On How We Spend A Typical Day...
Frijoles Magicos of Lima, Peru
Things We Remember…
Smell: Erika – The smell of the perfume that my mother used, and the smell of food. When we didn’t bathe my dog, he smelled bad. I remember the smell in my aunt’s house when she had a little lamb that was too playful. It would go to the bathroom everywhere, in the living room, under the bed, everywhere.
Sight: Lorenza – I remember that when I was young I saw a lot of small animals from the time they were born, and how they ran and played a lot with their owners. I saw new kids that moved into my neighborhood. I met them and we became good friends. With my family, I saw the Area Park and I remember that they took photos of me there with a horse. I saw the swings as being very big and how they would go up and down like a wheel. I saw my parents and how we made a big happy family with all of my brothers and sisters. I also saw my parents’ sadness when they were sad.
Sight: Rafael – I remember seeing my parents… my neighbor… Goku… Chucky… the swimming pool… the beach… a bicycle… a Play Station… The Exorcist… a sunflower… a Halloween mask… Santa Claus… Winnie the Pooh… a picture of the Devil… a UFO… my grandparents… my reflection in the mirror.
Touch: Elizabeth – I remember feeling… when a bee stung me… fear and shivers when I got scared… a burn on my hand… a dog bite… falling off my bed onto a hard concrete floor… that I was drowning. I also remember touching a cactus.
Taste: Giannina – I remember the flavor of my ice cream with chocolate chunks… of the salads that my mother prepared… of the chicken stew that my cousin made… of the vegetables that I like… of the chocolates that they gave me for my birthday… of my sister’s birthday cake… of fruit salad.
Timelines of Our Lives
Giannina
Rafael
Santa Barbara Sister Cities Student Exchange Program of Santa Barbara, California, USA
We compared notes about our pie chart "typical day," adding the quote by Annie Dillard who said, "As we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." (Average hours of sleep= 7hrs and all had extracurricular activities of various lengths after same length of school, though time spent on homework and tv differed). This activity was perfect for the new year because they had already thought a lot about New Year's resolutions. We wrote down what we wanted our timelines to include in the future and discussed what we could do today that could give us small steps towards those goals.
On Culture...
The Perfect Youth Group of Arusha, Tanzania
Culture
Is the totaling people’s ways of life as they are struggling to live and with their daily struggles in life as the ways of Dress,Drinks,Eating,Worships,Sports etc,its what we understand as Culture.
1.Styles of Dress
*Women Dress in Tanzania
-Kanga,Vitenge,Batiks
*Men Dress
-Vitenge Shirts,Trousers for Elders
-Tshirt,Jeans for Youth
 
2.Ways of Greeting People
-Shikamoo for young to tell elders and they Replay Marahaba
-Some tribles the young neel down for elders
-some tribles they touch the heads for young people.
Mambo and replay Poa for youth.
3.Importance of Time
-They actually don’t follow time.
4.Beliefs about hospitality
-Its very real take it as very Important and they are real maintain it
-In welcoming etc.
5.Paintings
-We use paintings on the walls for Decorations
6.Values
-We value according to the Importance of the thing in the community its where we measure its Value
-We Value people when they are good to us and they are helpful to the community.
7.Literature
-We normally use good languages to each other in the community.
-We value our locat language “Kiswahili”
8.Beliefs about Child raising (childresn and Teens)
-Its very Imprtant to the community as culture for Tanzania to rise children in good health ,manner and give them Great Care.
9.Attitudes about personal space/privacy
Everyone is Imporatnt to the Community and they are all value
Most people now Value people with Education,wealth and Good behaviour and also the contributions to the community etc.
10.Beliefs about the responsibilities of Children and teens
-Children
Studying,looking after cattles,domestic works.
-Teens
Studying,working hard for bulding there lifes and making Changes in the world etc.
11.Gestures to show you understand what has been told to you.
-Nodding of the Heading
-Show whlekle on the face up and down
12.Holiday Customs
-Weekend-we relax at home or go out for Clubs to hung out.
-Celebrations –we eat different foods we use to eat and Drinks example X-mas,easter ,New year etc.
13.Music
-Entertainmet for our life
-Self employment to the youth etc.
14.Dancing
-As the part of Culture as in Traditional Dance etc
-Excerses
-Entertainment
15.Celebrations
-We celebrate with friends by Drinking,eating and Dancing etc.
16.Concepts of Fairness
-Mens are more than women its real common to African culture
Eating men eats first and the better food than wome etc.
17.Nature of Friendship
-As the Pillar of the life as the part of helping each other in happiness and sadness,
-Sharing Ideas we consider more friends
18.Ideas about clothing
-Short clothers shows Prostitutions in African Culture.
