BEHS210 POST WEEK 3 RESPONSE 2

BEHS210 POST RESPONSE 2

Amber Wade posted Oct 25, 2023 10:31

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I have two examples of being immersed in a culture that differs from my own. The first experience I recall being when I moved in with a friend in high school (now the father of my oldest daughter). My friend's father was from Mexico and his mother was mixed, Black and Mexican. The difference that I noticed right away was how close their family was. While my family ate meals at all different times of day and generally cooked our own individual meals or meal prepped for a few days at a time to ‘heat and eat’ later, my friend’s family made an event out of mealtimes. Their extended family would get together on several weekdays and always on weekends for what looked to me like a Thanksgiving dinner. My friend’s father and mother also talked with me a lot, cooked Mexican food and played music that was popular in Mexico. I got to wake up to the smells of herbs being brewed for tea. I got to see family albums and antiques. It was an experience I would not trade. My other experience of a culture different from my own began after my wife and I got together. My wife is Black and was born and raised in Pittsburgh in a much more diverse city than my small hometown in West Virginia. Similar to my other experience, one major cultural difference is in family relationships. My own culture does not consist of close-knit families. I don’t know all of my cousins. I see some of my extended family on holidays, and that is about it. Growing up, my family certainly wasn’t getting together for meals or to listen to music on a regular weekday. In contrast, I have been to family reunions, baby showers, birthday parties, regular Sunday dinners and much more with my wife’s family in 6 short years. She talks on the phone with her mother every day. I talk to my own mother maybe once or twice a month. Being immersed in Black culture is an interesting experience as it can be viewed as a subculture of American culture. My wife often questions Black culture norms related to religion, noting that Christianity would have been most commonly introduced (rather, implemented) during slavery. I have learned and am still learning a lot about being an incorporated member in a Black family. I don’t think I viewed anything about these other cultures that would be considered deviant by my own cultural standards. I am happy to adopt some of the different positive aspects of various cultures and create new traditions and relationships within my own family. 

BEHS210 RESOURCES WEEK 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo4pMVb0R6M

https://open.lib.umn.edu/intropsyc/part/chapter-14-psychology-in-our-social-lives/

https://open.lib.umn.edu/intropsyc/part/chapter-1-introducing-psychology/

https://pressbooks.pub/perspectives/chapter/the-culture-concept/

https://pressbooks.pub/perspectives/chapter/introduction-to-anthropology/

BEHS210 POST RESPONSE 2

Amber Wade posted Oct 25, 2023 10:31

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I have two examples of being immersed in a culture that differs from my own. The first experience I recall being when I moved in with a friend in high school (now the father of my oldest daughter). My friend's father was from Mexico and his mother was mixed, Black and Mexican. The difference that I noticed right away was how close their family was. While my family ate meals at all different times of day and generally cooked our own individual meals or meal prepped for a few days at a time to ‘heat and eat’ later, my friend’s family made an event out of mealtimes. Their extended family would get together on several weekdays and always on weekends for what looked to me like a Thanksgiving dinner. My friend’s father and mother also talked with me a lot, cooked Mexican food and played music that was popular in Mexico. I got to wake up to the smells of herbs being brewed for tea. I got to see family albums and antiques. It was an experience I would not trade. My other experience of a culture different from my own began after my wife and I got together. My wife is Black and was born and raised in Pittsburgh in a much more diverse city than my small hometown in West Virginia. Similar to my other experience, one major cultural difference is in family relationships. My own culture does not consist of close-knit families. I don’t know all of my cousins. I see some of my extended family on holidays, and that is about it. Growing up, my family certainly wasn’t getting together for meals or to listen to music on a regular weekday. In contrast, I have been to family reunions, baby showers, birthday parties, regular Sunday dinners and much more with my wife’s family in 6 short years. She talks on the phone with her mother every day. I talk to my own mother maybe once or twice a month. Being immersed in Black culture is an interesting experience as it can be viewed as a subculture of American culture. My wife often questions Black culture norms related to religion, noting that Christianity would have been most commonly introduced (rather, implemented) during slavery. I have learned and am still learning a lot about being an incorporated member in a Black family. I don’t think I viewed anything about these other cultures that would be considered deviant by my own cultural standards. I am happy to adopt some of the different positive aspects of various cultures and create new traditions and relationships within my own family.