My American culture is African American. Some of the family members on my mothers side are Native American but I don't know what they name for them are specifically. One culture that I see to be different from other people is the fact that I was raised by a single parent for a long portion of my lifetime. I was also the only child in my household at the time, so I had to adapt to many different things.
The main cultural adaptation that I picked up being alone a lot was isolation. Me growing up with none of my siblings physically in my house made me adapt to being by myself a lot. I also had to adapt to self teaching strategies, meaning I taught my self how to do a lot of things that only a male can teach you. Cooking is something huge that my mother taught me how to do. We would start off small by cooking things such as Spaghetti or Hot Dogs. Now I know these two items are considered " pre-cooked" but I was 10 around that time so anything considered to be cooking in my perspective.
Since none of my siblings grew up in the house hold that I did things were not always fantastic. All three of my brothers lived in New Jersey but for school breaks and summer vacation they would come live at my house. Things indeed got pretty hectic sometimes. Of course, would I would like to call territory fights would break out between me and my three brothers. Constantly fighting over whose turn it was with small things such as the TV remote. Having to constantly yell at the three to not touch my Buzz Lightyear or my Woody action figures. The number one thing we would fight over though, was of course, girls. If we all saw a pretty girl at the same time we would just have to fight each other to see who wins and the winner would be able to go talk to the girl. Now I am the middle brother, so I had my even number of wins and losses.
Another thing that I had to adjust to was the vibe or the relationship with my brothers. It was not always easy communicating with the three. A lot of awkward silences, not knowing what to say in some cases. They always had a lot of "inside" jokes among one another and I would always just sit there so confused as they would nearly cry from laughter. It also took awhile to figure out what my siblings interests were. They all played football and I was literally the only basketball player in the family so it took me awhile to gain the love for football like they half. I would actually just get tackled for no reason around the house just because I played basketball.
Overall, the way I was raised is how I perceive American culture. Things were different for me and I had many things to adapt to, but honestly I would not want it any other way.
This is an excellent start here. You might not want to go into too many details about why you lived apart from your siblings, but that is a unique set up. Did you get to see them often? How did you interact when you did?
ReplyDeleteI have two half-brothers who are much younger than me, so when I see them, it's almost like long-lost cousins. We've worked hard to develop a relationship, but without having that "in the house" setup, as I'm sure you know, relationships can shift.
What kind of food did you and your mom make? Was it almost like being a bachelor?
This is an interesting post on your American Culture. Since you didn't know much about your mothers side you could ask her more about it if you still speak to her. But I am very curious to know what did you learn by your myself that only a man could teach you. Maybe you could elaborate more on certain events or times where you used these methods or strategies that helped you learn by your myself. I am glad you enjoy cooking when you have to. Maybe you could have talked about some dishes you cooked over the years as well. I also cook around the house time to time. It must be nice to experience a life by your self. My family is large with five other siblings including me. I am the youngest of all so they always pick on me.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good and interesting post. When I read this, I felt like I'm in the story seeing it the most. You went into really good details about it. This story feels like I'm in the Imax movie theater reading it. I found your life story in the American culture to be funny and nice. Yes I found it funny that how you and your brothers would have to fight each other to see who can talk to the pretty looking girl who walks by. It sounded funny how y'all have to fight over the TV remote and the most funniest of it all was that your siblings would tackle you around the house for no reason because they football and you only played basketball. They were showing you love, brotherhood, childhood, and the rivalry or competition between the two different sports of football and basketball.
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