From an etic perspective, American practices probably seem just as strange or unusual to outsiders as other cultural practices sometimes appear to us before we understand the cultural context behind them. 48-49). To me a pumpkin spice coffee is so strange!-- TallGrass2, dressing up young girls in short skirts and getting them to dance around and cheer on young men strikes me as odd preparetodobattle, I work at a summer camp and there is nothing funnier than watching the international counselors be totally weirded out by the flag ceremony we have every morning/evening (5-7 camper colorguard raises flag, salutes, 60-90 people recite pledge and girl scout promise in unison, we turn on our heels and file out silently in the morning, in the evening we fold the flag, sing taps, turn on our heels and file out silently to dinner) izzielosthermind, Eating/drinking coffee as you go, to me the best part of eating is sitting down, talking, and relaxing tallgrass2, I know this does not apply to everyone but your attachment to your college/university AFTER you have left. It's pretty infuriating to live somewhere where something as natural and beautiful as the human body is viewed as taboo and "corrupts" our youth, but a guy getting his head cut off or getting beaten to death is perfectly okay for kids to watch. - B.S. To find out, I thought that I should get a view from the outside of the proverbial white picket fenced, good ol Murican home. So yes, they are fortunate, and it is God bless America - that's what makes America, America." Why is so much trouble taken to offer the items to people, wrapped and put under this gaudy tree only to be given away? They believe in the right to have a good life and to help others to have a good life, and I think that's part of what makes them Americans." The ones immediately outside their house are apparently not fit. I mean, for the love of our sacredly majestic Bald Eagle, apple pie isnt even American! But elsewhere, there's no reason why eggs can't sit out on a shelf or counter. Views differ considerably, however, among the country's religious communities - 72% of Lebanese Christians say the spread of these ideas is a good thing; only 23% of Sunni and 13% of Shia . However, often is not noticed or realized how extreme some people are willing to go to conform to the expected norm of American society, until one looks at the demands that society places upon us from the outsider's perspective of American culture. Guide to US and American culture, society, language, etiquette, customs, manners and protocol. They look super fake. My American studies courses here have given me the opportunity to observe America from an outsider's perspective and really get an understanding of what Europeans actually think of us. Andersen, Margaret L. and Taylor, Howard F. 2008. Now that you have you hot chocolate, it is time to relax. Why did they not just give them to the people in the first place? Instead, their purple Skittles taste like blackcurrantand while this fruity flavor used to be popular in America, legislators banned the fruit itself in the 20th century because it served as a vehicle for a wood-destroying disease known as white pine blister rust. Flashnewb, many Chinese people do not understand how America can function so "well" since the people here are all so different. Americans love their free refills. The concept of dancing cheer squads that help support sports teams (or compete against each other) is pretty odd for most non-Americans. "Body Rituals Among the Nacirema, " by Horace Miner, is an essay written about the Nacirema, or American people, from an outsider's perspective. But, besides the Willy Wonka level of sugar, we use a substantial amount of cheese in everything. In England, the so-called "chemist" is the place you go to for medicine and medical suppliesand that's it. - Pedro Ivan Gonzalez, 35, juice seller, Havana, "It is a world imperialist power country. Not only did the geography of precontact America persist, but both the new arrivals and the indigenous inhabitants long retained their respective general characteristics, and it was the fit between . Anyhow, in the morning, more boxes appear, and children act very wild, almost savage-like. I do not understand the importance of this, as usually the father of the family just eats the biscuits and drinks the milk anyway, and it is always late at night when he does this too. Here is a link to start:https://thesocietypages.org/toolbox/nacirema/(Links to an external site. For a country that's the center of the global economy, America's currency is pretty dull. Romances and horrors are great genres to cozy up to in the dark. We dream of America and they dream about Europe. The culture can largely be referred to as Western culture, as much of it is shared with the Western world, but there are still influences that come from Asia, Africa and Latin America. Even when it's the dead of winter, coffee shops are still serving up iced coffee. } else { One habit was found to help keep the brain healthy over time. Sure, fried chicken is hardly a foreign conceptbut try explaining chicken-fried steak or deep-fried Oreos to a non-American. - Liu Xiaodan, 30, hotel manager, Beijing, "America is a country that produces a massive amount of cultural output such as Hollywood movies, music and many other (forms of) entertainment." If you want a second soda in a place like Paris, for example, be prepared to dole out some extra cash. By adding some whipped cream and a cinnamon stick, a regular cup of warm chocolate powder in milk becomes more like a dessert. The Reddit user NoDownvotesPlease said: "That was the weirdest one for me. AMS 111: American Culture, Values