-Long Clothers shows Respect
19.Foods
-Ugali
-Kande
-Milk
-Loshoro
-Kitaloo
-Machalari
-Kiburu.
-Mlenda
-Mtori
-Kitawa
All this are some of the Tanzanian foods
20.Greeting
-Mambo
-Niaje
-Habari
-Poa
-Shikamoo
-Umeamkaje
-Umeshindaje etc.
21.Facial expression and hand Gestures.
-Facial for bad moods and angry
-Hands for Greatings and Insult
22.Concept of Self
-Staying far from Problems
23.Work Ethics
-Work is the measure of Personality its real value people who are working.
24.Religious Belifs
-As the way of Reaching God
-As the way of Success
-As the way of been good person
25..Religious ritual
-Worship on Friday for Muslims,Saturday for Seventh and Sunday for Christians
26.Concept of beauty
-A beautiful women is always attractive to the community its real important in the community as well as trible favour more dowry for beautiful women.
27.Rules of Polite Behaviour
-Respect
-Follow customs and traditions
28.Attitudes toward age
-We consider the elders are the wise people in the community.
-We consider youth as the generation of today for making changes in the world
-We consider children as the Generation of tomorrow
29.The Role of the Family
-To take care of the family for the Provision of Social Services ie.food,shelter and Clother
30.General worldview
-All people are egual
-Everyone has the right to enjoy life
-Everyone has the right to get education
It’s a bit different to the African Culture.
The Riverside School of Lyndonville, Vermont, USA
Our 8th grade class spent about a week discussing features of culture as an introduction to our World Issues social studies class. We read a fantastic article from Sun magazine by Michelle Cacho-Negrete called "To Look for America" where the author describes, in a simple story, the challenges of respecting the cultural norms of others while defending your own. We defined cultural norm as "unwritten rules we follow in particular situations because we just know what to do." We also discussed how values are what often defines and divides cultures, and values are "ideas or objects that are important to you and affect the way you act." We explored the way American culture might appear to non-Americans and debated stereotypes about Americans. Finally, we wrote letters to our sister-group in Nigeria and we are really looking forward to beginning that exchange.
Community Leadership Program of Kenema, Sierra Leone
Culture is an existing system of life styles and beliefs that aremaintained by group of people living within a community, which have some impacts on both national and global interaction of people.
There are 2 types of culture; the Inherited culture (from origin)and the Adopted culture. Inherited Culture is the original and sensitive type of culture that is been maintained from origin Adopted Culture is maintained through adaptaptaion due to the type of relationships (relatives, friends, etc) or the environment (community, country, etc) in which one may find him or her because of movement from one place to another. (It is stated, when you go to Rome, do as the Romans do.)
1. STYLE OF DRESS: In Sierra Leone, there is a mix style of dressing, both Africana and Western, depending on the individual interest or community.
2. WAYS OF GREETING: Hand shakes greetings and hand on the chest after shaking hands to indicate love, is the most common way of greeting.
3. BELIEFS ABOUT HOSPITALITY: Naturally, Sierra Leoneans are hospitable with the belief that, everyone is liable to move from one place to another.
4. IMPORTANCE OF TIME: It is highly known that, everything is time
5. PAINTINGS: Painting is recognized, especially holidays, though economical constraints cannot allow it to be 100% maintained.
6. VALUES: Respect, honesty, consciousness about resources.
7. LITERATURE: Story telling, drama/concert to portray realities about issues.
8. BELIEF ABOUT CHILD RAISING (Children and Teens): Parents are interested in bringing up their children by themselves, although poverty and the environment (e.g. rural/suburb) sometimes urge some parents to send their children to well-to-do families or families living at urban areas.
9. ATTITUDE ABOUT PERSONAL SPACE/PRIVACY: Personal space/privacy is recognized to be important but not strictly maintained at all levels.
10. BELIEFS ABOUT RESPONSIBILITIES OF CHILDREN: People use to work hard in-order to up keep their families, especially their children irrespective of their economic status.
11. GESTURE TO SHOW YOU UNDER STAND WHAT HAS BEEN TOLD TO YOU: By responding yes/ok and shaking of the head for confirmation
12. HOLIDAY CUSTOMS: Exchange of visit from urban to rural and rural to urban.
13. MUSIC: Both African, and Western styles of music.
14. DANCING: Cultural and Western ways of dancing depending on the type of music.
15. CELEBRATIONS: Non denominal in terms of celebrations.
16. CONCEPT OF FAIRNESS: Transparency and appreciation.
17. NATURE OF FRIENDSHIP: Very friendly to all mankind irrespective of nationality/race.
18. IDEAS ABOUT CLOTHING: People of all communities are conscious about the material importance of clothing as a way of maintaining self pride and respect irrespective of economic status.
19. FOODS: Love rice as the staple food in all communities with the availability of many other locally produced food, like; cassava, potatoe, cocoa yam, plantain, banana, etc. (not up to 2% vegetarians).
20. GREETINGS: Love to greet people even though previously greeted.
21. FACIAL AND HAND GESTURES: These are possible habits, in which facial dis-satisfaction or acceptance pertaining to certain issues could be realized facially while hand gesture or refusal can also be realized depending on the dis-satisfaction or acceptance surrounding the issue.
22. CONCEPT OF SELF: Collective collaboration is the belief for any success.
23. WORK ETHIC: Prompt and hardworking with the concept of self employment when there is low employment facility.
24. RELIGIOUS BELIEF: There are two main religious groups, the Christians and the Muslims who are tolerable to each other without indifferences. Member of the two religious groups are always ready to collaboratively celebrate or attend to all religious holidays/under-takings.
25. RELIGIOUS RITUALS: Is minimally maintained, but doesn’t rely on religion rather than individual belief.
26. CONCEPT OF BEAUTY: Though beautiful/handsome, but regard more of efforts than beauty.
27. RULES OF POLITE BEHAVOIR: Respect for elders and the young polite behavoir is known to be one of the best policies for tolerance and development.
28. ATTITUDES TOWARDS AGE: Age is highly counted, while individual efforts towards developments is also counted.
29. THE ROLE OF FAMILY: The family is seen as the role model to both the children and the community at large.
30. GENERAL WORLDVIEW: High recognition to international rules and standard
Buena Park High School, Buena Park, California, USA
These responses were generated from the Buena Park High School Peer Assistance Leader members.
1. Our style of dress includes jeans, t-shirts, sandals, sweatshirts, and women wear heels.
2. In our culture we greet people by shaking hands, hugs, and sometimes kisses.
3. When someone comes to our house we offer them food and drinks.
4. Our culture is very time driven. We use drive-throughs and fast food to save time.
5. Our paintings are often very European or Hispanic murals.
6. Family and love are the most important values in our culture. We also value education because the benefit of money profits our lifestyles.
7. Our literature is un-censored and realistic.
8. The culture nowadays is more lenient when it comes to child raising. Children tend to be a bit disobedient to their parents.
9. Our culture loves gossip. Privacy has become more and more obsolete.
10. Children and teens are almost expected to do well in school. The creation of No Child Left Behind helps teenagers go to college.
11. Our culture uses nodding of the heads or saying "okay" to demonstrate we understand what someone is telling us.
12. Our culture is so diverse that we tend to celebrate all the cultures. We celebrate the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
13. Our music is very modern-based. It is uncensored and tends to be very different from any other music.
14. For dancing we have a non-traditional style. We dance hip-hop and that tends to be dirty and provocative.
15. Our culture celebrates almost everything. A girl's 15th, 16th, 18th and 21st birthdays are celebrated the most. We also celebrate graduations, anniversaries, weddings, and the Day of the Dead.
16. Our concept of fairness is that every person has certain rights that cannot be taken away. Everything turns out so both parties are satisfied.
17. Friendship is highly regarded in our society. We trust, love, listen, and are loyal.
18. Clothing in our society is usually very revealing on the woman's behalf. Our society is very fashion inclined.
19. Our society eats foods that are made quickly. We will pretty much eat anything, especially fast foods.
20. We greet people by saying "hello" or shaking hands.
21. When someone in our culture is upset, they express this with a hand gesture of the middle finger.
22. Media and magazines have contributed to giving women low self esteem and a un-pleasure of body image.
23. People in our culture are workaholics. We work long hours in jobs we don't necessarily like.
24. Due to all the different cultures in our community, we have religious tolerance.
25. Some of our culture's religious rituals include winter break and Christmas. We also have days off of work and school for religious holidays.
26. Our concept of beauty is a tall and skinny woman. A man's image is strong and dark. These of course are unrealistic images.
27. It is polite in our culture to say "please", "thank you", to open doors for women and the elderly, and to be polite to our elders.
28. We respect our elders because they have more experience in life. 30 is the new 20, and people do not seem nearly as old as they really are.
29. A family's job is to be an equal household. Both the women and the men in our culture work.
30. Our culture's general worldview is that other cultures normally don't like us. We are a very outgoing society. Not only that, but we live very diverse, materialistic lives.
