From Weirdness to Uniqueness

Around the world there are a lot of customs that identify certain ethnical groups. For example, if we went on a trip to Africa or Asia, we could find several tribes with the most peculiar traditions ever.

Being an outsider to these culture groups, one can get startled at seeing women changing the physiognomy of some of their body part. For example, once I saw a documentary about women who stretch their necks in Northern Thailand. They do this by placing neck rings as they grow up so that when they are adults they get a pretty long neck.

You may say that giraffes have long necks since they need to get the food from trees, so what purpose does the long neck fulfill in the women of Kayan tribes? Well, after surfing the net, I realized that not every woman undergoes that process. Only if they are born in full moon are they chosen to modify this organ. The meaning of this ritual lies in the fact that they are the privileged ones . In other words, they are specially gifted by superior entities. Therefore, they are admired by the other members of the tribe and considered the most beautiful (they get to be married first), the most productive (they are good at crops) and the wealthiest (they belong to the clans in power).

Once again, having one single story of a cultural aspect is to hinder the truth indeed. Before judging others, we must know all the versions around them.

Getting Rid of Stereotypes

Upon meeting a foreigner, people generally start labeling that person. They match him/her with a common stereotype. That is, they think that this person suits in a preconceived idea of the cultural group that he/she belongs to.

When doing so, we are falling into a big deal. Not only are we setting the ground for negative attitudes such as prejudices, but we are not letting ourselves see beyond from what we think it is the truth for that group.

Every culture has remarkable features made up by its members. Thus, they have a different expression, a particular accent, a traditional way of wearing, a unique way of thinking, an incomparable worldview, among other aspects.

Seeing people through preconceived ideas can give us a general picture of what they are like. This, however, can blind us in the attempt to be aware of what they are actually like and why they act in a certain way.

Calling people "weird" is the result of stereotyping them. Therefore, we must get rid of those harmful labels that do not allow us to get deeply in cross-cultural understanding.

Bio Data

Dear users,

I am glad to open my first blog for those who are currently teaching English and consider culture an essential part of any curriculum. And for those that do not belong to the teaching field, be welcome as well since culture is an aspect that concerns every human being.

I have been a teacher of ESL for about 5 years. Being in the classroom has made me face an uncountable amount of experiences in which my students have learned several cultural aspects. The fact of seeing them anxious is quite rewarding. Not only are they interested in the language per se, but their attention goes enthusiastically to the context where language is spoken.

For this reason, I have let myself share my day-to-day practice with you in this blog entitled Enriching Teaching Culturally.

With the aim of getting nurtured, I invite you to access http://enrichingteachingculturally.blogspot.com/ so that we can discover the amazing world of teaching culture together.

Regards,
David Rodríguez
B.A. Teaching of English
Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica