REFER TO ATTACHED ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS PAPER#1

Addressing Cultural Differences
Name:
Institution:

Abstract
The world consists of various cultures due to the multiple ethnic groups. People adopt culture based on their place of birth and where they grow up. A Latino man that is born in a Latino community will most likely adopt a Latino culture if he is exposed to the cultural practices of the Latino people. A cultural difference refers to the diversity regarding cultural beliefs and practices in the world. The cultural makeup in which a person is raised affects their behavior. There are various aspects that contribute to the culture, and they include religion, education, social standing, personality, religion, affection expressed at home, belief system, past experience as well as other factors. The differences that exist in most cultures are related to music, food preparation, religion, and architecture. In some cases, the differences are so significant that they lead to a person experiencing culture shock. However, the different cultural experiences do not make one community dominant over another. People have to learn to respect the differences that are experienced in different cultures. The paper helps in the identification of social groups and other orientations within the ranks of cultural differences. The paper demonstrates that different communities have varied cultures hence the need to accept and appreciate them by providing a comprehensive analysis from a personal perspective.

Addressing Cultural Differences
Part 1: Age and Generational Influences
I was born on Feb 23, 1996, in Palau, a small island in Micronesia.

I am the only child. My mom and dad are divorced, but they are happily raising me. As an only daughter, I would have to learn a lot of things from my mother from cleaning the house, food preparing and attend customs with her. Palau is still a matriarchal society, with lineage and titles inherited from the mother’s side so as a woman and an only child I still have lots to learn from my mom about our traditional customs and a role of a woman in our culture. Men and women have their different roles within a family. While women are expected to participate in most household responsibilities, the men are charged with the task of protecting the community and providing food for their families. Therefore, a young girl has to learn their role from her mother and other females in the community while a boy learns about his responsibilities from the father and other male figures in the society. The cultural learning system and beliefs vary thus contributing to varied human behavior in the world. An individual who adheres to the requirements of their culture is considered to have been well brought up.
As a well brought up daughter, my mom expects me to behave and follow her footstep to lead the family. My mom wants me to be confident, responsible, smart, and independent young lady in my family. As a Palauan female, my values are to respect what elders say. I have grown up to be very loving and attentive to follow and do what is expected of me by my parents. I am truly blessed to be born and raised up from a big family, from my mother’s side. Everywhere in this world, people interact and form groups and communities. Hence, wherever there are groups, small or significant, there is pressure to conform to the accepted norm. In the future, I would carry on these values to my children for them to appreciate me just like my family is to me. It is a covert requirement that one passes the cultural factors of the community to the younger generation. It helps in preserving the identity of an ethnic community hence saving it from extinction.
I was born in the “Generation Y” that is between 1995 and 2012. -No matter what the social movements or events my generation offered, the one thing that is still very important in life that I live by is my family value. To know your value system, helps you understand that your values underpin your beliefs and beliefs underpin behavior. Your values can help you work efficiently, and resolve/support conflicts appropriately. Wherever our values come from they make us the unique person we are today. How we behave is a reflection of our beliefs, and our beliefs are a reflection of our values.
During the time of “9-11”, I was 15 years old. Living on a small island of Palau, I didn’t understand what was going on during that time. I remember hearing the news and asking my mom if our family living in the United States was OK. I didn’t have much knowledge about what was going on. I also heard about the war going on in the Middle East, but I didn’t understand why. Once I understood it was because of 9/11 and fighting terrorism, it brought the effect of what happened on 9/11 to another level for me. The fight against what happened that day is still not over. Over my entire lifespan, that’s been an issue that still hasn’t been solved. I feel like it’s only going to get worse. I care about what happened because people got killed. But I don’t have that much of a strong opinion because I’m not a U.S citizen voter.
Now during the time of “The great depression,” I wasn’t born yet, but I have read about it and learned that many people were suffering. The Great Depression began in 1929. Many businesses failed, and unemployment rose dramatically. Banks failed, and life savings were lost, leaving many Americans destitute. With no job and no savings, thousands of Americans lost their homes. The Great Depression challenged American families in significant ways, placing great economic, social, and psychological strains and demands upon families and their members. Families are a critical social unit of a community.