Bishops College of Colombo, Sri Lanka
link to power point coming soon
Sherwood High School of Sandy Spring, Maryland, USA
Features of Culture
1. Styles of dress Jeans, t-shirt, sweatshirts, sneakers, flip-flops casual, comfortable good fitting but nothing traditional Dress up in suits and dresses only for office jobs and special occasions
2 Ways of greeting people waving, saying hey, hi, hello or whatsup
3 Beliefs about hospitality Not very intimate with strangers, we live very private lives
4 Importance of time Very rushed and scheduled; there is never enough time in a day
5 Paintings The average person has very little interest in art or paintings, but there are lots of museums in the Washington D.C. area
6 Values Individual needs, wealth (and other material things), comfort, convenience, achievement Politically we value democracy and our rights
7 Literature People watch far more T.V. than they read. Some adults read the news. Most teens read teen novels and fantasy (a lot of students wrote "Harry Potter" as a favorite book)
8 Beliefs about child raising Children are given a lot of freedom and very little responsibility. Parents are required to care for you until you are an adult.
9 Attitudes about personal space and privacy Americans are very private people. We do not get too physically close to one another on a regular basis
10 Beliefs about the responsibilities of children and teens We are expected to go to school and do some chores, but beyond that we are very dependent on parents for help.
11 Gestures to show you understand what has been told to you Nodding your head
12 Holiday Customs Many religions are practiced so there are many different holidays. Presents are a big deal especially on winter holidays like Christmas. There are different foods for each holiday. For many holidays people get off work and school and see family or go on vacation.
13 Music There is a huge variety of music. People listen to rap, hip-hop, country, and rock.
14 Dancing It isn't a huge part of regular life. No participants had anything to write, but in high school we have two or three dances a year were everyone gets dressed up and dances.
15 Celebrations We celebrate religious holidays, birthdays, etc with parties music, food, friends and family. Just like it says in 12 a lot of celebrations involve giving presents.
16 Concept of Fairness In America there is a huge value in giving people equal opportunity. Achievement is a result of the effort you put into something.
17 Nature of Friendship Anyone we have a relationship with is considered a friend. People spend time together on weekends and friday nights. Tell stories and jokes or go see a movie in the theater 18 Ideas about clothing Clothing represents who you are. Your style of dress says a lot about who you hang out with, how cool you are and what you can afford.
19 Food People in America eat large portions of unhealthy food. Many people are so busy that they skip breakfast or only have something to drink. For lunch people have sandwiches with meat or peanut butter and jelly and maybe some chips. For dinner some families get together and eat, but a lot eat at restaurants and fast food chains.
20 Greetings See #2
21 Facial Expressions and hand gestures Wave to greet someone hand shake smiling
23 Work Ethic People work for the wrong reasons like money or power. There is a big range in the motivations level of people in America. Many people are hard works and some are totally apathetic. 24 Religious Beliefs There is complete Religious freedom in America. There is huge diversity although a majority of people are Christian. There are people who practice Islam and Judaism.
25 Religious Rituals Vary depending on the religion. A lot of people attend church or temple on the weekends.
26 Concept of Beauty In America Beauty is judged based on the outside appearance. Looking youthful is very important. Thinness is also considered beautiful.
27 Rules of Polite Behavior Be respectful, always say please and thank you.
28 Attitude towards Age Kids are always trying to grow up too fast. Although we treat our grandparents with respect, they are not revered in the same way as in other cultures.
29 The role of Family Family generally means parents and siblings but not extended family. After high school, Kids go out on there own possibly with some assistance from family. Family is always there for you if you need help, but as an adult you are expected to achieve independence.
30 General World view Our opinions about the world are biased based on what the media shows us. Most Americans have no clue about what is happening in the world today.
6th Line United Youth of Mooretown, Ontario, Canada
Walnut High School of Walnut, California, USA
We categorized our responses into those that apply to our American spirit (first line) and our traditional Asian customs (2nd line).
style of dress
American Eagle, jeans, flip-flops, t-shirts
Strange 80’s sweatpants and long blouses
ways of greeting people
handshakes (meeting for first time), hugs, nods, chest bumps (casual)
handshake (meeting for first time), gentle handshake, shoulder pat (casual)
beliefs about hospitality
Be as welcoming as possible, be the good host, stay for dinner, be polite
Fight over the bill after dinner, be ultra-polite, no such thing as too much flattery
importance of time
5 minutes is fashionably late, average 10 minutes late, to interviews is unacceptable
Be punctual
paintings
graffiti art, contemporary art
not very important
values
no cheating at school, stealing, friends are important, education is a must
privacy, family is important, conforming, education is above all first priority
literature
To Kill a Mockingbird, Charles Dickens
Chinese
beliefs about child raising
never hit the child, leniency, allow freedom, allowance
physical discipline, teach them to take care of parents when older
attitudes about personal space
within hugging distance for acquaintances, girls especially close
very uptight about privacy, physical contact is rare
beliefs about the responsibilities of children and teens
complete chores, do well in school, do well in school, and do well in school
no other option besides A’s and B’s. A’s preferably.
