Cultures! 3.24.11

All of a sudden I found myself thinking sociologically when I was visiting my cousin in the hospital this week. She just had her second son this past Monday, and his name is Elijah Ganesan. Several years ago, I would have never thought my cousin Mel would have any children with the man that she did. Her husband's name is Raj, and he is Indian. When they first met and began seeing each other, Raj's family had a fit. They didn't like her at all because she came from another culture, much like the situation in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. However, after realizing that their son was in love with my cousin, they decided to be more accepting of her and her American culture. They now have two adorable sons and have been happily married ever since!

This relates to what we've been learning in class because it is all about culture. Raj's family was being a bit ethnocentric because they were initially judging Mel solely based on the differences between their cultures. Because of this, both families experienced culture clash to begin with. It was hard for Raj's parents to accept the fact that she wasn't from their culture and didn't have the same ethnicity. I remember my cousin disliking his family completely while they were dating, actually. However, as they continued seeing each other, the clash died down and the families accepted their differences and moved on. Eventually, Raj's parents got over their ethnocentric ways and allowed them to get married. At the rehearsal dinner and reception for their wedding, I personally experienced culture shock as I tried new food dishes that I never thought I would try! Some of the food was far better than I expected. I also was shocked to see the difference in dresses as well as dance styles. It was really interesting to me as well at strange because I had never seen anything like it before. Learning about new cultures and the differences they have is really interesting to me!