My parents went to the Dominican Republic for their honeymoon in the mid 90’s. The part of Dominican Republic they went to wasn’t a very popular tourist destination, and pretty poor by American standards, but as young, broke newlyweds, anywhere with a beach sounded perfect. On the trip, as luck would have it, my dad gets what he calls, “the most violent stomach flu in the entire world.” My mom drags him out of bed to go for a romantic walk on the beach. A man approaches him, and asks my dad if he doesn’t feel well, says that he’s a respected witch doctor among the community and that he’d be happy to help him. My dad eagerly accepts his help, while my mom panics at the thought of a ‘witch doctor’ caring for my father. Somehow, my dad convinces my mom to come with him to the witch doctor’s “house,” which was actually just a makeshift cardboard shack among a village
…show more content…
It is probably extremely exaggerated and dramatic, but it undeniable that my mom and dad reacted to this experience completely different. My mom extremely closed off and apprehensive, while my dad was open and almost excited to experience this culture. This is a prime example of the two different mentalities people have upon experiencing different cultures. My mom was too timid and afraid of the stereotypes she had heard of people different than her, but my dad wasn’t. My mom was too blinded by the differences to really dive into and appreciate the culture that she had the unique opportunity to experience.
In “Body Ritual of the Nacirema,” Horace Miner disguises American culture to make it seem so foreign and strange that we don’t even recognize it. He describes a hospital as, “imposing temple, or latipso,” and surgeries as harsh ceremonies. When American hospitals and doctors are described like that, it really makes you question why our system and way of doing things are so much more valid and correct than those of another
It is probably extremely exaggerated and dramatic, but it undeniable that my mom and dad reacted to this experience completely different. My mom extremely closed off and apprehensive, while my dad was open and almost excited to experience this culture. This is a prime example of the two different mentalities people have upon experiencing different cultures. My mom was too timid and afraid of the stereotypes she had heard of people different than her, but my dad wasn’t. My mom was too blinded by the differences to really dive into and appreciate the culture that she had the unique opportunity to experience.
In “Body Ritual of the Nacirema,” Horace Miner disguises American culture to make it seem so foreign and strange that we don’t even recognize it. He describes a hospital as, “imposing temple, or latipso,” and surgeries as harsh ceremonies. When American hospitals and doctors are described like that, it really makes you question why our system and way of doing things are so much more valid and correct than those of another