gestures to show you understand what has been told to you
nodding
nodding
holiday customs
Easter egg hunts, turkey for Thanksgiving, presents for Christmas, candy from trick-o-treating for Halloween
Red envelopes and humongous feast for Chinese New Year
music
rap, R&B, hip hop, rock
80’s Chinese singers, Chinese orchestra music, Jay Chao
dancing
freaking, grinding, very dirty and with no personal space
dancing?
celebrations
Mother’s / Father’s Day, holidays listed above, Independence Day, New Year’s Eve
Moon Festival, Chinese New Year, Dragon Boating
concept of fairness
equality between races and genders, getting what you deserve, karma
hard work is rewarded, karma, with children parents’ word is law
nature of friendship
BFF’s (best friends forever), may come before family for people under 20
Family first, friends second, loyalty based on what friends have done for you
ideas about clothing
fashion is an outlet for expression, surfer / Californian relaxed, hip hop
conservative, non-revealing
foods
pizza, In-N-Out, soda, chips, Tofu House, food from all cultures
as long as it is Chinese
greetings
What’s up?, Yo!, How do you do? (formal)
Ni Hao, Hah-lo
facial expressions and hand gestures
big big smile, very animated, thumbs up, rolling eyes, shrugs
small, appreciative smiles, keep hands steady
concept of self
be individualistic! We rock!
Represent the pride of the family
work ethic
work hard, play hard (maybe play harder), workaholics and then partiers, first go on YouTube, AIM, or MySpace
work hard, play later (much later), establish future for children
religious beliefs
everything! Presbyterian, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, atheist, agnostic, among others
Buddhist, Christian, Confucianism is so ingrained it is not even a religion
religious rituals
going to church, mosques, etc
meditation
concept of beauty
skinny, Angelina Jolie, anything glitzy, but can also be anything natural
“qi zi” or loosely defined as elegance or the x factor, anything natural
rules of polite behavior
no cutting in line, respect people’s parents, please and thank you
greet all elders, obey parents, superficial flattery
attitude toward age
55+ is old, under 25 is young, and never ask!, its all downhill after 30
The older the more important
the role of family
important, but teenagers often think parents do not understand them, parents are chauffeur, taken for granted
comes first always
general worldview
America rocks!, what other countries?, survive until college, many idealists who want to change the world for the better and make Americans more open minded (like us!)
Very absorbed in Taiwanese politics
Global Connections Group of Seattle, Washington, USA
The US overall:
1. Pants for both men and women, nice clothing to work, suits, tighter fitting for woman, loose for men, high heels, jewelry.
2. Hi, Hey, What’s up, handshake in work place, teens - complicated handshakes, left > right waving.
3. More of a private society, give money to organizations, but won't take someone off the street or help someone weird at a bus stop… some areas are more welcoming than others.
4. Should be on time, if not, rude, but not end of the world. Time is very important; in NYC people live their lives by the second… in Honolulu it might be more like an hour. It’s different all over the country.but certainly the big cities are pressed for time.
5. I think of more art on the coasts, multimedia, art in public places in some cities. Modern art/ sculptures.
6. Value money, family, food, well being, good job, success in work, school, sports.
7. Virtually all Americans know how to read, but would often choose TV instead. Classics are Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Allen Poe, Henry David Thoreau, Emerson etc… Fairytales and Fables from Grimme Brothers, Aesop etc.
8. Get good grades, “grounding” for misbehavior. Differs in many places, I really don't know, we have laws about child abuse, but I am not sure if they make a difference
9. Private people, always worry about identity theft, others reading their mail, nosy neighbors etc.
10. Expected to do chores but compared to other countries, not much. Get good grades in school so that you can be successful in college.
11.Nod (up/down), thumbs up, verbal response - ok - got it - all right - yah, whatever
12. Christmas, Easter, Valentines Day, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving. Walk around and sing, dress up in costumes and ask for candy, a time to be with family, fireworks, hunt for eggs, pumpkin carving.
13. Blues, Jazz, Soul, Country Hip hop, R&B, Rap…LOTS of different kinds of music, teens - rock, rap, hip-hop etc.
14. Classics=Swing, Jazz, Tap, Ballroom both Latin and Traditional European, Countrydances…Urban=Make it up as you go, no set dance steps except in certain situations, freak dancing or “bump and grind”, hip hop etc. <This last category can be slightly derogatory towards women.
15. Christmas, Channuka, 4th of July, Halloween, birthdays - 16, 18, 21, graduation.
16. Equality between male and female, but a lot of discrimination between race. Equal compensation for equal job. Trial by jury is a right.
