Cultures are a system of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people. It includes a system of shared beliefs, values, symbols, and behaviors. No two cultures are the same. We are living in a mixed culture setting where a wide variety of nationalities exist together. I interview my friend from class, Cynthia Wilder, who is Jamaican and compared myself to her since I am an Indian. Although Indian and Jamaican cultures are not the same, they share many things in common.
Both cultures have different ways of greeting people. In India, we greet people, guests, strangers and friends by folding our hands together when you are praying or greeting with saying “Namaste.” You can also say, hello, good morning or evening. Indians speak the language Hindu. In Jamaica, it’s a normal 'how are you' or 'hey how's it going!' The only difference is the language; Patois is the national language, but they also speak Spanish, Lebanese, French, Chinese and Dutch, since Jamaicans are multi ethnic. Jamaicans greet each other by saying, “Yow Wah gwaan” which means hello in Patois. Jamaicans also greet each other with a handshake, eye contact, and a smile. Men greet each other in hugs and women are very open; women in Jamaica often hug and kiss their friends on the cheek.
Jamaicans don’t really have a formal family structure due to a lot of poverty and a lack of morals. Cynthia Wilder was born in America, but her mom was raised in Jamaica. Her parents are very strict. She told me that her mom built her family on top of faith and respect, and is slightly traditional in her beliefs. Jamaican children are expected to do chores such as making his/her bed, setting the dinner table, making a beverage for dinner or washing the dinner plates. My family ...
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...f the first month of the Shehenshai calendar followed by the Zoroastrian faith. My parents are from different religions; therefore, I celebrate both of them as part of my culture.
Another point, similar to both cultures, is religion; it is very important to Cynthia’s mother. She doesn’t go a day without mentioning God, or Allah, or Jah. It’s all the same God, but different languages. Her family practices the Muslim religion, although she tends to observe other religions as well. In my culture, religion is important to my family also since my mom goes every Tuesday to the temple and says the same prayer each time she is there. I have many different Gods’ statues in my house that I pray to every morning before I leave to go to school. My parents taught me different prayers and some of the words are harder to pronounce since they are written in a different language.
How does one define what culture is? Culture is defined as the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with, their world and with one another - transmitted from generation through learning. This is particularly meaning a pattern of behavior shared by a society or group of people; with many things making up a society’s ‘way of life’ such as language, foods etc. Culture is something that molds people into who they are today. It influences how people handle a variety of situations, process information and how they interact with others. However, there are events when one’s own culture does not play a significant role in the decisions that they make or how they see the world. Despite
After visiting the country of Jamaica this past summer, I realized how dissimilar some countries can be from the United States. Jamaica was not unlike the United States in a terrible way, but the disparities made me additionally interested in researching about the beautiful and culture-rich country of Jamaica. Even though the majority of facts about the history and culture of the United States and Jamaica are dissimilar, I was surprised to come across some similarities among these two countries.
The word community is defined as a group of individuals residing in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. We all, whether we know this or not, belong to particular communities and even sub communities (self contained community within an unusually large area). One particular community that I've been a part of during my entire life is the Haitian community. An Haitian Community is usually a place where a group of Haitian nationals reside, we share many cultural beliefs and practices together. In this paper I will be investigating some of the beliefs and practices of the Haitian Community.
They eat a lot of beans and rice, usually mixed with some sort of meat. Such as pork, goat, lamb, and other meats. On the French side, they eat a lot of spaghetti, they eat spaghetti for breakfast, and make shakes out of it. One of the drinks they make is Haitian hot chocolate. It has Haitian cocoa, star anise, (which is a spice) cinnamon, and vanilla. They eat a lot of mushrooms, and other fresh foods. Haiti also has some customs and traditions. Greetings are very important, men usually shake hands, and women throw kisses. Everyone else kiss on the cheek. They also have a lot of other traditions, such as participating in Carnival, it is very close to New Orlean’s Mardi Gra celebration. Sadly many people also participate in voodoo ceremonies, they have voodoo priests, and priestesses. Other occasions they celebrate are baptisms, first communions, and other catholic traditions. The best thing is that they all believe that children are a gift from
Within the United States there is a huge diversity of cultures. Culture is many different things, it is a tradition, it is the values and beliefs passed down from generation to generation, and culture is the identity of any country. Culture helps to identify one cultural group from the other. Although we may live in the same country,city, or state we still differ from one another by the way we dress, our beliefs, language, traditions, music, art, food, religion, and politics.