Part 2: Developmental or other Disability
I do not have any disability. I have an auntie who has an intellectual disability. I would help her in any way I can because I believe that she is just like us, human. The world’s population has major difficulties in everyday life that are related to a disability, and all of these people have families, friends, and communities which will also be affected in many ways. We can all do something to make their lives a little easier. For example, we can read them a book, entertain them with music, or only just sit and talk to them. By doing this, we are contributing to reducing disability in our everyday lives. I strongly believe that policymakers and planners need to recognize and reflect the rights of people with disabilities, professionals need to learn to work together, learn a new and common language, educate and support communities: people with disabilities will develop their self-confidence and self-esteem. One thing that I would want to exaggerate on is that it’s no good trying to push disability into a corner any longer. It’s no good thinking that it will never affect you…. because it will … in one way or another. These are some of the culture scripts I heard and learned growing up. As with any culture, the culture of disability is associated with a broad array of beliefs, values, and subtleties. It is based on how individuals live with their disability and how they express themselves and function in our society. Lack of cultural competence with regards to disabilities may result in an inadvertent ignoring of these patients’ values or needs and, in its extreme, may result in ignoring of these patients altogether.
Disability is often viewed as something that arises with a cause, especially some wrongdoing in one’s generation. Therefore, people with disability are forced to live a life of resentment due to the negative collocations that are given by different communities. Some communities consider disability a curse hence will limit their interaction with the disabled list they also get affected. The disabled people in such communities are a target group of every person. They will, therefore, lead a life that is dominated by ridicules from people with no disabilities. However, having a disabled person within one’s family makes one have a different opinion. Having an aunt with intellectual disability has enabled me to learn that it has to do with an individual’s uniqueness rather than a generational thing. Besides people with disability can function and perform activities humanly well when they are treated with dignity. The culture script that disabled people are cursed people is thus changing in our current generation. People with disability have become more accepted and are being given opportunities to excel in life. It has enabled most of them to become independent and lead healthy lives.
Part 3: Religion and Spirituality
My whole family is Seventh Day Adventists including myself. I grew up in a religious family where we go to church on every Sabbath Day. I believe that God created the universe and all that is in it. I also believe in prayers which I do every morning when I wake up and every evening when I go to sleep. My values are shaped by my religious beliefs, and I believe that everything happens for a reason. I started attending church with my mom when I was six years old until I graduated from high school. So yes, the church also helped shaped my upbringing and my morals in life. In Palau, we still recognize Palauan spiritual gods and their totemic embodiments, refraining from eating clan totems. Therefore, despite being strong adherents of our Seventh Day Adventist faith, we still value some of our cultural beliefs. The cultural beliefs help in creating a strong identity in us as the people of Palau.
While growing up, I was exposed to both religious and spiritual tradition. However, identification with the spiritual tradition in our current generation results in a lot of ridicule. Religious tradition has become the dominant culture with most people considering people who adhere to the spiritual traditions as displaying their backwardness. Therefore, while a good number of people understand the Palauian spiritual traditions, they will keep it covert to avoid upsetting their social group. Having a religious identity allows one to interact with members of religious groups that have become dominant in Palau. The totemic systems that previously dominated our culture have been shunned by my generation to avoid being despised by the dominant religious groups. The modern religious systems have thus taken over, and a person can be identified by the different religious groups that exist in the society apart from the spiritual traditions.
Part 4: Ethnic and Racial Identity
I am a Pure Palauan, Brought up by my biological parents, no ethnic, racial differences. The island of Palau is mostly occupied by the Micronesian communities that practice Micronesian culture. Therefore, the most dominant culture in the area is the Micronesian culture. Growing up in the Palau Islands exposed m to the Micronesian cultural and value system. While racial or ethnic identity has not been a significant problem to me while growing in Palau, becoming a young adult has enabled me to discover certain thing related to race and ethnic identity. My Micronesian culture defines a large part of my behavior. However, moving to the United States has enabled me to learn about other various cultures. I have interacted with the Latino culture as well as the dominant United States culture. The Americans are proud of their culture and are not afraid to express it. One is given a racial identity depending on the color of their skin. People with pale skin are falling under the white racial category while people with light and dark skin are defined as people of color.
Part 5: Socioeconomic Status
I consider myself to have grown in a middle socioeconomic status. While my parents did not have the financial muscle to afford most of the luxuries in life, they were able to provide me with all the basic requirements that included clothing, food, shelter, and education. The divorce of my parents had a small effect on me because both parents continued to contribute in giving me a good life. According to Nieto (2010), people gain access to agent groups as a result of having access to education, property, and institutions of control. I still consider myself to be of the same socioeconomic status. Agent groups refer to the dominant socioeconomic groups in the community that are mainly determined by the amount of wealth, education, and family success. The people in high socioeconomic status consider themselves to be the dominant groups. Their influence is experienced through their ability to determine the leadership of a community.