and Traditions: American Outsiders Section D301 T-Th., 12:30-1:45, Carman Hall, Room 233 Instructor: Kathleen Brennan Kathleen.Brennan@lehman.cuny.edu, Kbrennan@gc.cuny.edu Office hours: Tuesdays, 3:30 - 4:30, Room 292 Google Documents: Sign In: LehmanAMS111@gmail.com Password: Carman233 This course is designed to investigate issues of American citizenship . Do people of different nationalities and tongues think of our star spangled flag and hyper-patriotism? WHAT IS THE FIRST THOUGHT THAT COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORD "AMERICA"? Wrapping up in a warm blanket with a hot drink and some calming music is one of the best ways to spend and indoor kind of day. People are mostly not concerned with what another (person) is doing. They desire a different one, which holds more importance. Once the tree is inside, for some reason they put it in the center of the room, and proceed to decorate it with various gaudy balls and gems on strings. In most countries outside the U.S., vacation time is a highly utilized way to get away from work for a few weeks (or even months) every year. An Outsider Looks at Life in America. And he said, 'Oh Canada! Even though winter is ending soon, it does not mean the cold is. right back and expect an answer," Sophie-Claire Hoeller wrote for The Independent. The way its often described to me is that Americans have a very "open mind", and that we can handle having a lot of different people around, even when we don't agree. They're calm and kind and friendly and they like to smile." But seriously, don't do it. Supersizing Food. The particular Skittles flavor we call "grape" is an American curiosity of its own, but for those in the United Kingdom and Australia, this flavor doesn't even exist. - Ksenia Smertova, 21, student, Moscow, "America? What does it mean to be an American? } - Kenni Friis, 28, computer technology student, Copenhagen, Denmark, "You can easily distinguish an American like here in the restaurant. The etic perspective is data gathering by outsiders that yield questions posed by outsiders. Sociology in Everyday Life. It's a wonderful country and there is high security, standard of living is very high. I dont wear any shoes that I cant run in, she said. Persons from religious perspectives other than Christianity, which emphasizes "individual salvation," may see the individual as equal to all living things, as on a journey toward individual fulfillment, or even as . Included 600 grams of cheese. Marketing companies that work from outside of your company bring a fresh perspective that doesn't exist from within your company. It's your target audience. Americans can come across as self-interested, aggressive and rude to some outsiders. Once they get home, they have to lift it once again off the car and into their house. Many people's vacation days tend to pile up as the months of 50-hour workweeks roll on. In many instances, the name of a coin will tell you something about how much it's worth. If you're a member of B, then . In cultural anthropology, our fieldwork is referred to as ethnography, which is both the process and result of cultural anthropological research. Through this exercise, students hopefully see both their own and other cultures in a new light one that understands how we are all so embedded in a culture that it is difficult not to see dramatically different rituals as exotic or weird. 'Get away!' I screamed." (234) Claudette resists the urge to use wolf like communication to talk to Mirabella to stop chasing her, and instead uses human communication . The greasers live on the east side and are known as "hoods". Upon graduating secondary school, many Americans choose colleges and universities outside of and often far from their hometowns. For example, the view of Northpolians regarding Acimerans is an etic perspective. Foreign tourists might be surprised to find out just how many other destinations in the U.S. have restaurants that are open around the clock. For example, 84% of those ages 18 to 29 in Taiwan hold this view . But when Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based television empire that has long broadcast to viewers around the world in Arabic and English, announced plans to start a U.S. news channel, it ignited a wildfire of controversy. Foreigners might not realize right off the bat that those soft-focus commercials featuring happy couples prancing through corn fields are advertising medications for diabetes and back pain. Many American kids and teenagers leave home for extended periods of time, often for summer camps or travel. For example, the average American may be used to big tips and even bigger portions, but to foreigners, that's all far from the norm. The point is that we have many amazing things in this country, but how much of it is concretely ours? - Kanti, 74, travel agency owner, New Delhi. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.". It's not uncommon to chat up a stranger while waiting on line or traveling on public transportation. And they are a people that like having a lot of fun and their brands: McDonald's, all of that, makes the American identity or North American we call them North Americans rather than Americans, because we all are Americans." Figure 1.6. And it's a country with quite advanced technology industries. You have your hot chocolate made, playlist downloaded, movie set and books chosen. 