Often times when we hear the word culture, we think of the differences of different countries. That statement may be true; however, there are different cultures within the same country, even within the same city. No matter what culture we call our own, there are distinct differences between that of other cultures around us. One of the major differences occurs in the realm of family; family affection to be more specific. When talking about family affection, we should consider many different aspects. It was my task and privilege to explore these aspects.
I consider myself having a strong American culture. My family has been here for many years and has adopted the "American Way". After being born and raised in Wisconsin, I now spend my...show more content...
Teresa, however, does show a little affection towards her family "by teasing or making fun of them...the stupid things. By laughing together, that's how my family shows our affection toward each other." My family does tease each other too, however, we more of consider that having fun than showing affection. The simple act of showing affection is very different throughout different cultures. Another aspect of our different cultures is our reactions to the affection that is shown to us. As my family members show affection to me, I feel good about it. To me there is nothing better than to know that my family cares about me. I usually show affection back to them after they have shown some affection towards me. However, this is not the case with Teresa. "If a family member did show affection I would probably just shrug it off and think they lost their mind for a moment or something," explains Teresa. Affection is very important in my culture, so if we showed affection toward a family member and that person just shrugged it off, we would think they are being rude or that something is wrong. A lot of how we treat each other as a family member depends upon reactions to affection and caring. One thing to think about when talking about a family showing affection to one another is how the family interacts in public as compared to in private. In my culture, it does not really matter if we are in public. We show just as much affection for one another
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My Family History
Family history is very important to an individual. By knowing where you come from, you can have a better perspective of your life. Having a clear understanding of your family background allows you to better appreciate the things that you would normally take for granted. The house, the car, and the average clothing may look better when one sees the sacrifices their family has made. They will see that their family has worked very hard just so their family can experience the better things in life. A persons roots and origin is one of the most important things to explore. It alone can bring you closer to self–discovery.
There are two sides to a person's family and one side of my family has...show more content... One of these is that on Thanksgiving everybody comes together to my parents' house in New Jersey for a huge feast. On Christmas only my mother and the children (me and my brother) travel to Illinois to spend a week with my grandparents. On New Years Eve we all get together at my parents' house in New Jersey and toast to the New Year with champagne and apple cider. During Labor Day weekend all of my family travels to South Jersey to my grandfathers' condo. We usually spend all of our time on the beach and barbequing, except on Sunday when we go to church. After all, my grandfather is a minister. One of our biggest family traditions is going back to Puerto Rico. Every year my mother and I travel back to Puerto Rico for a portion of our summer vacation. Now that I am older I travel there more often and stay there much longer. My father never joins because he doesn't like my mothers side of the father too much and he thinks that we when we speak Spanish we are all plotting against him. Of course that's not true though. My bother doesn't speak Spanish so he doesn't like to go either. I guess that tradition is one that belongs solely to my mother and I.
The role of the people in family basically stayed the same for most of the generations with a little change in the later generations. Earlier the males were the only ones that worked in the family and the wife stayed at home and took care of the house and