Borscht for dinner, anyone?

We learn more and more about sociological mindfulnesss but just recently we learned about how to do so when looking upon another culture as well. Many people tend to be ethnocentric due to culture shock when they come upon something they aren't familiar with. We must understand however, that not everybody will do things in a way our particular culture may consider "the right way."

As I am the first generation in my family from Russia, I am accustomed to certain Russian foods. When I was younger, I used to be so embarrased to bring my lunch to school because my mom would put in foods that American kids wouldn't be familiar with. At a young age we are taught to do things a certain way; eat cereal with a spoon, fries with our hands, and bring steak to our mouth with just the fork, and so on. As I've grown, I've come to appreciate my heritage and the culture is as much a part of me as American culture is.

I think that because my family comes from an entirely different background, I have a broader understanding of the world and haven't been closed in by one culture specifically. I'm thankful that I've learned through my growth from embarrasement to appreciation. It's important to be able to see past the "gross, weird, not right" ways other cultures may do things, and come to understand why they do things a certain way and what about their culture has shaped them to do these things.