Work Cited Nwokeafor, Cosmas U. When Cultures Collide: The Challenges of Raising African Children in a Foreign Country
“Nuh ebery thing dat ave sugar sweet” is a jamaican proverb which means not everything which has sugar is sweet or, don’t be tricked by an appearance. Jamaica definitely won’t fool you. Jamaica to tourists, is like a paradise. In the end, every place is unique in its own way and Jamaica is no exception. In this essay you will read about the following topics: Jamaica’s Geography, Jamaica’s History, The Lifestyle of Jamaicans, The Different Jamaican Cuisines , Music of Jamaica, and finally The Festivals of Jamaica.
Jamaica is full of diversity. From religion, to ancestry, and even geography, Jamaica is always evolving. From the towering mountains all the way to the warm and sandy beaches, Jamaica is a sight to see. However, Jamaica was not always a happy and carefree place. The Jamaican people have suffered from war, disease, and slavery. Jamaica is a small and beautiful country that thrives with culture and should be studied by everyone around the world.
Jamaica’s fighting spirit can be seen even in its early days with the Maroons. The fighting spirit is not uncommon with people who are oppressed or forced against their will. The Maroons came in two waves, the first are slaves that fled during the Spanish rule, the second wave was during British control. The Maroons used the highlands of Jamaica to seek refuge, establish colonies and attack plantations when needed. Even today the beliefs and herbal practices of the Maroons are still evident in Jamaican culture. Their trouble past has made their life difficult but even today they are a presence in Jamaica.
Two countries have been separated by walls and rivers for decades now. Theses wall and rivers are the border between Mexico and the United States of America. Forty feet is the difference between two cultures that can never be called the same. The etiquette, government, and house hold families are little of what make these countries so different.
United States and Jamaica have many similarities such as they were both under British rule for several years, and they both elect officials to govern the country. However the differences between the two are quite vast when it comes to the quality of education, government, and healthcare. When the three are compared it is clear to see that in terms of where is a better place for a child to grow up the United States is a better place to be.
As the Hispanic Caribbean has evolved it has managed to grow and thrive beyond belief, whether one is discussing art, music or just the culture alone the Hispanic Caribbean is truly reaping the benefits of allowing themselves to be influenced by many other cultures. While the Hispanic Caribbean is thriving they are still facing the many new found struggles that come along with the territory of becoming more affluent as well as more accepting to other cultures and their beliefs. Often with the growth of large proportions comes many problems, problems also can come about when incorporating of different cultures as a whole as well as just bringing in their beliefs and mannerisms. None the less it can be argued that the struggles being faced in
Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving. Culture is the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people…Culture in its broadest sense of cultivated behavior; a totality of a person’s learned, accumulated experience which is socially transmitted, or more briefly, behavior through social learning (http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/choudhury/culture.html).
Jamaica is the third largest Caribbean Island, measuring 146 miles at its widest point. The warm weather, high mountains and broad plains provide Jamaica with diversity in climate and agriculture. The population of Jamaica is estimated to be around two million people, with nearly a half-million living in Kingston, the capital and largest city in Jamaica. Of those residing in Jamaica, 90% are of African descent, with the other ten percent made up of mostly Caucasians, East Indians and Chinese (Barrett 1997:3). Popular culture is heavily influenced by the African heritage, while formal behavior is unmistakably British in style. The unofficial language of Jamaica is English; however th...
The term “culture” refers to the complex accumulation of knowledge, folklore, language, rules, rituals, habits, lifestyles, attitudes, beliefs, and customs that link and provide a general identity to a group of people. Cultures take a long time to develop. There are many things that establish identity give meaning to life, define what one becomes, and how one should behave.