« A thought on culture (not of my own) | Main | Shiny new red apple bicycle »
September 13, 2005
My Culture
I have lived in Georgetown, Maine my entire life. I have lived in the same house my entire life. If anyone knows anything about rural Maine, particularily the small fishing communties such that I live in, they could label me as a "townie", or a hick, or a country mouse. In some respects I am those. Being here in Boston has made me realize I love Georgetown and I do like to do semi-hickish things like going mackarel fishing with my dad and I miss the quietness of the woods. However, I have not spent all my time in Georgetown. My mother is from the Netherlands and my dad is in the merchant marines. Much of their culture has formed my culture. I have spent a lot of time in the Netherlands and other parts of Europe and some of my tastes may be considered Dutch such as my affinity for Dutch cheese (I LOVE Dutch cheese) and chocolates. Part of this culture is also the priority that family takes in my house. We always eat dinner together if everyone is home and it is always a home cooked meal. From a very early age my mother stressed in me the importance of manners and to ask in Dutch 'May I be excused from the table' and don't begin eating until everyone has sat down or wait until everyone has finished before leaving the table but my American culture, accrued from years of cafeteria eating and television, has rebelled quite often and I have found myself in shouting matches with my mother over discrepancies in manners. A clash of cultures: Old world Europe versus Adolescent America.
Posted by lcisfreya at September 13, 2005 09:45 PM
Comments
Apart from a few grammatical errors I feel this post on my culture is fairly well written and that it flows along nicely. I should have gone into more detail about my Georgetown culture and what it means to be from Georgetown, Maine. What I do in Georgetown for fun; what sort of unique behavioral traits do I have from living in Georgetown; and what are the specific stereotypes associated with Georgetown are a few examples of what I could have included in my description of my Georgetown culture. I also should have included more on my Dutch culture and more on how it has shaped me. I need to show more evidence and cite examples of where my Dutch self overruled my American self and vice-versa and how having a European influence in my life changes how I think and act. My final ending sentence is strong enough in itself though I do need more to the body of my post for it to reflect the strength of my writing as a whole.
Posted by: Freya at September 27, 2005 07:02 PM
Glad you are aware of the "grammatical" errors..It sounds as if you have had the best of two worlds...the worldly experience of travel and European culture and the very American small town experience....I could see the ways in which they blend and clash in your post....what do you think you might add to strengthen the post? what specific thing do you think would round it out?
Posted by: ellen at September 30, 2005 06:46 PM