Reflection from 9/26-9/30

• When we watched the movie God Grew Tired of Us, I realized how different our material culture, or the tangible items that make up a culture, is from the rest of the world. We take for granted that people have the "essentials," such a computer, TV, hair dryer, refrigerator, cans and boxes of food, a microwave. These items were completely unfamiliar to the Sudanese boys. Our symbolic culture, or nonmaterial culture, is different as well. When the Sudanese boys celebrated Christmas in Sudan, they danced and sang and celebrated as a community. They had no idea who Santa Claus was when they came to the US. Christmas in the US is centered around material goods. Kids get excited to tell Santa what they want for Christmas, not to dance and sing and celebrate the birth of Jesus. When I witnessed the culture the Sudanese boys were used to, I was amazed. The boys were shocked when they saw that strangers don't open their doors for everyone to walk in and don't greet each other in the street. In Africa, strangers live together as a community and always have their doors open to everyone. Our culture is so much more focused on the individual, and I think that's really sad because it causes competition.
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