Christmas Dinner Across The World

I saw this picture which shows the type of food that is often served at Christmas dinner across the world. Christmas isn't celebrated by all countries around the world or by all people around the world, however it is safe to say that it is celebrated by a large group of people around the world. While examining this picture I noticed that in mid-southern countries on the west, fruit is common. In Mexico, Peru and Brazil it includes fruit in some way where as it doesn't in other countries. The reason for this might be that fruit is common enough to be accessed there but it isn't common enough to eat everyday so it is good for a special occasion. I also noticed that some sort of meat in associated in every meal except for Ghana and the Philippines. This shows how meat is not only a large part of Americas daily meal but also many other places around the world. I find this picture very interesting because it shows how countries around the world have different ideas of what is good but it also shows what is common between countries around the world's meals.

South Africa Is Diverse?

I have a friend who was born in South Africa and moved to America when he was only a couple of weeks old. He is white  so when he told people that he was South African many people thought that he was lying. It's almost like people though that Afruca wasn't diverse at all.  The reason people thought he was lying is because most people assume that everyone in Africa is black. This shows how uneducated people are about other counties around the world. Just because someone is whit doesn't mean that they aren't African. I think that all counties need to learn about the different culture in the different countries around the world. This would help people better understand everything going on around the world and overall I think it would be good information to know.

"Make Me Beautiful"

This is a video that we have talked about in Culture and Identity before. In this video, a picture of a women was sent to photo shop experts all around the world and they were told to "make her beautiful". The video goes through all of the countries involved responses and I was surprised about some but I also noticed some things that definitely make sense. For example Australia added a tanner skin tone with the blush on her cheeks which makes sense with their connection with the beach. Also with Morocco. They are the only country that put clothes on her and it was a hijab which is very common in their country because of the large Muslim influence. the Philippians was also the only country that drastically changed her hair. It shows that they find dark straight and full hair beautiful which isn't the case in other countries. I was personally quite surprised when I saw the picture for the US. I feel that the picture is kind of what the media sees as the "ideal women" but it is definitely not the average looking American women. this helps me understand that the majority of the pictures are probably based off of the medias idea of a beautiful women and not what the average women looks like. This opens my eyes and helps me get a better understanding of these countries.

Time

Time is a concept that was completely created by mankind. It is very possible to live without time however, today that would be seen as almost a punishment to many people. Our homework for Culture and Identity was to go 48 hours without time! Now this just sounds crazy to think about. I started my 48 hours without time on Friday at 12 am just as I started my black Friday shopping. Not looking or thinking about the time while shopping was relatively easy (I think it was like that because of how tired I was). However I did notice that when we were done shopping everyone seemed to want to know what time it was! I managed to not listen and went on still not knowing the time. I spent basically the rest of the day sleeping, so again it was not hard to look at the time. On Saturday I did have basketball games so I made my dad tell me a reasonable time to get ready and leave. I again found this pretty easy until I got to the game. When I got there I noticed a clock right as I walk into the lobby, and another in the gym and another in the other gym. There seemed to be clocks everywhere and everyone used them apparently because everyone kept checking the time in order to know when to do this and when to do that. I have realized over this experience that people seem to determine almost everything they do based on the time. I had never really noticed before because that's just the way life is and there isn't any reason to question it. Because of this project I'm definitely going to have a different view of time. 

Materialism

This is a quote that I have seen and heard a couple of times. However, I had never really put much thought into what it meant. After thinking about it for a while I think that this quote is pointing out the large role that materialism plays in many of our lives. Materialism today seems to in a way control our lives. People are always worried about the new phone coming out or the new TV or the new trends in clothing that other things like spending time with friends or family aren't as special as  getting a new product. I think that American is a very materialistic country and in my opinion that isn't the best thing. I think that all of these materials are truly a distraction from true bliss. Some people in poorer countries are probably happier than people in America because they can focus more on the people in their life and the good things that they have more than all of the materials that might get in the way of seeing that. I believe that there is however a happy medium between the two because being poor is not the best way of life either. To have a good view on life I think that people should have the amount of materials to be happy with life and not be so distracted that they don't realize what they really have aside from all of the materials.

Google's Tribute

This is a video by Google that was on their homepage. This video is a tribute to the Fall of the Berlin Wall. In this video it shows how a lot of different countries have a piece of the wall in a popular city on display. I find this interesting because it really shows how everything effects everyone in someway. I think that it is amazing how despite what differences these countries have, they all have this one object that in a way unites them together.

"Like A Girl"

This is an add from Always titled "Like A Girl". This video has a group of people that are mostly above the age of 15 do things "like a girl". All of these people throw, run, fight etc. "like a girl" in almost the same way. They all portray the actions badly and in a weak way "like a girl would do". Then they ask a group of girls under the age of 10 to do the same thing. However, this time the girls portray these actions in a serious and determine way. They ran like they would run to win a race. The difference in how these two groups portrayed how to do things "like a girl" definitely says something. I think that this shows that as kids grow older and become teenagers they are taught that it if you do something "like a girl" than it was done poorly and in a weak way. So eventually, people start to believe it and the stereotype starts about how girls do things. This not only lowers girls self esteem but also creates the idea that it is okay to make fun of the way a person does something simply because of their gender. The way to stop this, in my opinion, is to not prove people wrong but show that everyone is different. Yes, some girls might throw like that, and that's okay. but not all girls do. The whole idea of this is to stop the stereotype of genders, because just like girls, boys all do things differently.

