Question 3

I somewhat believe in the three premises discussed in this chapter. I would like to think that people aren't inherently evil, and that people can make decisions based on things such as logic and reason. I think that I agree most with the mutability premise the most. I believe that we are mostly shaped by our environment and how we interact eith people is based on how we were raised and shaped while growing up. I do not agree with the perfectibility premise at all, however. I think that premise is based on a religious idea, and when it comes to mixing religion and ideas of morality I tend to disagree. I don't personally believe that we were born in sin and need to spend our lives redeeming ourselves.

I think that schools hold the idea that we are trying to improve our future; that we want people to succeed, and that we care about where they go with their lives. I think that schools are a good example of the mutability premise. Granted, it's more the "idea' of school, because lets face it, our school systems could use some improvement.

Question 2

I agree that we are creatures of our cultures. I believe that we are raised a certain way, and once we hit "teen" years, we start to focus more on what we will be.

I would like to use a non-conventional example of a culture. For lack of a better term, and in no way do I mean this offensively, the "dork" culture: those who play Dungeons & Dragons, who read the sci-fi/fantasy genres on a constant basis, and who tend to be a little more lenient on the "fantastic." I won't lie, most of my group consists of people who fall into this culture. As one who in high school didn't really fit in to any particular group, I found my friends though my job. I used to make fun of the "dorks" until I realized they didn't focus on what was "popular" and instead focused on what made them and their friends feel good. It was interesting, transitioning from a group that was about fashion, who was screwing who, and where the party was this weekend, to a group that didn't need to get completely wasted to have a good time, didn't judge each other on what they were wearing (unless it was a particularly ugly Hawaiian shirt), and focused more on having fun with whatever they were doing, rather than the he-said, she-said nonsense that occurred in other groups. Oh, don't get me wrong, this group had the occasional bit of drama; however it was nothing compared to the other groups that I interacted with while growing up.

I know that a lot of people consider culture to be a heritage thing; they consider it to be what race you are, what religion you practice, and what you grew up knowing. After knowing hundreds of people, being a part of different groups, and seeing all the differences that make us up, I don't believe culture is based on just the above: I think culture is whatever makes you who you are, in almost every way.

Week 10, question 1

An idea in the reading that I found interesting was the ideas of culture shock. We all hear about it; for those of us who have traveled, we experience it. What is interesting to me, however, is the idea that you don't have to travel very far to experience it.

We live in a fairly large (compared to the European) countries. We think of ourselves as one nation, under God (for the religious ones). If our country is attacked we all rally together and stand as a single entity. Yet there are so many different parts that make up this country that we tend to forget the different values that make us who we are.

Recently I went to New York. I was with people who I knew, however I had never been there, and it was quite a trip (no pun intended). While I knew these people were, I assumed, American, their mannerisms were completely different than what I'm used to here in the Bay Area. People open doors and say thank you for you opening them; here, people just expect you to open them. Here, people love to have their space; riding around on public transit, standing in lines, even sitting in waiting rooms, people have no qualms with being up close and personal.

Everything that I mentioned struck me as odd; several times I had to remind myself that I wasn't in another country, I was still within the US. It just goes to show that while culture can be a nationwide thing, it also varies depending where you go.

Week 10/4-10/10 question 3

As one who fidgets on a constant basis, I found the section on Adaptors to be the most interesting. I'm guilty of not being able to sit still during class, in meetings, hanging out with friends, I always have to be doing something. I used to wear rings on both of my index fingers, and one day while I was hanging out with some friends, my friend pointed out to me that I would constantly turn my rings around my fingers. I never realized that I did this! The most ironic thing about it is I always notice other peoples nervous ticks. It's almost as if noticing when people are nervous or annoyed or uncomfortable is my mutant power. I noticed recently that I tend to chew on my inner cheek when I'm pensive. In fact, I just noticed I was doing so while thinking about what I was going to write for this post. It's almost as if my body is lulling my mind into a sense of security and relaxation before doing a task I don't necessarily enjoy.

Week 10/4-10/10 question 2

Although I would like to say that I am skilled and knowledgeable in the ways of different cultural nonverbal messages, I am not. However, there is one that comes to mind that I remember from an older British sitcom when I was a child. I used to watch the show "Are You Being Served" which took place in a British department store in the late 60's or 70's (I don't remember which). One of the gestures that they would do when insulting one another was the would take their index and middle finger, and make a "V" with it. They would then gesture up with their fingers while blowing a raspberry. This gesture was synonymous with "get stuffed," or basically "go screw yourself". This gesture I had never seen in my area of California, and I remember doing it in front of my mom and getting in trouble for it; however when I did it at school in front of my 3rd grade teacher, there were no repercussions. While this is an insignificant nonverbal message, it still was one that would get a reaction out of one culture, while being ignored in another.

Week 10/4-10/10 post 1

There is one time that sticks out in my mind where I grossly misinterpreted the nonverbal messages that I was being sent. I was hanging out with a couple friends and they told me their other friend, Josh, was coming over to hang out. I had never met him before, so when they introduced me to this tall, gorgeous man, I was very happy that they had invited him over. The entire night while hanging out, he would touch my knee, or my arm, or make very flirty gestures toward me. At the end of the night, I was very intrigued to get to know him, sans my friends. I asked him for his phone number and if he wanted to get dinner sometime. His response was "Oh sure! And you have to meet Terry, he'd love you!" and when I asked him who Terry was, he gave me a funny look, and responded "My boyfriend." Apparently Josh was gay, and his touching me was just him being flirty, not friendly. It was quite a shock to me!

If I were in this situation again I would certainly rethink what message was being sent to me when receiving physical touch. After the Josh incident, I don't take it to heart that someone is interested in me if they are being "flirty".