17. Different friendships socially excepted in different places. Strong friendships on the most part, but some high school situations draw out the backstabbing nature from many teens. Esp. girls.
18. Depends on age, gender, place, girls - tight clothes, pants, skirts dresses, pretty, makeup, look young. guys - baggy, dark colors, not shorts above knees. It doesn’t matter as much for guys to dress nicely.
19. Hamburgers, Hotdogs, fast food, pre-prapared food, pretty easy to get food from other cultures, fast food. Homemade classics are roast chicken, sphaghetti etc.
20. Good morning/afternoon/evening, How are you?...same as #2
21. thumbs up, ok sign, smile, blank face, wave, frown, wink-guesture that other person understands something unspoken.
22. Free, with a right to endless possibilities.
23. Work 5 days a week, medicine, law thought very respectable, manual labor not looked on as highly. Motivation = $
24. Christianity, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu …many others
25. Go to church on a designated weekly day, pray at home, bless meals before you eat, obsearve holy occasions of fast like Ramadan etc.
26. Thin, young, trendy, makeup, curvy, tall, tight cloths, layered hair. Not nature oriented. Derogatory to Aging people who are given MORE respect in most countries.
27. Don't burp, slouch, yell, cuss, slurp food, cover when cough, napkin in lap, please and thank you. Esp. in work situations, good manners are essential.
28. When you start living on your own your = adult - legally 18, the younger you are the more you can get away with. Old age is not revered in the US like in other countries. People in the US are afraid of getting old. Afraid of death and wrinkles.
29. As you get older family= less important, move away, see them on holidays.
30. Not very culturally sensitive, conservative, Democratic but worried of other governmental systems. Ignorant people, esp. concentrated in the middle of the country where people are isolated from other world views.
Santa Barbara Sister Cities Student Exchange Program of Santa Barbara, California, USA
We each drew from a bag two to three cards with the features of a culture topic written upon them. (Many of the topics were combined, i.e., religious beliefs with religious rituals etc). Each teen was asked to facilitate the discussion on the topic they received.
1. Values and Concepts of Fairness: Honesty, kindness, love, family, and respect (for self, for others, for diversity, for the environment) was quickly brought up, with an interesting discussion about how life can be sometimes unfair in the moment but down the road, things balance themselves out.
2. General worldview and responsibilities: The teens were dismayed at how Americans are perceived around the world at this time in history. We talked about how prejudice often starts with one negative incident that then blossoms into a generalization. Marcus and Carrie talked a lot about how they felt morally obligated to give back for all that they had received--and in doing so, right some of the wrongs in our country. We also talked about the concept of a global family. Many felt connected (through their travels, ancestry, and the )to the others they have met or corresponded with around the globe.
3. Attitudes and beliefs: We had a quick popcorn-style brainstorm that included: God/co-creation, the need for personal space and privacy being more important as they get older; the need for parent's trust; family time hard to have with everyone so busy but really important for children; attitudes shape one's reality; reality is a perception; things are culturally relative, meaning what is acceptable in one family or culture may be different than another and shouldn't be judged quickly.
4. Celebrations, dancing, music: favorite holidays included winter holiday, Halloween, Valentine's Day, Spirit Days at school and celebrating the beginning of summer vacation (which brought a quick laugh).
Medford High School Roots & Shoots of Medford, Massachusetts, USA
Culture in America is united yet diverse. As a country, we share certain aspects of life, especially a focus on time. We tend to rush through things, sometimes important things like family and friends. We feel we always have to be somewhere. Also, sometimes we take things for granted because we have a lot of freedom. However, U.S. celebrates its culture by honoring traditions and holidays, and offering the freedom of choice. People can be anything they want to be here in America.
