Japanese Culture and Food

Japanese Culture and Food

CULTURES; TWO DIFFERENT COUNTRIES Lissette Rodriguez Instructor September 14, 2008 Culture refers to whatever traditions, beliefs, customs and creative activities characterize a given community. It refers to what makes that community different from others. Everyone has culture; it is impossible to be without culture. Cultural differences should respected rather than put under pressure to change. This is sometimes difficult. People have a hard time accepting what is different to them. I recently had the opportunity to visit Central America. Central America is a beautiful part of the world filled with friendly people. It is a narrow strip of land connecting North America to South America. It borders Mexico on the North and Colombia on the South. There are five countries that make up Central America; Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. I visited Costa Rica and El Salvador. Although these are neighboring countries, they are always in friction. They have different customs, but they are also very similar in their ways. Costa Ricans are the most racially alike of any Central Americans. In fact, their “whiteness” makes them feel superior. The population is about 3 million and is 94 percent “mestizos” which are people of mixed white and American Indian decent; 3 percent are black; one percent is other racial backgrounds...( Bachelis, F. 1999, pg 60). They call themselves “Ticos”. The “Tico” name is said to stem from the colonial saying “We are all hermanitos” (little brothers) - they feel different from their neighboring countries not only because of their whiteness, but because of the lack of indigenous culture. Ticos identify themselves first and foremost as Costa Ricans and only Central Americans, or even Latin Americans, as an afterthought. (Kraus, C, 1991, pg.72). Most of “Ticos” are still very conservative and do not usually welcome strange or different ideas. They are a country of peace and do not like violence. They are very proud not...

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