1 Paragraph Reaction to the Video: 2 Kenyan Guys in NYC
DUE: Wednesday 9/15
Possible questions to address: (you can write about anything you choose, these questions are only to get you started if you are stuck).
1. What was most surprising or shocking to you about the video? Why do you think you were so surprised or shocked?
2. What aspects of our culture seemed strange to the Kenyans? Why?
3. What are some similarities and/ or differences between our cultures?
4. What are a few things you learned or realized while watching this video?
Remember to include your blog # - email me at malagolds@mcvts.org if you forgot.
Class 1A #5
ReplyDeleteI think that the most surprising think was that they drink cow blood and they force the women to walk miles to get water for their family. I think I was so surprised and shocked because I would never drink cow blood. I think the aspect of caring for a dog like a child defiantly made them think were crazy. Some similarities are that we have the same necessities . Some differences are that they don't have the same technology that wee have today. I learned how good it is over here and what a wonderful house i have.
The most surprising/shocking thing to me about the video was to find out they really enjoy their lifestyle. Our way of thinking in America is we are the ideal place to live and the poverty and living conditions of countries like Kenya are just not optimal. I used to think countries like Kenya desired a better life and that’s why America is always trying to help them by raising money and guilting us into giving. I now realize, they even feel lucky about what they have and where they live and America is not the place for everybody. To start, there are many aspects of our culture that seemed strange to the Kenyans. One thing that really stuck out to me was how we treat our dogs like babies or little people. We also have ATM’s, with which the Kenyans use a goat. They sell or trade the goat and that’s how they get what they need. We also have homeless people, which they don’t have in Kenya. When it comes down to it, we are so different. We have hotdogs and the Internet and they eat meat, cow’s blood, and milk and the women will shave their heads as a sign of respect. Sometimes it is hard to believe how such significant differences can even be possible.
ReplyDelete-9 (Rachel)
The most shocking part to me was that they wouldn't want to life in the same life as we do. This was probably shocking, because I assumed they would want the same privileges we have. The ATM machine was one of many things the Kenyan men found strange. They couldn't believe that people would keep their money in banks. To them, a goat is their form of an ATM because it can be traded for money. They also found homeless people to be strange. To us, we would think that the Kenyans lived in poverty, but the Kenyans were shocked that not everyone in America is rich. Lastly, the importance our society puts on pets was also not understandable to them. They found the idea of spending thousands of dollars on food, treats, and grooming crazy. Both societies put a value on dating, getting married, and then having children. The difference between the two cultures is the time we devote to each stage of a relationship. In America, the three steps can take years and what stages a couple takes is completely their choice. In Kenya, the people natives could date, get engaged, and then get married all within a week. I realized that we shouldn't feel bad for these people, because some of the civilians wouldn't want to live in such a fast-paced, technologically dependent society like we do.
ReplyDelete~3
Wow. The only thing I can say is wow because our modern day society is completely different from theirs. They drink cow blood. Ew! Our dogs cost more than their cows which is insane and our houses are much larger then their huts. Their reactions were expected though because if we were to go to Kenya and experience their culture, we would have acted the same way. It was interesting to see the way they dressed as well as what they did or have in their culture. It isn't usual in the USA to have more then one wife, but where they're from it's common to see. How they live is unusual to us and the rules they live by are too! Even though both cultures are very different I like the fact that we both believe in families and having an economy or some social structure. This shows that both societies show an interest in the other and I think our cultures will evolve from the knowledge of the other.
ReplyDelete~1
I found most shocing that these people spend a lot of time to raise cattle and other types of domesticated animals,and what they choose to use them for is blood. I also found supriseing how clean their teeth were. They had very white teeth, the same whiteness as a person who would have had their teeth whitened. I also found supriseing how accepting they were of our culture and our way of living; they accepted everything they saw without disregarding it as weird. The aspects of our culture that the Kenyans find weird are our beliefs on marrage, having only one wife, how we have added pets to our families, and how we have homeless people. Some similarities between our cultures are that we take pride in our cultures and mostly like to experience new things. Some things I learned is that there are still areas where the cultures of huge nations haven’t influenced yet, they still keep their own beliefs and are proud of them.
