Gestures Around the World

Since I have never been to another country that has significant differences in the way we use gestures; I have decided to research what other countries to do greet one another. Sociologists tend to look at different gestures because they need to understand how the bigger world around us behaves. Just in North America itself, greetings differ. For instance, in Canada, women greet with a slight nod while men greet with a firm handshake. The men in Mexico tend to be a little bit more firm by patting a man on the back along with a slight hug. But, here in the United States women are known to hug other women while men quickly kiss the cheek of a woman. In other parts of the world, I found it weird that in Egypt- a handshake is followed by a touch on the elbow. In the Philippines you greet with a quick flash of the eyebrows. It is always interesting to see what we interpret as a handshake for a greeting, can be turned into something so different around us.

Culture- The Way We Live

Yesterday, in class we were split up into groups and given certain directions on how to play a card game. Once the loser and winner left from my 'culture' and two new players joined; the game was then played again. Since my culture was set on the idea that aces trumped all, we continued to play like that. But, when the new players started to play, they encountered a culture shock due to the fact that they learned to play the game differently. When you enter a new territory, you either want to revolt against what is presented right in front of you, or not argue and give in to how the culture has already been established. For instance, last winter break I went to Miami, Florida. Since it is so close to the border of Mexico, every employee who worked at the mall spoke Spanish. It was quite overwhelming, because I had stopped taking Spanish after sophomore year. Even the signs at the grocery store were in Spanish. Like the card game, I had either a choice of going against what was presented in front of me, or try my best and adjust to the language that was predominantly spoken in Miami. I also experienced this shock when I went to Mexico. There happened to be stray dogs everywhere! In the United States, that sort of thing is looked at as maybe someone lost their dog. But, the dogs in Mexico had no collar or identification. It is definitely looked at differently between different cultures. When we enter a new culture, we must learn to adapt and learn how each of their customs work.

Cookie Thief

Each day, many people are faced with different personalities. Each class I take consists of many students whose strengths and weaknesses differ. On the first day of school everyone tends to judge too quickly. They don't take a chance to get to know maybe someone who is quieter, or the person sitting in the back of the room. The only way to get past our judgemental selves, is to come into class with an open mind. A really good example for us seniors, is finding a roommate for college. Many of us have joined the college groups on facebook, or have taken surveys to pair us up with each other. I can admit that I have been some what judgemental when it comes to finding the right one. Just because they look a certain way, doesn't necessarily mean that they wont have the same interests as you. In the past I have been quick to judge. In Charon's story, many people have been known to generalize, stating that only rich people vote republican. But, that is not the case at all. In reality, people need to start to let down their judgements about people and enter any situation with an open mind.

Focusing on the Arts-- ODYSSEY!

Looking back on the past two days, some classes that I got put into for Odyssey really put me into a different atmosphere. One class that left me skeptical before entering was Dancing Wheels. At Dancing Wheels, two girls were permanently confined to a wheelchair, while another girl and boy danced on their feet. At times the tricks they did were neat, but overall it left me thinking why they were asked back. That was because the environment I happened to be sitting in was surrounding by other people who had heard this performance wasn't at all entertaining. Since it was located in the field house, where they sat us in uncomfortable bleachers- it definitely influenced the way I perceived the dance. Since my back was already hurting me, I knew I wouldn't focus on the performers. Many people didn't take it seriously because seeing something so unusual stuck them as odd. People in such a society as the one we live in today, have a mind set about what looks normal to them. As every performer does at the end of their act, they ask the audience if anyone has a question. But, this time no one raised their hands. Usually if that happens the performance is over. In the case of the dancers of Dancing Wheels, they preceded to ask questions within each other while the audience just listened. I felt that it created a very awkward atmosphere. By being faced with something that I normally don't see everyday made me laugh. Our society has grown up learning that when asked a question to respond. Similar to the analogy about saliva turning into spit being gross. In a way, by watching something unfamiliar to our society it left us questioning ourselves with a sociological mind.

Are You a Freak or a Geek?

After having discussed the meanings behind the Functional Theory, Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interactionism; there is a direct link to how it relates to me. By many of us being second seniors, and graduation approaching, we have a lot of conflict against school; school resting most of the power in their hands. In my case, I feel that going to such a competitive high school, we need to work twice as hard on order to achieve such high recognition. I find myself stressing over the little things, because by missing out on those 'minute' details can cost you. By being a teenager who will be facing the real world in such little time, I am overwhelmed by how much authority my parents have given me over the past several years. Just yesterday, I was speaking to my dad about how my AP psych teacher took off 6 points from my note packet, and how ridiculous I thought that was. But, by listening to his response of, "you're going to have professors like that who are nit-picky" made me realize that the power will almost always be in the hands of a teacher, or some sort of authority figure. The show Freaks and Geeks lets us know that there are bigger things out there than us- and we will have to deal with them on order to go through life. A lot of things will define us as individuals, but on order to be the best that we can, we need to conquer the bigger things that come our way.

Silence- Is It Awkward?

While entering Sal's class on the first day of second semester, I thought it was very nice that he would shake my hand and learn my name right off the bat. Then, as students slowly strolled in, Mr. Salituro took a seat next to a student. Thus, leaving my class and me with a peculiar situation to deal with. Depending on the circumstance, silence can be uncomfortable. In the case with Sal, I felt the awkwardness coming from the sense that it was just so unfamiliar to me- the fact that I've never had a teacher act like a student nor sit there without saying a word. I feel that people simply wanted to say something within that silence to fill the air with some type of noise. I also think that once the silence was over with, our sense of being comfortable with Mr. Salituro quickly increased. The most prevalent type of awkward silence I have been faced with is getting in a fight with a friend. After both people have been going at it, there is that pause where you don't know who says something next. When silence is broken, I believe that you feel more comfortable with your self and the confidence to know that things can be faced in awkward situations.

Lauren's Life!

Hey, it's Lauren! :) This is my last semester at Stevenson High School, and after leaving I hope to find myself at Miami University in Ohio studying psychology. My friends would say that I am trustworthy and reliable. When I was younger, I went through a lot of difficult times due to the fact that my mom was really sick. Being through tough times have shaped me to who I am today. Today, I have grown into a strong person and have learned to let things go and move on. What inspires me to live by those rules are the many quotes I have along my door in my bedroom. Not only does that show my creativity, but it provides an outlet for me to express myself. In ten years I hope to have a psychology degree and use it towards owning my own practice. By being in sociology class, I hope to learn more about the society we live in and the world around us. I hope to even maybe take the knowledge I learn from this class into a degree at college; becoming a social worker if owning my own practice isn't the path I choose to take. Overall, helping people with their problems is something you could say is my 'cup of tea.'