Deep Culture Observation 1

In a presentation by the program staff, we got a very cute drawing of an iceberg and were reminded that there exists two types of cultures relevant to foreigners.

Surface culture: what we see about a people. They way they look physically, how they walk and talk. Accents, clothing styles. Music, dance, crafts. Folky things. 

Then underneath the surface of course, there are the things that really take some effort to discover. What exactly are these unseated gems of cultural relevance?

I have no idea so far, but I've been thinking about it. 

One kid on the program, with an affinity for soccer, brought up the idea of fighting. He noticed when two men chased down a pick pocket, instead of tackling him or socking him in the face, like you might see in the States, they actually slide tackled him and just kicked the crap out of him. 

We started discussing aggression styles on a cultural level. You will fight in ways you your body knows. The US, which seems to have a physical history in sports like boxing, baseball, and football, we would most likely fight with fists, bat-like weapons, and body tackles. Latin America and likely many parts of Europe use soccer tactics--like the angry member of the crowd who headbutted the bouncer outside of the drum show I attended. That is not something you see in the States. 

In the east, where martial arts styles are really popular forms of exercise, I would guess that street fighting has pretty clear roots in karate, etc tactics. 

I'm no expert, but it's an interesting thought. 

I'll let you know what else we come up with.