600 Words3 Pages. Hinton's young adult novel The Outsiders, stereotyping is a significant issue. To simplify matters, let's assign letters (yup, engineer at work). Americans go nuts with air conditioning, cranking it up on hot days to the point that you might actually need a sweater. There was a bit of a culture shock when I first went there because the way people dress there is very much different from the way we dress here. I think sometimes we take our freedom and our way of life for granted, not realizing how great it really is. - B.S. We have black, asians, white, hispanics, indians just to name of few and yet we don't have massive in fighting between races or religions. - Liu Xiaodan, 30, hotel manager, Beijing, "My impression of Americans is that they uncomplicated. Yet, America's admirers have felt betrayed by other shades of the American character: the military interventions in Vietnam, Iraq and elsewhere; the gun violence; the right (inexplicable to many) to carry weapons; the deep and angry racial divisions; and, lately, a presidential nominee calling for harsh restrictions on Muslims and Mexicans. Holidays are integral parts of different cultures and by looking at them through the eyes of an outsider, we can see how culture influences perspective. paper from an anthropological perspective. The channels subjects and reporting are unassailably American. One could almost call them obsessed, as some houses have giant men, white bears, and black and white birds puffed full of air in front of their houses. This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator. They also put some wires around it, which when attached to the wall, make the tree look very bright. Time to forget about any work you have to do, and treat the weekend as a weekend. To begin, Ill stick with the positives. I can imagine that persons evaluation would be something like the following: During this holiday called Christmas, families take great care to ensure that they decorate their houses and various shrubs with wires. The reporter, Lori Jane Gliha, made deft use of practiced innocence. These wires are attached to a side of the house and only come on at night. Why go Tall when a Venti is just a dollar more? They are also unified in the sense that the dream isn't really a real thing anymore. It's like your entire concept of beauty hangs on it. Trick-or-Treating. The more multi-cultural our cities become, the more globalization and hyper-mobility affect our culture, the more it's normal not to be normal. I hope that, without sounding whiny, sharing this might help others who also feel like outsiders see that, strangely, they are part of a community. But one thing for sure, they cannot make beer." 2 - A Chinese Golden Lily Foot by Lai Afong, c1870s. Ethnocentric people compare their culture to others on such elements as religion, behavior, language, customs, and norms. Part 1: An etic view of African American race from an outsiders perspective is believed as religious and demonstrates a unique lifestyle. WHAT MAKES AMERICANS AMERICAN? Now without the photo below (but maybe skewed by the photo above) and in the context of the rest of the paper, many students do not recognize this as our daily habit of brushing our teeth. NEW YORK Al Jazeera wants to make its name as American as pizzaburgers. Culture, or the environment a person is exposed to, can alter how people behave, along with shaping part of someone's, or their whole, life. Native Americans believe that the beating of the drum is a uniting force, bringing together people of different tribes, as well as uniting a person's spirit to their body and mind. Many Western media companies have seized upon this reality to create sites devoted to the domestic consumption of their foreign reporting including The New York Timess India Ink blog, to cite an example. It was reported to me that the ritual consists of inserting a small bundle of hog hairs into the mouth, along with certain magical powders, and then moving the bundle in a highly formalized series of gestures.. They simply don't see us as their equal but we are. It is especially hard for an outsider to gain access to certain private rituals, which may be important for understanding a culture. Despite the fact that these people are so punctiliousabout care of the mouth, this rite involves a practice which strikes the uninitiated stranger as revolting. The general consensus is that Americans are very optimistic dreamers and have been; that we believe that anything is possible with hard work and perseverance. 33 "Normal" Things in the U.S. That Freak Everyone Else Out, Why the World Pronounces "Z" as "Zed" And Americans Don't. Foreigners are constantly baffled by the volume of stuff Americans seem to think they need, and superstores are a perfect encapsulation of this strange sentiment. Sign in to comment to your favorite stories, participate in your community and interact with your friends. teach well, it matters. You can describe American culture in general, as Miner does, or you can describe an American subculture, such as a specific geographical group (e.g., New Yorkers), a . There are two gangs in this novel, the "greasers", and the "Socs". Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. I think it comes from two places: sports, and a sense of community. First off, there are a variety of flavors, from White Chocolate, Pumpkin Spice, Mint, Caramel and the list goes on. He clearly thought that was more important than spending time with his family or friends. It is so much work to get a hold of the tree and to decorate it, and it seems very important, yet at the end of the day many of the trees are thrown away. Now, besides the few, awesome things, I will end with what was a bit of a mixed review from non-Americans. I prefer it here. I'll call the first one "A" (Americans, for instance). In fact, Al Jazeera may represent something quite new in the business (though not unprecedented): the foreign gaze for domestic consumption. But while these American traditions might seem normal stateside, they are certainly not universal. The report reflected the networks seeming vision of the United States more generally: as a nation dynamic and promising and, at the same time, brutal in ways that distinguish it from its rich-country cousins. What is Ethnocentrism? Because there is no such ethnicity. "Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is . The second one is "B", the one you're attempting to write about (say, Chinese, Vietnamese, French). It is told in a first-person narration style, with the narrator being a 14-year-old boy. He also emptied my friend's fridge, saying he's used to eating and drinking whenever he feels hungry or thirsty. In every public surveyed - including the U.S. - people ages 18 to 29 are more likely than those ages 65 and older to rate U.S. entertainment as above average or the best. I have recently begun thinking about my country and our culture, and wanted to learn more about what exactly makes an American. Lastly, the best part is the toppings. Read more, CC Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike, The daily body ritual performed by everyone includes a mouth-rite. As well as supporting your college as an alumni. There is, of course, diverse reporting on health care and the stock market and climate change on Al Jazeera America, but there is unmistakably in its coverage a hint of this thesis Americas bountiful callousness. They just don't get the idea of loyalty to the school. So, traveling down any city block, suburban street, or rural road, a foreigner will probably encounter at least a few American flags flying high, which likely isn't the norm in their home country. This small lifestyle change could make a big difference to your long-term brain health. The background. Anyone can have a good idea, so you could expect the distribution of U.S. patents to resemble the demographics of the workplace. I read on several different forum sites how things such as the pledge of allegiance and how our flag is plastered everywhere you go is quite strange to outsiders. [], Your email address will not be published. As is tradition. In most other countries, when you buy a drink, that prince is for a single cupful of your beverage of choice. Americans are nothing if not by the book about the little things, so most foreigners quickly learn that it's wise to keep some form of ID on them at all times if they plan on having a drink. Consider that it was written directly from the perspective of a teenager - experiencing life and writing about it. What is even more confusing is that these items in the boxes are often not kept. But people expect to be tipped so that is why they are so services-minded. (She believed) that the people's voice should be heard." The authors' research uncovered four factors: (1) The outsiders were not. All Rights Reserved. but don't tell them (laughing)." They are big and loud and they are in charge of everything." C. It is important for Asian Americans to learn American culture as quickly as possible so they don't feel like outsiders. Uhh, that's a huge country. Anyone can read what you share. Not sure whether I actually am ready to move there because it must be a tough country to live in. Americans love their red, white, and blueeven when it's not the Fourth of July or Veterans' Day. Now, I am sure this doesnt just extend to us Americans, but I thought about how each country has their own beautifully unique world of its own. A European, on the other hand, "will launch into a monologue about their health and wellbeing and ask [how are you?] But its way of seeing is foreign, the perspective of the curious outsider for whom nothing is obvious and whose questions are big and nave and, in their navet, important. - Kenni Friis, 28, computer technology student, Copenhagen, Denmark, "They're generous. It seems that the boxes were for them all along, not another being or deity. when we mean "hello", Carding people who are obviously not under 21, Shopping at pharmacies that are mini shopping malls, And prescription drug makers that advertise, Pronouncing the last letter of the alphabet as "zee". They just like speaking their mind, which is a reason that I don't feel quite comfortable going around with Americans." Enter Al Jazeera, which recently sent a correspondent to Cleveland, a city it called Americas infant mortality capital. The question it pursued fused the local and the global: why rates of premature birth and infant death in many neighborhoods exceed those of developing nations.. I created a Chill Pill playlist on YouTube for some relaxing vibes. Stay up to date with what you want to know. They were floored (and clogged probably) -- Marcvsgrippa, Pumpkin flavored things, pumpkin is a vegetable yet it is always in seasonal items in combination with sweet flavors. By looking at our own cultures as outsiders we can see that we are under the same influence of the power of culture as others are. American culture is clearly more advanced than all other cultures. "Sometimes I enjoy ordering freakishly large things over hereit turns consumption into tourism and makes me feel as though I'm at a carnival. "My one piece of American culinary advice: order the medium," one New Zealander wrote in a piece for Stuff. I think that anybody with good ideas, if they want to make a mark, it gives you an equal opportunity in that country. I believe they should understand the values that we have as Arabs, embrace them and try to go to a more local level to comprehend why we think and why we live the way we live."

Strings And Things Memphis, Roseau County Court Calendar, Does A Georgia Title Need To Be Notarized, Articles A