant beliefs and values. Culture has been called the way of life for an entire society. It is a group or community living together and sharing a set of norms. Culture and society are coexistent. One does not or cannot exist without the other. Culture and society may have some common elements but the two are not the same; they are not identical.

Culture is a way of life. It can be defined as a group of people linked by geographical location, ethnicity, gender or age. Culture can be reflected through language, clothing, food, behavior, spirituality and traditions. The behavioral patterns developed through culture are difficult to change.

Culture is defined as a way of life of a group of people. Primarily, it involves cumulated technology, knowledge, religious practices, economic, political and social practices, concepts about the universe, and hierarchies of power (Merli, 2000). Culture also includes possessions acquired over time, roles and responsibilities of different members of the group, special relations, and notions of time.

Culture is a concept that has broad connotations with many different interpretations, it relates to all aspects of physical life and spiritual life of the human. According to anthropologists, culture is the major way in which humans adapt to their environments and give meaning to their lives. Or in other words, culture is the most visible face of a society. If we take a look into culture, we can see most of aspects of a whole society. For example, in everyday life, culture is generally understood as literature and art like poetry, fine arts, theater, film...Or an another common understanding, culture is the way of life, including culinary styles, costumes, behaviors, religions, customs, lifestyle, even both faith and knowledge that are perceived. In short, Culture is a product of human beings; it is created and developed in the relationship between humans and society. Moreover, it also re-engages in the creation of humanity, and maintaining the sustainability of social order. Therefore, culture is a very important part of anthropology.

Culture is a learned set of ideas, values, and standards that is shared by members of a society. When this learned set is acted upon, it produces non-random and systematic behaviour, within a range, that is recognizable and acceptable within that society. Cultures exist as a medium for societies to deal systematically with problems and matters that concern them.