How important is your "native" culture to you?

[Fern]

I vehemently defend y'all as valid since it fills a niche for second person plural. It replaces the ambiguous "you".
-snip-

Agree 100%.

Fern

 

[Fern]

-snip-
So as I prepare for possibly leaving again, and this time it might be forever, I'm curious to know how important your native culture is to you. Have you ever had to permanently adapt to a new and strange culture? Do you ever fully integrate into it, or do you end up with a melting pot of the old and the new?

Good question, and I have no real answer.

I was born in CA and grew mostly in North Florida. But I've lived in London, Berlin and Paris and spent a lot of time in Amsterdam and other European cities/countries.

I have liked other cultures and missed them since I moved back to the US. I find that integrating into a foreign culture is more attitude than anything, although I might think differently if I had tried to integrate into a country like Japan where I would stick out because of appearance alone.

But I know this, there are places I won't live again. I lived in Manhattan and I won't go back. I went back to visit earlier this year and realized I can't stand the place. It may have a lot to interest people, but for me the feeling of claustrophobia overwhelms everything else. Too many ugly buildings and not enough flora and fauna. Too noisy. Too dirty.

My advice would be to visit any such new place and see if you're going to like it. I'm too old now and I'm damn sure not going to live in a place I don't like and am not comfortable in.

Fern

 

[zinfamous]

I miss my native culture in the sense that there is no good fried chicken or BBQ out here on the west coast.


and add non-IPA beers to that list!

 

[zinfamous]

I vehemently defend y'all as valid since it fills a niche for second person plural. It replaces the ambiguous "you".

That a phony institution such as Webster's now supports a term such as "irregardless," and continues to ignore functional and novel uses such as "y'all," is a perpetual assault on taste, manners, language fluidity, and serves nothing more than a pointed northeastern snobbishness that rejects common sense and intelligence in order to discredit what is, in actuality, genuine American culture.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I love embracing different cultures especially, the food. I do miss all the holiday baking I grew up with but, there's lots of other good things. I do congratulate you on understanding things aren't the same everywhere. Most people never do realize that.

 

[highland145]

I miss my native culture in the sense that there is no good fried chicken or BBQ out here on the west coast.


and add non-IPA beers to that list!

You didn't know good BBQ when you were here.

No IPAs in Cali? You should move.



Headed here for the holidays? I'll be the guy waving south of the boarder.

 

[Dirigible]

You didn't know good BBQ when you were here.

No IPAs in Cali? You should move.



Headed here for the holidays? I'll be the guy waving south of the boarder.

Plenty of good IPAs. Zin wants good non-IPA beers.

There are actually many of them, but IPAs get the publicity.

 

[shortylickens]

Lutefisk sucks.
So, not very.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Lutefisk sucks.
So, not very.

More lefse and herring for me, oh fattigman.

 

[purbeast0]

nothing really at all. i like when i go on vacation because i'm in different cultures. hell i'm on the east coast by dc, and even just going to san diego last month it is night/day the way people out there act. they are so much more laid back and friendly. can't blame them either because it's always beautiful out. around here everyone is always in a hurry and everyone is a dick to everyone for the most part. people need to just relax and chill sometimes.

 

[purbeast0]

People talk too fast, and move too fast in the north east. They end up burning themselves out. Its hilarious now that I've resisted the temptation to play along, haven't burned out, and run circles around them for 1/2 the effort now. They're still giving 150% effort for 75% of the results and turning their hair grey. Good job north-easterners. I make it worse I'll be like, you don't seem to be getting good results maybe try harder? Talk faster? Work more OT? Get less sleep? Drink more coffee?

Lulz.

hah ... it's hilarious reading this from someone from the west coast, after i basically posted the same thing as someone who lives in the north east.

 

[zinfamous]

You didn't know good BBQ when you were here.

No IPAs in Cali? You should move.

pfft.

and no, I mean beers that aren't IPA. all they have out here is fucking IPAs. It's tedious and boring.

Headed here for the holidays? I'll be the guy waving south of the boarder.

nope. they usually come this way. I'd still have as good a chance to spot your waving, though.

 

[MongGrel]

The only one missing lately the old German made from scratch Eggnogg Christmas Secret Family Recipe.

Might be sending a few Aunts a message soon, it was pretty involved.

 

[highland145]

Plenty of good IPAs. Zin wants good non-IPA beers.

There are actually many of them, but IPAs get the publicity.

Got it. Personally, I like ciders.

Ales.

Stouts.

Pilsners.

.....yeah, I like ....

pfft.


nope. they usually come this way. I'd still have as good a chance to spot your waving, though.

Maybe they could help you out with some real BBQ. Kroger sells dry ice.


Merry Christmas to both of you.

 

[Possessed Freak]

It's all about the food. But that is it. All the rest of my culture relating to my heritage is worthless to me.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

It's all about the food. But that is it. All the rest of my culture relating to my heritage is worthless to me.

That's sad.
Every culture has redeeming qualities, if only because, they represent a way of life important to many people. You don't have to identify with a particular culture but, dismissing them as unimportant is a disservice to yourself and seemingly arrogant to many.

 

[rednas]

not important at all. I am sometimes surprised at how little I know about the place.

 

[Howard]

That's sad.
Every culture has redeeming qualities, if only because, they represent a way of life important to many people. You don't have to identify with a particular culture but, dismissing them as unimportant is a disservice to yourself and seemingly arrogant to many.

You could say the same about religion, for better or for worse.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

I was homeschooled, so my only culture was invented between myself and my siblings. We use internet lingo frequently in less regular ways (e.g. "total goatse" to describe when something goes wrong) and Hogan's Heroes quotes work their way into conversations where the Simpsons or Seinfeld might in other cultures (we have the full series on DVD). People also ask us where our accent comes from, even though we've spent most of our lives in south-western states without much of an accent. I'm the exception, but most of my siblings are big on raw food (veggies, nuts, etc) and feel sick diverging from that, presumably because they were brought up that way and not any particular genetic disposition to sensitive stomachs. Our ethnic background has not influenced our culture outside of having a sort of generic WASP-y lifestyle (we call our maternal grandfather Opa, but even he is far from a proud cultural German).

 

[Captante]

Does ATOT count as a native culture?

 

[GeekDrew]

Does "I wish for humanity to cease to exist" answer the question?

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

 

[Chaotic42]

Does ATOT count as a native culture?

Dear God I hope not.

Does "I wish for humanity to cease to exist" answer the question?

You should take a long vacation to New Orleans, South Florida, or the Caribbean. Get some good joie de vivre going.

Anyway, while as I said, I tend to think that people who do things different from me are wrong, I do enjoy strong cultures. I'm not of fan of the bland "oh my this water is awfully spicy" type places. If I'm the most animated person in the room, there's a problem.

 

[Chaotic42]

My culture oozes through my entire country.

Yeah, I'd love to go down there at some point. If I ever get rich I'm touring the Caribbean. My cousin used to go to Saint Croix for work on a regular basis and I regret not getting to go with him when I had the chance.

 

[GeekDrew]

You should take a long vacation to New Orleans, South Florida, or the Caribbean. Get some good joie de vivre going.

LOL no.

I need to be some place where people walk, talk, and think, quickly. That slow shit just pisses me the hell off.

I want to live in an Aaron Sorkin production.