Culture Shock

This week in sociology we learned about culture shock, which is when you have lived with a certain set of norms, and you then enter a completely different set of standards or customs. My teacher gave us the example of someone bringing a fish home in a plastic bag from a pet store. When they place the fish in a bowl the fish will experience a culture shock whether it's the a change in size, temperature, or material items. Another example is that in America one is used to seeing mothers strolling their babies in their strollers and taking their children into restaurants. If an American mother were to travel to Denmark, they would face a culture shock when they see that mother’s in Denmark leave their baby carriages on the sidewalk with the mindset that children constantly need fresh air.

 I faced a culture shock when I visited Iran seven years ago. I speak some Persian (primary language spoken in Iran) with my parents at home, but this was the first time that I was in a nation where everyone spoke the language. It was hard for me to adjust because everyone spoke so fast. In addition to their rate in speaking, the bathroom in my aunt’s house was a hole in the floor. It was hard for me to get acquainted with this way of living. For the first week of my stay I was constantly at my grandma’s house since she had a “normal” toilet. Although this trip was a complete step outside of my bubble of norms, it was an extremely influential that I hope to take again in the near future.

A Bronx Tale: Social Construction of Reality

One of the main themes in the movie A Bronx Tale is the social construction of reality. The city that Calogero lives in is clearly separated into distinct neighborhoods. When Calogero’s dad drops Jane off at her bus stop you could tell that the bridge was the dividing line between the city and the “black neighborhood.” There is also the separate Italian neighborhood.  The distinction between the two neighborhoods is clear because Italians shouldn’t enter the black neighborhood, and vice versa. If this unwritten rule is broken, the “trespasser” will get beaten up. I believe that this unwritten rule was created through an extreme in racist ideas. The Italians don’t like the black people, because the black people aren’t Italian. The black people have the same belief towards the Italians. Therefore, they have a mutual belief that they should not interact with each other in any way. 

The community and I face social construction of reality on a daily basis when we watch TV because it has a different meaning towards people with different backgrounds. Depending on the person’s past experiences they will interpret the news or commercials differently. If the news talks about the increase in unemployment and poverty, my younger sister and I will view this news differently. I might receive this information in a negative way; thinking about this will decrease my chances to find a job. My sister might see positively by looking forward to a way to increase her community service hours at a homeless shelter.

Community Service

To kick off my ten hours of community service for my Sociology class, my friend and I volunteered at “SHS Friends” for an hour during eighth period today. “SHS Friends” involves an opportunity to spend time with special needs students at my school. It was a really great experience. We started with the class and volunteers introducing themselves as an ice breaker. Throughout the 60 minutes we played games, such as bingo and charades, with the students and got acquainted with them. It was a very pleasant experience and I am planning on taking part in it every Friday for the rest of the school year. 

Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover

This week in sociology we discussed stereotypes. Although most of the time stereotyping is bad, and it can negatively affect you and your surroundings, everyone takes part in it in their daily activities. Whether it’s something small such as deciding not to eat a red candy because you think the cherry taste is not appealing, or going to the extreme and not driving on the road with an Asian person because they are supposedly “all bad drivers,” everyone stereotypes.

 In the chapter “How Does It Feel to Be Black and Poor?” in Suhir Venkatesh’s book, Gang Leader for a Day, the author conducts widespread surveys in Chicago. He ends up in a dangerous neighborhood in Chicago and gets acquainted with a gang. He naïvely asks them questions such as, “how does it feel to be black and poor?” The gang leader, J.T told Suhir to come hang out with them sometime in order to actually get to know them, instead of asking them generic or artificial questions. Suhir though that just because the gang was black and they lived on the streets, they were poor and unhappy. The moral of this chapter is that you can’t know someone or something just by looking at them.

Just like the old saying, “you can’t judge a book by its cover,” one has to interact with someone or something in order to really get to know them. For example, a few days ago I gave all my red pieces of candy to a friend because I feared that they would taste like cherry. Now I realize that I shouldn’t have refused to eat a red candy just because I assumed that it tasted like cherry. For all I knew it could’ve been strawberry or watermelon flavored, and I would have never known if I didn’t try it. Not all red candies are cherry flavored. This goes the same for more serious stereotypes as well. Not all Asians are bad drivers. Not all Jewish people are cheap. Not all Muslims are terrorists. One has to interact with people before stereotyping or generalizing a group. Most importantly, don’t judge a book by its cover.

Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things.

For Sociology we read an article called “Survivors of the F-227.” It was about a rugby team whose plane crashed in the middle of nowhere. The rugby members that endured the crash ended up eating the dead bodies of the rest of the team, in order to stay alive. Although the surviving team members made some rules about eating the bodies, such as not eating women or anyone that they knew, and they made the excuse that God wanted them to survive, it disturbed many people once they arrived back home. The F-227 survivors’ encounter changed their perception on reality. In our society we do not eat other people for the same reason in class no one would eat their own saliva from a spoon.

In addition to reading the article this week, we also watched the pilot of Freaks and Geeks. It represented the different cliques, or groups, throughout the school. The druggies, or the “freaks,” are seen ditching class or smoking on the smoking patio. The “geeks” are seen as Mathletes and they are constantly bullied around. The main character, Lindsay’s, personality suddenly changes after her grandmother passes away. She goes from being a Mathlete to a “freak” in the way that she dresses, as well as her careless personality. This is an example of conflict theory because the two different groups are always encouraging her to come into their group. Her counselor, Jeff, is convincing her to re-join the Mathletes club, while the freaks are persuading her to hang out with them instead of going to the homecoming dance. The acts of her grandma convince Lindsay to hang out with the geeks because of the idea that Lindsay’s grandma spent her whole life being good, and didn’t get anything out of it.

Ever since I moved to the suburbs of Chicago just before freshman year I have never had just one group of friends that I always hang out with. I have my girls from swim team, my Persian friends, my journalism friends, my smart friends, my best friends, etc. Each and every one of my friends from these groups has shaped me in different ways and I wouldn’t be the same without any one of them. It is important to surround yourself with the right group of people because they’re going to influence the way you dress, think, and act.