Describe a cultural product or practice and reflect upon the cultural perspective(s) it illustrates.
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Describe a cultural product or practice and reflect upon the cultural perspective(s) it illustrates.
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Turkish coffee fortune telling is a huge practice that is important to a person's life in Turkey.
Fortune tellers determine your fortune by looking at the cup. The custom of coffee cup reading is centuries old. It is done casually among friends and also amongst professionals.
To read a coffee cup:
Turkish coffee is different because of the way that it's ground and served. Coffee beans are roasted a few times before being finely ground. It's prepared in tiny pots called cezve, that each make 2 cups of coffee. Traditionally, each cup of coffee is served with a glass of water. When ordering, one should specify how much sugar they would like in their coffee: sweet - sekerli, medium sweet - orta sekerli, or black - sade.
Children's Day (Eorini nal) is a South Korean national holiday celebrated on May 5. It was founded by the Korean children's writer and storyteller Bang Jung-hwan in 1923 as a way to instill a sense of independence and national pride in children. Eorini nal highlights the dignity of children and their need for love, care, and respect. It is also a day to honor parents who have contributed to improving the lives of children.
On this day, families celebrate with various fun programs for children. Parents often dress up their children and take them to national parks, amusement parks, zoos, or to the cinema for a full day of fun and games. Children receive gifts and money from their parents as well.
In Korea, there are certain rules to decide who pays for the meal. Usually, if a girl and a guy went out for a meal, the guy would more likely to be the one to pay for the meal. The reason is that the society still perceives men to bear more responsibility. Also, if one person will pay for a meal for all, others are expected to pay next time when there is a chance. This is a way of people keeping in touch with each other or an way of expressing gratitude and appreciation. Also, it is very common that people hang out in rounds, meaning they go to a restaurant, then a cafe, then Karaoke. Therefore, one person can pay once to show its sincerity. When an elder and youngster came out for a meal, the elder often pays for the meal because elders are perceived stronger financially and it is a way of repeating the elders. In summary, the etiquette for paying for a meal in Korea shows that Korea emphasizes on respecting the elders and having meals together is a way of building relationship in business.
Within both the Portuguese and Brazilian culture games and play are big part of the culture. Both have an emphasis on laughter and family. This can very clearly be seen by the Afro-Brazilian culture which has many dances and games that can regularly be seen on the streets of Brazil. Of these many games and dances one is Capoeira. Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian mock fighting dance. It can also be seen as a game as usually there is a winner and a loser. It was invented as a game among'st slaves who used the game to practice there martial arts to revolt against their masters. Eventually the game was actually banned by Brazil once the masters caught on to the fact that the game was being used to practice their fighting skills. Capoeira is a very physically demanding dance and I have been practicing it in my Capoiera class.
Drinking Turkish coffee is a centuries-old ritual. The tradition itself is a symbol of hospitality, friendship, refinement and entertainment. It was brought to Istanbul in 1555 by two Syrian traders and then in the mid seventeenth century it became apart of the Ottoman court’s elaborate ceremonies.
The freshly roasted beans are ground to a fine powder; then the ground coffee, cold water and sugar are added to a coffee pot and brewed slowly on a stove to produce the desired foam. It has six levels of sweetness ranging from very sweet to black. As the coffee begins to heat, it begins to foam. A rule of the Turkish coffee ceremony dictates that if the foam is absent from the face of the coffee, the host loses face. The beverage is served in small cups, accompanied by a glass of water, and is mainly drunk in coffee-houses where people meet to converse, share news and read books. The coffee is often served with Turkish delight.
Turkish coffee is an integral part of the culture where it is even celebrated in literature and songs, and also plays an important role on social occasions such as engagement ceremonies and holidays. The grounds left in the empty cup are often used to tell a person’s fortune. In addition, the coffee has played a role in defining gender roles in Turkey for centuries. For years, women received intensive training on the proper technique of preparing Turkish coffee and bachelors would judge a woman’s suitability for wife based on how well they made their coffee.
