PART 2: What exactly is culture?
Culture isn’t just about distant lands and exotic customs — it’s the fabric of everyday life and can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that are passed down from generation to generation. Culture has been called “the way of life for an entire society.” As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, art.
The elements of culture definition are based on five main elements: values and beliefs, norms, symbols, language, and rituals. Aspects of culture surrounding language include body language, spoken word, and symbols, which are components of culture that are non-material.
From language to rituals, culture shapes how we see the world and connect with others. And guess what? You don’t need a passport to explore it! Even within your own backyard, cultural diversity awaits, from regional quirks to global influences.
And… it doesn’t have to be “internationally different” or hail from another country. You can learn about the cultural differences and similarities between, say, California and New York, or two cities within the same state, like Dallas and Austin in Texas, or even two cities within the same country, such as Koh Samui and Bangkok in Thailand! (fun fact: my husband and I met on the charming island of Koh Samui) In the US, we can note cultural differences in each state and even between the NorCal and SoCal regions of California (“NorCal” and “SoCal” are what us locals call Northern California and Southern California) Similarly, there are distinct differences to culture and living in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. Zurich and Basel, Switzerland. Taipei and Tainan, Taiwan. Toronto and Vancouver, Canada. And the list goes on!
There is no single best definition of culture. However, in general, culture is a system of learned and shared beliefs, language, norms, values, and symbols that groups use to identify themselves and provide a framework within which to live and work.
In our case, we have many cultural exposures and are constantly exploring the depths of our heritage. We sometimes joke that our son, Luka, is “culturally confused” because his identity consists of so many cultural roots. We have shared some Swiss, American, Chinese, and Serbian customs with him so far so that he becomes familiar with his own heritage. The fun part is that many of these places celebrate the same holidays on different days in different ways, so Luka gets to celebrate holidays all year-round and we don’t need to stress about which family or relative to spend a holiday with.
The sooner we all recognize cultural learning doesn’t only require traveling to a foreign country (although that is always fun!), the sooner we recognize the opportunities to experience different cultures in our local community, as well as through books, movies, food, music, language, and events. Your passport to experiencing different cultures and building your own cultural empathy in life is simply your will, desire, and curiosity to learn. Enjoy one cultural adventure at a time and see where it takes you! 🌍✨
