Cultures

This week in Sociology, we started our second unit which was Culture. We discussed how other countries compare to the U.S. in numerous categories. Our teacher put 3 words up on the board and told us to find which word didn't fit in with the others. The words were laundry, beer and clothing. Every student agreed that the word beer didn't fit. We all based our thinking on the fact that laundry and clothing serve a similar purpose. However, in other countries they would agree that clothing didn't fit in. Their reasoning was laundry and beer were both foamy while clothing was not. This proves that our language influences the way we think and the way we group certain things.

When I was in China, I felt as if I was so out of place. I experienced complete culture shock in watching how life was in this country. I remember walking down the street in Shanghi with my teammates and family. We looked off to the side and saw a mother with her baby. The baby was wearing what looked like a onesie with a buttoned flap in the back. The mother opened the flap and bent down with the baby who was about to go to the bathroom on the grass. We all looked at each other baffled by what was happening. We couldn't believe it. This sight would have been unheard of in America, but in China it didn't seem like such a big deal. I remember this now years later and understand why things were so different.