The concept I find interesting in this chapter is Ethnocentrism, “the belief that one’s own culture is superior to all others and the tendency to judge all cultures by one’s own criteria” (p.359). I think we can see this happens a lot in the Western society. I have been living in the States for about 10 years, when I started to go to school here, I noticed most American students are very self-centered and some of them even think United States is the whole world. They are not interested in me nor they are nice to me. When I said something that is not part of the norm, they would look at me weirdly. I think part of the reason for that behavior is that back then, there weren’t many intercultural activities going on at school, therefore, students wouldn’t know how to treat other people who were a little different than they are.
Hi Sogo!
ReplyDeleteGood post. I'm sorry you had that negative experience upon coming to the United States! I can relate to your story, but from the angle of the American students. I grew up in Santa Cruz and attended high School in Scotts Valley where it's almost all Caucasian people. Growing up in a small, mostly white town gave me quite a culture shock upon arriving at San Jose State, which is quite diverse. My culture was all I really knew and it took a little while to adjust to living with cultures other than my own. Even though it was hard at first, being exposed to different cultures has taught me a lot about acceptance, patience and friendship.
-Holly
Sogo,
ReplyDeleteI liked that you brought up the idea of Ethnocentrism because it is a good topic to talk about. I also felt that when coming to this country you feel like most people are set on knowing nothing outside of the U.S because they are set on the idea of having their own culture being superior than all else. This is very hard for most people that come from different cultures and get that look from people because they don’t look like part of their norm. You can see the information you gave was helpful for us to see your idea and why you chose this concept to talk about.
I am also a white Caucasian that grew up in a predominately white area. I could not handle it, though, so I took it into my own hands to get out and see the world. I agree with Holly in that moving to San Jose taught me a lot. The attitude I had when moving also helped. I have learned a lot from taking intercultural classes and by the people I choose to surround myself with. Your point that many Americans are self-absorbed and only think the U.S. matters is very true, but I feel as though more and more people these days are trying to alter this. In all, I see things changing for the better and I hope you are experiencing this as well.
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