Halloween

Halloween is celebrated in about 20 countries around the world. Within those few countries only about three-five celebrate this holiday the same was as America. Most of the countries have little traditions like lighting a candle, putting bread out on a nightstand and other things related to "keeping the dead away". However America seems to take this holiday somewhat to the extreme considering how other countries celebrate it. In America we decorate our houses and have parties and send children out in the night dressed up as fictional characters so they are given candy. Have you ever really thought about how crazy that sounds? Now I love Halloween as much as the next person but I just don't understand the big deal about it. After researching it I found that this holiday originated in Ireland and the 'trick-or-treating' came from mumming a medieval practice in which people would dress up and invade homes and do dances and other spiritual acts in honor of the dead. I find this interesting because this one event done many years ago was passed on and is now an important part of America's Halloween culture. 

Dog Banning

I recently saw this article ( http://news.yahoo.com/pit-bull-vote-aims-settle-disputes-over-breeds-140242481.html  ) on Yahoo discussing the banning of pit bulls in a town in Colorado. This article talks about a women in Colorado who owned a pit bull and was forced to get rid of it because of her towns law against have pit bulls as a pet. A voting with be held to decide if the town should keep this law. In my opinion I think that this law is very unfair. What this town is saying is that basically every pit bull is dangerous. Which of course is not true. I know many people who have pit bulls as pets and the dogs are all very friendly. I understand that the reason for this law is to protect people, but it isn't fair to eliminate a whole breed based on a stereotype. I believe that one of the biggest reasons that pit bulls are known as violent is because of owners of the dogs who raised them irresponsibly, causing the dogs to become violent. Now that pit bulls have the stereotype of being dangerous no one wants to own them so they are often given to irresponsible owners. I think that this law should be removed and that instead people should look at the owners as well as the dogs when trying to find reasoning for a certain vicious act from an animal.

Spanish Exchange Students

Earlier this week Spanish exchange students arrived at Charter and will be staying with some of our students. I think it is an amazing opportunity for students from Spain to come to America and experience our everyday life and compare it to theirs.
The exchange students came Thursday night and were able to participate in some big activities at school like the pep rally and the homecoming dance. I noticed that during the dance on Saturday night the DJ was incorporating some Spanish songs into the music he was playing. I thought that playing those songs was a great thing for the exchange students to feel more comfortable and for the Charter students to become exposed to different Spanish music.

Feminism or "Man-Hating"?

This is a video of Emma Watson's speech from the United Nations "He for She" campaign to raise awareness for feminism. In this speech Emma Watson mentions many factors involving feminism. One thing that Emma made a good point on was the lack of men involved in feminism. I agree that this is part of the issue as to why feminism is not always seen as a good thing. I think that feminism has become known as equality for women only. Which of course isn't true because,as she said, feminism is about equality of both genders. I think that in order to change feminism from a women only campaign to a gender equality campaign people need to be more informed about what feminism really is. That is why I was very happy to see this video. I think that Emma Watson does an amazing job of explaining how feminism is about both genders equality. She also makes a very good point by explaining how this affects men as well. Like she said, men are seen as weak or 'girl like' if they show emotions. This needs to change in my opinion. I think that gender equality is something that everyone should be able to have as a right.

Stereotyping

          In my opinion, many people don't fully understand when they are stereotyping a culture, person, or anything really. I think that people don't realize that they are stereotyping because they only look at what they are saying or doing through their own perspective. People often don't have many connections or much knowledge about the thing they are stereotyping, so they don't think about what it is like on other side of the stereotype. If people were more educated with how stereotypes affect people  then I think they would understand more about why it's wrong to stereotype. Stereotyping is a very common thing to do today, so when people do it most if the time no one is really fazed by it. It's often said that "it's just a joke" and "it does no harm" where as it can very much offend some people. Stereotypes are definitely an issue in today's society and I think the best way to stop them is to educate people about them. 

Different Cultures

I have recently realized that the culture that someone grows up in affects their entire life in many ways. A culture affects small things, like the way you talk, to bigger things, like the way you treat certain people. For example if someone grew up in a household that was against a certain view (religion, political, social ect.) then they would most likely feel the same way about that certain thing. Even though that is not always true, I still find it very interesting how much our up bringing affects our lives and how often we don't even notice.

Stereotypes in Disney?

As surprising as it may sound princess Disney movies have a lot of stereotypes in them. Now don't get me wrong, I love Disney movies, but there are just some things I can't help but notice. One of the most obvious ones is that women can only be saved by a man. In many movies like Cinderella, Snow White, Tangled and many more the princesses are always saved by a man who is usually wealthy and a prince of some sorts. They almost always portray the princesses as stressed and just very upset. And the only way to fix it? Meet a wealthy man to take you away. It doesn't show many princesses working on their own to save themselves. None of them are very independent. Yes it is just a kids movie, but what does this teach children? I think that some of these movies teach young kids that they need a Prince Charming to come and save them so that they can live happily every after. 

Football

This past weekend there have been many football games all over the country. It shows how popular football is in this country. I sometimes wonder if someone from another country come to America would they like football as much as many Americans seem to. My guess would be no because one, they wouldn't understand it. Football can be a difficult sport if you had never been told how it's played. It's hard to be interested in something you know very little about.