Cultural Assumptions and Values

Each culture in this world has a diverse way of living ranging from how they prepare their own food, the way they do things in ordinary life, to many other different aspects of life. The culture of a particular person will influence the way they perceive (look at or understand) gender, ethnicity, religion, youth, age, cultural diversity, social class and work. With values, it’s basically what people can achieve through special skills. Although with assumptions, some people view things in a stereotypical way. As a kid growing up in America with a Vietnamese family with strong traditional values, it was a bit complicated growing up with 2 different views of cultures around me. Whenever I get home from school, one of the traditions that we follow is by taking our shoes off when entering a house. While when I hangout at my friend’s house, they allow me to wear the shoe inside. Even though I take my shoes off either way, since it’s a strong habit that I’ve been use to doing as a young boy. Another value that our family takes pride in is that we try to keep it only to speak or understand Vietnamese and minimal English. As for me I speak English in the house, just because as a child my Grandma would be the only one teaching me Vietnamese since my parents were always working. Although I stopped learning it as my Grandma passed away when I was six and from this day I understand the language more than I can speak it.
From seven to twelve being taken cared of in a child center had a huge affect in my life from the cultures I was around to the assumptions and stereotypes of my own culture as well. The other kids would see me as “Oh the Asian boy” and “He must be good in math and likes to eat rice a lot,” all the way to assumptions of me being able to know Karate. The assumptions I don’t mind but the stereotypical things is what gets me. While me on the other hand, I’m very diverse in learning about different cultures instead of assuming the obvious that some people perceive.
Then again there was a situation that happened recently that got me wondering of a certain person’s culture. When I attended to church on Sunday, on Sunday’s I visit church when I get the chance, there was an Indian woman with her child sitting in the pew. I thought to myself, “wouldn’t she be going to a mosque instead of a catholic church?” but then again we don’t have any in San Antonio that I know of or in the area. So then I thought to myself that we are in America and everybody has the right to choose in what they want to believe in.
It all goes down to each individual person as not everybody thinks the same and in doing so there will always be assumptions in cultures and values of people. With the assumption or value of a culture, it gives them much diversity and unique qualities that distinguish from others in a very positive way. If the world had just one culture, there wouldn’t be any assumptions or stereotypes, although the world would be just boring in my opinion if there was only one kind.