What Is Cultural Awareness

Culture refers to the beliefs, ideas, traditions and behaviors portrayed by certain individual or communities and are passed from one generation to the other. Culture can shape us as individuals in many different ways. It shapes how we as a person view world. Our generation is becoming more diverse with regards to culture, race, gender, etc. than any other generation. Culture diversity is existence of a variety of cultural or ethnic groups within a society. In order to work effectively with people whose cultures differ from our own, it is very important to develop cultural self-awareness. To develop my own cultural awareness, I interviewed one of my friend, Kelly who belongs to different cultural background.

Family Cultural Background

Kelly

Her parents set rules and were expected to follow by their children. For instance, her parents set rules of not staying too late at night, and Kelly had to respect that rules. However, that does not mean that she cannot stay out in night. She can but she must communicate with her parents before doing so. Her parents listen to her perspective and provide support and resources for her to be successful. When asked about the dating and courtship, Kelly said dating is open in her family but should not get married before age 18. Parents expect their children to seek alliance within same cultural background. Homogenous marriage (marriage within one's ethnicity) is very significant in her culture. Courtship is based on love. For instance, often time in time of new year men go out in social gatherings and seek for alliance. The courtship is mostly initiated by men. For instance, if a guy wants to marry a girl, he takes her home and introduce to his parents. After the approval from guy parents, then a message is sent to girl's family. The girl family will either accept or reject the proposal. Bride price practice is very common in their culture. During time of marriage, groom must pay money ranging from 3000 to 10,000. The bride price is compensation for the new family taking the other's family's daughter, as the girl's parents are now short one person to help with chores. Typically, the

The New Year celebration is a cultural tradition that takes place annually in selected areas where Hmong community exists. Kelly said she always looks forward to the New year celebration. During the New Year's celebration, they dress in traditional clothing and enjoy Hmong traditional foods, dances, music, and other forms of entertainment. The Hmong New Year signify end of the harvest season when all work is