Wedding in Turkey
When people are engaged in Turkey, a groom's whole families visit bride's family and ask the bride's father if he allows their son to take his daughter in Allah's name. If he allows the engagement, the bride has to make coffee for the groom's family members without any help. Sezgi, who is my language partner said her friend took a long time serving coffee for her husband's families because there were more than forty of them. Although she wanted to help her, she could not because it is a tradition and it is sorely the bride's obligation to do so. In addition, the bride put salt in the groom's coffee and he has to drink it. If he drinks the coffee, it means that he is able to get through all the hardships during the marriage.
Korean dramas and K-pop brought a trend called Hanlu through out the world. Many people began to know more about the culture and the living style of Korea by the media. Thus, music and the dramas play an important role in presenting the image of Korea. From the dramas, one can know a lot of Korean cultures, such as the food, the relationship between each other and the living style. For the food part, we can easily tell that Koreans love spicy food! Almost every dish looks spicy. Also, they like to eat rice with a lot of side dishes, which can be the famous Kimchi, tofu, or some pickles. What's more, from the dramas we can also find out that Koreans love to talk about "love". Like if one girl is a freshman in a college, people will always tell her to find a guy to date with. When the age is getting bigger and the girl still has no boyfriend, people will always ask her why she has no boyfriend. Another social aspect is that the competition in Korea is very large, so many people live under great stress no matter they are working or being a student. These examples just what I have observed from the dramas, and I think many other people also learn a lot of Korean cultures through the dramas as I do. Thus, I think the Korean dramas really play an important role as representing the Korean cultures and bring everyone's attention through out the world.
South Korea is known as the plastic surgery capital of the world. In 2014 alone, it was recorded that there were over than 980,000 operations, which translates to around 20 procedures per 1,000 people. In parallel, the K-Pop culture has been growing rapidly in Korea and other countries especially in Asia. Many famous celebrities get plastic surgery; hence many people also want to look like them through getting plastic surgery as well. Ultimately, the notion of beauty is achieved through plastic surgery. It illustrates that Korea has a very competitive culture and people are pushed closely together. People in Korea are confronted with other people’s images all the time. Based on my personal experience, Koreans tend to be very shy especially in front of the camera. Hence, getting plastic surgery may boost their confidence because they feel that they look good. Yet, beauty is a matter of preference and getting plastic surgery doesn't always mean that you will look better.
I don’t think this culture will become as prevalent in the US as it is in Korea because the US so much more diverse than Korea in terms of beliefs and ethnicity. The pressure is more spread out in the US, which results to a different need for beauty.
Last week, I had the opportunity to talk to my study abroad advisor about transitioning back to the US as well as the University of Richmond. Through that discussion, I realized I had a much more integrated experience than I expected. When she asked me what kind of mindset I had before I left, I told her that I wanted to do things that I have never done or cannot experience in the US. Additionally, I didn't want to stay in the "American bubble" and wanted a truly integrated experience. After reflecting with her, I realized I left a part of myself back in Prague. While others in my program opted for apartments in the city-center, I lived near a school area with families, parks, and restaurants. I never realized until this moment that I wanted to escape the US culture and adopt a new one. It made me happy to discover people who have a deep appreciation for culture: history, art, literature, politics, philosophy, and language. However, it also made me realize that many in the US are not engaged in the same interests as I am.
While in America, drinking coffee is done at all times of the day. The preparation is quick and it can easily be carried out of the cafe in a cup with a lid. However, in Turkey coffee drinking is considered to be a social affair and enjoyed as a delicacy. Turkish coffee is not filtered, but rather the ground beans are boiled with sugar in a small brass pan or an "ibrik." Additionally, Turkish coffee is not sold in a large mug or coffee cup, but instead it is typically served in a small glass cup about the size of an espresso shot. Although the cups are small, the coffee is still meant to be sipped slowly while engaging in conversation. Sediment settles at the bottom of the glass and is not expected to be consumed because part of Turkish culture is reading your future after you have finished your coffee. Once you have finished your drink, you turn the cup upside down and interpret the sediment that is left on the sides of the cup in order to get a look at your future.
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