Education has opened some opportunities for me to move to higher socioeconomic status. It has opened a chance for me to gain employment as a temporary employee in various positions. During the census period, I was recruited to participate in the process based on my level of education. Therefore, having access to education is important because it opens up one’s opportunity to move from one socioeconomic status to another.
While growing up the common cultural script regarding socioeconomic status was that education had the capability of opening grand avenues for a person to excel and be respected in the community. Success in life was considered as a product of education rather than hard work like in the past. People felt that a person with education could not fail to be successful. As such, most kids were encouraged to work hard in their education to uplift the socioeconomic status of their family members.
Part 6: Sexual Orientation
Sexual orientation has become an important identifying factor in the society. Despite the much-publicized need to accept and accommodate people regardless of their sexual orientation, people in our culture still find it difficult to accept other sexual orientations apart from a person being heterosexual. Personally, I am heterosexual. My status has largely been informed by the type of culture that I had experienced when I was growing up. The Palau culture only recognizes heterosexual relationships. As a result, it is difficult to find a person who openly confesses that they have a different sexual orientation apart from being heterosexual. Therefore, all my family members are heterosexual. Culture plays a vital role in defining the values of a society. People that do not subscribe to the values and morals that have been established in the community are often considered as outcasts.
The cultural scripts that I heard while growing up consider heterosexual sexual orientation as the acceptable way of expressing sexual desires. People that are gay are considered to have been cursed due to a generational or personal mistake. When a culture is a practice, it ascribes a reason that enables the members of the culture to despise the action. In this case, people of other sexual orientation other than heterosexuality were considered a curse to the society. They would be accused of all the evils that befell the community.
Part 7: Indigenous Heritage
I live in Palau, and I am a Palau native that was born by Palaun father and mother. I seek to reconnect with my culture by ensuring that I follow its cultural value system. I also consistently connect with the native community since I reside in the Palauan Island. By connecting with other people, I have taken up most of the cultural practices that are related to the community. I feel that I have a full identity as a Palauan since I understand most of their value systems and beliefs.
Growing up in the Palau community has enabled me to learn most of their indigenous heritage. I understand that the community previously believed in many gods that were represented by different animals in the society. They would offer sacrifices to them on different occasions to appease them. Their religious beliefs also barred them from eating particular animals that were associated with the gods. The Palauan beliefs and practices give them a heritage. Indigenous Palau people can be identified by those cultures and belief practices. The indigenous heritage is however under threat due to intercultural associations. The Palau people are opening up to new belief structures that are subsequently eroding some of their cultural practices. For example, most people in Palau community no longer practice their indigenous spiritual tradition. Most have taken to the modern religious practices, mostly Christianity.
Part 8: National Origin
My national origin is not the United States. I am a citizen of Palau. Currently, I am studying in the United States as a university student. I was born in Palau and then went for my primary and high school education before moving to the United States to pursue a university education. None of my parents or grandparents speaks English as their first language. English is only used as an official language in my country. The natives have their Micronesian languages. My nationality plays a critical role in my life and opportunities in the United States. There are employers who seek to know my nationality when I ask for a job opportunity, especially when they are jobs that are high paying or are at the leadership levels. The United States nationals have some reservations in giving particular types of jobs to foreigners. Their dominating nature makes them feel that specific jobs or responsibilities can only be accomplished efficiently by the natives. My foreign nationality, therefore, limits the opportunities and the type of jobs that I am likely to be given.
While growing up, I heard the people in my community emphasizing the need for patriotism. The calls for patriotism are in regards to the high number of the Paluan natives that have moved to the United States and changed their personality. The Palauans feel that their nationality is inferior compared to the nationality of the United States, but no one should renounce their Paluan citizenship. Renouncing of citizenship is associated with lack of belief and low self-esteem.
Part 9: Gender
In any community, there are gender-based roles. The roles are assigned to provide guidance on who is supposed to accomplish a particular task. In our family, a woman is supposed to accomplish tasks that include cleaning the house, preparing food, and babysitting among others. Women are assigned roles that are achieved in the household. Men, on the other hand, have the duty of protecting their families and providing for them. In my current family setting, the gender roles are not as strict as in my native family setting. Women have the liberty to engage in household tasks or not. The current family setting also emphasizes the independence of a woman. The roles in my current family setting have motivated me to work hard in my studies so that I can secure good employment. It will enable me to live an independent life that is free of male control. When growing up in Palau, the gender roles for women were defined as household tasks. However, there is a change in my current family. Male and females commonly share tasks without much discrimination.
Reference
Nieto, L. (2010). Beyond inclusion, beyond empowerment: A developmental strategy to liberate everyone. Olympia, Wash: Cuetzpalin.