Frijoles Magicos of Lima, Peru
1. Styles of dress: Clothing changes according to the season, but in general, the style for young people is modern sport
2. Greetings: Females – kisses on the cheek for males and females; males – kisses on the cheek for females and handshake for males; in general, hugs if something good has happened
3. Hospitality: Tea, coffee and sweet snacks – and lunch if it’s lunchtime – and lots of conversation
4. Importance of time: Everyone arrives a half hour late… although some people are punctual
5. Paintings: Many people have paintings of landscapes of the places where they’re from – or of other places that they like in Peru
6. Values: Solidarity/unity, honor and trust
7. Literature we all agreed on: Paco Yunque by Cesar Vallejo (Peruvian poet), Platero y Yo by Juan Ramon Jimenez (Spanish poet), and Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes (Spanish writer)
8. Beliefs about child raising: Education at school is very important; personal responsibility and helping at home is always present; there’s dialogue between parents and children, but it depends on the family
9. Privacy and space: People usually have personal space, but they prefer to share – privacy isn’t as important
10. Beliefs about responsibilities: Everyone needs to help; it’s important for children to study and as adolescents, to study and often to work
11. Show understanding by: Nodding your head
12. Holiday customs: Christmas – eat turkey and paneton (sweet bread), have champagne, have a Nativity and a Tree, as well as gifts – and spend time with the family
New Year’s – eat 12 grapes – and make a wish with each one – some people think you should eat them sitting under a table, wear something yellow, burn a doll made of old clothes to say good-bye to the old and bring in the new
Santa Rosa de Lima – August 30 – visit the well of Santa Rosa in the center of Lima to toss your letter into the well and hope your wishes come true
13. Music: A great variety – from the Coast, Afro-Peruvian music, the waltz, creole music and the marinera; and we also dance huaynos from the Andes region in Lima; there are many more types of music from the Andes and Jungle regions
14. Dances: Again, marinera and huaynos, as well as polka; there are many more dances from the Andes and Jungle regions
15. Celebrations: Señor de los Milagros – in honor of a saint that has performed many miracles, lasts all of October and many people wear purple suits all month in his honor; on October 28, they do a large procession in the center of Lima and everyone eats turrón, a well-known, very sweet treat
Carnavales – lasts all of February; everyone throws water – and sometimes other things like paint and shoe polish – at everyone else, even people they don’t know!
16. Concept of fairness: There’s a lot of injustice in Peru since money dictates – there’s only justice for people with money
17. Friendship: Means having fun, talking and sharing moments and ideas; friends should be loyal and honest – and also unselfish
18. Clothing: It’s important to have the correct quantity – not too little, not too much – just what’s necessary
19. Food: Many, many types of food exist in Peru – all of which are very delicious; Some of our favorites are ceviche (raw fish or seafood with lime), causa (mashed potatoes with chile peppers and chicken or vegetables), cuy (guinea pig), Pachamanca (meat and vegetables cooked in a hole in the ground), pollo a la brasa (rotisserie chicken, served with fries), and chicharrón (fried pork or fish or seafood)
20. Greetings: hola, qué tal, cómo estás
21. Facial expressions and hand gestures: Signs of happiness or bitterness
22. Self-concept: Young people are generally happy with who they are, but worried about their futures
23. Work ethic: People have to work a lot and people that have less are those that work the most
24. Religious beliefs: Most people are Catholic, but there are also many Christians and Evangelicals; many young people are also atheists
25. Religious rituals: Go to mass, go to processions, light candles for different saints; and for more mystical people – light candles for different things you’d like in life (luck, money, love, etc.)
26. Concept of beauty: External beauty dominates, but some people also see internal beauty – based on someone’s friendship, affection and way of being
27. Rules of polite behavior: Say hello to everyone; show respect; always be courteous and nice
28. Attitude toward age: Treat older people with warmth and affection; everyone thinks that adolescents are rebellious
29. Role of family: Varies, but families tend to be very united and with very strong ties
30. General worldview: The world has wonderful things, but it’s also corrupt and contaminated… but luckily there are many people who want to make progress
New Canaan Country School of New Canaan, Connecticut, USA
Our cultures is based upon our families. We have lots of traditions and spend time with our friends whom we value a lot. We greet people with a handshake and look them in the eye and are very polite to those new people we meet by saying please and thank you. We respect our elders. We listen to pop music and like to hip-hop dance. There are always consequences to bad actions and we are always responsible for our own actions. Some of our responsibilities are doing our homework and household chores. We also include ideas from other cultures such as food, style of dress and dance. We not only respect our own culture, but we also respect many world-wide cultures.
Our culture is a melting pot of other cultures around the world. As a result of this, there is much variety in dress, appearance, food, behavior and many other customs. There is no uniform dress; people dress according to the occasion whether it be causal, blue jeans and t-shirt or formal. Food reflects the many different cultures. Everyone is entitled to a fair education, meaning there is no discrimination or segregation any more. Women are equal to men.
Our culture is not as traditional as some may be, yet it still defines who we are. We have different views on dress, speech etc. It’s polite to shake hand to greet someone. Pastimes we enjoy are playing sports with friends and family. The way we act reflects the many different cultures.
The American culture prides itself on freedom for its citizens. America doesn’t have one tradition; it has a variety of traditions. One is free to practice any religion and dress. Also, there is a huge variety of food from different cultures. One can play any sport and do any activity. Some of the national sports are baseball, tennis and football. There are no distinct type of art, though modern art is really popular. One is required to go to school so that everyone will be able to read and write. Overall, everyone gets a chance in the USA.
In America, anyone can make a difference no matter age, race, religion or political beliefs. America is a melting pot – this can be seen everyday when it comes to cuisine, style, music and all arts. Baseball and apple pie are two of the many symbols that represent American culture. The US is all about freedom and equality. Everyone has a chance to live out their dreams.
