Two Kinds Culture

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Wade Davis once said, “The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being like you, they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.” The world is a very diverse place, with very diverse points of view. One’s culture often informs the way one views others and the world. Culture can influence how someone acts in many ways: culture can affect how the individual learns in a foreign or unfamiliar setting; how the individual views themselves; and how the individual views different cultures and people. First of all, one’s culture can influence how one acts and learns in a foreign or unfamiliar setting. Since the United States of America is one of the most diversely populated countries…show more content…
In beginning of the story Jing-mei obeys her mother; and she does ridiculous things for her mother that generally don’t make her happy, but she does them out of respect. Later throughout the story Jing-mei decides that she won’t inherit the Chinese lifestyle; and doesn’t have to do what her mother tells her to do, which is shown with “…and then I decided, I didn’t want to do what mother said anymore. I wasn’t her slave. This wasn’t China” (23). Jing-mei’s culture influences the way she views herself, because when she decides to quit music, she says “I’m not going to play anymore…Why should I? I’m not a genius.” (23). She doesn’t necessarily bring herself down; she just understand that people don’t have to work as hard in America as in China to succeed. Just as well, one’s culture often affects the way one views different cultures and people. In the essay “Where Worlds Collide” by Pico Iyer, a couple of boys arrive from a foreign country to Los Angeles California. The sudden and drastic change of culture shocks and stuns them. “They have, perhaps, visited… the snack bar where a slice of pizza costs $3.19 (18 quetzals, they think in horror, or 35,000 dong)...” writes Iyer (51). When confronted with this new culture, the boys see as strange and even shocking what a local would see as normal and

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