REFLECTION 5: CULTURE

Culture is the way of life of a people. Their personality, the way they behave, the food that they eat, the clothes that they wear and the people they socialize with. This is all considered the culture of a person. For example, Indians eat special kind of food that have been blessed by their god Allah and is considered righteous to eat; the term they use is halal. The women also have to cover up their entire body because their belief is that the woman’s' body is only to be showed or exposed to her spouse. They also have to marry within their caste. When I was a child, I was taught to be open-minded but I still think it is an unknown fact how some people grow up and become adults who want nothing to do with anyone that is not like them. When growing up in a certain environment for so long, it is hard to adapt to anything else but what we have been brought up with. Culture is what makes a person, it is everything around us. Although there are different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, I have always been told never to criticize or judge a person because of where he or she is from or how they act. Everybody is different in his or her own way no matter the different cultures. They are going to have their own beliefs about a certain something. I have always believed that there is only one God but Hindu’s think differently and I believe that every race should come together and mix and reproduce to become one but Indians think differently. I have a Jamaican culture and I think our background is unique from others. Our music, dances, food, language- "patois" is what makes who I am today. Nevertheless, we Jamaican are connected to many other cultural backgrounds. Jamaica has a very diverse culture and is one of the multi-cultural countries in the world. Each person in the world should remember that culture is learnt, shared, based on symbols and is adapted and integrated. Cultural diffusion is the main way in which culture is learnt whether it may be directly or indirectly. This dictation influences and creates individuals in the world today.