Differences In Cultures Make Our World A More Colorful And Exciting Place To Live
“Without culture, and the relative freedom it implies, society, even when perfect, is but a jungle.” (Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus, 1960). This quote by Albert Camus serves as a reminder about the importance of having cultures within a society. Culture is like the soul of a country. All countries have their very own cultures to live by, this means that people who have grown up in different places will have different ways of behaving, thinking about things, and ways of expressing themselves. Each country has its own culture, and there are many differences between different countries in culture. These differences make our world what it is today.
It is very important to know how diverse the world is. Not everyone has the same values and beliefs. People around the world differ in ethnicity, hobbies, language, culture, and religion. I myself, come from a long line of Mexican decent. While living in the United States most of my life I come across many cultures, but one that particularly sticks out to me is Haitians. These two cultures are unique but share its similarities. A good friend of mine, Samuel Mathieu, who is a 22-year-old male of Haitian decent, has given me the opportunity to enhance my knowledge on his culture. His Father originating from Port-au-Prince the capital of Haiti and Mother originating from Gonaives, Haiti. He has lived in both Haiti and the US as a Haitian American adapting to the culture changes.
Order custom essay Differences In Cultures Make Our World A More Colorful And Exciting Place To Live with free plagiarism report
450+ experts on 30 subjects
Starting from 3 hours delivery
Language plays a vital role in communication within a culture and a language usually points out to a specific group of people. When you interact with another language, it means that you are also interacting with that culture that speaks it. 'If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.' (Nelson Mandela). You cannot understand one's culture without accessing its language directly. A little-known fact about the language spoken in Haiti is creole and it is comprised of multiple languages like French, English, and Spanish coming as one. When talking to Samuel about his culture he referenced right away about his language.
He compared my cultures language with his and we found out that we shared similar words, some meaning the same thing, others meaning different things. “Gum in creole is “chicle” meaning the same thing in both Mexican and Haitian culture. Byen is a creole word meaning good, but in your culture is it spelled b-u-e-n. We Haitians have taken other cultures languages and adapted it into our very own language.” (Mathieu). Although, Samuel and I have a language unique to our own culture we where able to find common ground in our methods of communication.
When trying to learn about a culture or religion one often asks themselves “What does this group value and believe in life?” Religion has provided for a universal language and culture for those who believe in a higher power. The spirit or worship and praise may not be the same, but the practices are usually similar and serve the same purpose in life, to give direction, insight, courage, and a connection with the higher power. When asking Samuel about his culture connecting with religion he stated, “In Haiti the main religion practice is Catholic with Christianity following in second place. I myself and family identify as Christian, believing in one God.
For the culture almost everybody participating and kid attending communion at a very young age. The significance of religion for myself was established by my parents early on in my life. I can definitely say throughout my life being a part of Christianity has brought me closer to my culture.” (Mathieu). After speaking about religion, we came to conclusion that both mine and Samuels cultures share connections within the religions. With Mexican culture being Catholic Christianity, most dominate in the culture, I was able to connect and understand the aspects of religion in Haiti.
In conclusion, the differences in language and religion play a huge part of our culture. Those differences make our world a more colorful and exciting place to live. Understanding these differences can help build cultural acceptance. Without learning about the differences and similarities of cultures we would not be able to function as a society. By learning to understand one another brings us a step closer to peace within the world through communication and practices of faith.
Work Cited
On Religion, Mexicans Are More Catholic and Often More Traditional Than Mexican Americans Juan Donoso - https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/12/08/on-religion-mexicans-are-more-catholic-and-often-more-traditional-than-mexican-americans/
Bbc World Service | Learning English | Moving Words http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/movingwords/shortlist/mandela.shtml
Albert Camus Quote https://libquotes.com/albert-camus/quote/lbe8a4v Mathieu, Samuel. Personal interview. 30 January 2020.
Differences In Cultures Make Our World A More Colorful And Exciting Place To Live. (2023, Feb 19). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/differences-in-cultures-make-our-world-a-more-colorful-and-exciting-place-to-live/Cite this Page
Run a free check or have your essay done for you