Our western culture is very different from any other culture. Every culture values religion, language, art, literature, relations with other people, food clothing and forms of entertainment. In our culture, we value many of these things, but we have different values as well. Here we value friendship and food. Our relations with family and other people are different from people in other cultures.
Our culture is a place where children are taught to listen to their parents and be polite and courteous. It is a place consisting of many diverse cultures, religions and traditions. We value honesty, family and privacy. Literature and music are an important part of our culture and life as well.
Nauset Regional High School of Eastham, Massachusetts, USA
Features of Culture
1. Styles of dress - Casual dress. Young people like to dress in blue jeans, tee-shirts,
sweatshirts, and sneakers.
2. Ways of greeting people - Most people say "Hello" or "Hey" and sometimes wave or hug
3. Beliefs about hospitality - Americans probably aren't as hospitable to strangers as some cultures, but we do love to invite friends into our homes.
4. Importance of Time - Our culture is obsessed with time, down to the minute our daily lives
revolve around the hands of the clock.
5. Paintings - Art is an important part of out society. It is viewed by some to be simply a luxury
for the rich, but to those who really appreciate it and make it, art is one of the highest forms of expression. It can be used to release emotional tensions, express important views, or just to
have fun and feel good. Art has been drifting farther from traditional painting into media and
technological art-forms such as video and photography.
6. Values - We value family, friendship, pleasure, love, peace, and equality.
7. Literature - Literature is very important in the United States. Students study the great classical
works of literature in school, stressing the importance of the universal values that they convey, a reason why they have stayed popular books for so long.
8. Beliefs about child Raising - There is a strong moral difference between what is right and
what is wrong when raising a child.
9. Personal space/privacy - Americans generally like their personal space and to have some
time to themselves.
10. Responsibilities of children and teens - Children and teens help out around the house, but
they are usually dependent on their parents at least until college.
11. Gestures to show you understand what has been told to you - Nodding your head, giving
the "thumbs up"
12. Holiday customs - We give presents on people's birthdays, we celebrate Christmas by getting
together with family and giving presents. Thanksgiving we celebrate the meeting of the Pilgrims and Indians by having a large dinner, always with turkey. On Halloween kids wear costumes at night and are given candy. We always have fireworks on the 4th of July (Independence Day)
13. Music - Popular music includes Hip-Hop, Rap, Rock, and Punk. Music is important in our culture, as an expression of yourself as well as to get across important messages.
14. Dancing - Hip-hop dance styles and "moshing" - jumping up and down.
15. Celebrations - See number 12, plus Martin Luther King Day, St. Patrick's Day, Veteran's
Day, Easter, and Valentine's Day.
16. Concept of fairness - Everyone is equal and therefore treated equally, no matter their age,
gender, sexual preferences, race, etc.
17. Nature of friendship - We believe that friends must be loyal and trustworthy, and are an extremely important support system.
18. Ideas about clothing - An expression of yourself, even if its not always practical.
19. Foods - Pizza, Hot dogs, Hamburgers, Veggie burgers, Steak, French fries, Apple pie, "comfort"
foods.
20. Greetings - see number 2
21. Facial expressions and hand gestures - thumbs up, wave, smile, winking your eyes, clapping
your hands.
22. Concept of self - We have a very individualistic culture where everyone wants to express
themselves. You are you and no one else.
23. Work Ethic - You have to earn your place in life and work to get ahead.
24. Religious beliefs - Fair amount of religious tolerance, though mostly Christian
25. Religious rituals - Many of the Christians in the US attend church every Sunday and celebrate
many important holidays such as Christmas and Easter. Many Jewish holidays are also celebrated in the United States such as Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, as well as Islamic holidays like Ramadan.
26. Concept of beauty - Unfortunately most Americans value beauty too much and are willing
to go great length to look good. However, beauty really comes from within, from your confidence
and your character.
27. Rules of polite behavior - Respect your host or elders, always say please and thank you.
28. Attitude toward age - The elderly are very independent, however, there is a lot of tension
between younger people and middle aged people who seem to be afraid of teenagers and think we're always doing bad things.
29. Role of the family - The family is very important, it is your support system and you are dependent upon it as a youth. However, the value of the family is quickly lessening as time goes on in America, which is very sad.
30. General worldview - We believe that almost anything is attainable is we all work together.
Our world has come to a major point in history, there are so many problems that we see around us from pollution and global warming to wars, fanaticism, and governments who abuse their power. If we want to make change we have to do it NOW. We can't simply say "oh, we'll deal with that later." As youth, we think that the world can be changed for the our generation, for the next generation.
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