ReplyDelete-1
Wow, this a real interesting video. I didn’t know that people in Africa were interested in seeing American culture. I give those “guys” (not dudes) credit for coming here and actually walking around and seeing what people are doing. This is probably the best way to learn about other cultures: Firsthand. I’m still blown away by what they do over there too.I mean, isn’t drinking cow blood BAD for you?
ReplyDeleteJonathan- 4b – #39 (?)
Watching 2 Kenyan Guys really changed my thoughts on America. Have only been exposed to the true American culture for a short period of time makes me rethink things. Yes cultures are different all around the world or even ten minutes away but seeing what complete outsiders think is intriguing. Our social norms are completely crazy to them, like eating a cow is unheard of! In Kenya they measure how rich they are by the numbers of cows they own not the number of cars they own. Also how in America we view dogs as companions and cute creatures, the two men didn't understand why we treat them like people. The two Kenyan men were also very accepting of our culture. They understood that we do things differently then they would do. But if you put an American in Africa and told them to suck a cows neck, the reaction wouldn't be pretty. We like to accept the "American" culture and look at others as weird or gross, but in reality what we do is crazy to them! American's aren't as accepting of other cultures and beliefs because we usually aren't exposed to them completely. I was also very interested when one of them said he didn't know if he liked where America's going. Most citizens don't really care about whats going to happen next, but I don't think America is going anywhere good either.
ReplyDelete~~ 8
A major difference between America and Kenya is the view of poverty. When meeting Jimmy in Central Park, the two Kenyan guys were surprised to discover that Jimmy lived in the park, not in some lavish apartment on the Upper East Side. However, poverty in America is real, in ways far different than what people consider poor their villages. In Kenya, people are rarely homeless. They may not have a white picket fence in suburbia, but they have homes, and a close-knit community that supports each other in ways American cities (especially New York City) never could.
ReplyDelete~10
After watching the video it is easy to see that the two men in the video have a completely different lifestyle than what we are used to. Hearing what those guys went through on a daily basis was interesting but at the same time disturbing, I mean who would not be disgusted at the idea that men are drinking cow's blood. But that fact is an excellent example of how the lives of these two men are extremely different and unusualto our lives.
ReplyDeletefrom #22
Watching 2 Kenyan Guys changed my opinion on both Americans and people living in Africa. The most shocking thing to me was seeing how surprised they were from seeing poverty in the streets of New York City. They thought that there was no such thing in America. They continued to say how there is no such thing as "homeless people" in Kenya. This shocked me the most because I have grown up my entire life under the assumption that people in Africa were in a worse condition than the poor in America. I was always told when even throwing away the smallest amount of food, "Ten African children could eat that. Don't waste anything." After hearing things such as that, one can only reach a certain conclusion about African culture. Many of us do not realize how mistaken we actually are. Many of the aspects of our culture were strange to the Kenyan men. They thought it was strange how much we spend on our pets, especially dogs. They understood the need to take care of the animals, but not to the extent that we do. In America, when one owns a dog, it is as if raising a child in terms of the money spent. In Africa, dogs are considered more outside animals, and at times have to fend for themselves. Their cattle and livestock are more important to them. The most important thing I learned from watching this video is to not judge other cultures before properly learning about them. We might think that they are strange, and they will think about the same about us. But these misunderstandings will continue to happen unless we make an effort to learn about one another.
ReplyDelete~12
Well this was an interesting video to begin with in my opinion. Not only they are from a different culture which usually fascinates many people and makes them curious about their background, but they are also from a whole other part of the world which is known for "poverty" from an Americans point of view. But from their side of the fence it just seems like a normal way of life, they have been accustomed to it ever since they appeared on the face of the earth. Personally I believe that in today's society in the United States or any developed society with modern day technology, that not many people would be able to survive on their own. Why? A perfect example would be of the homeless man in the park that was shown who had not known how to make a fire. Making a fire is the first thing that will keep a man alive through his life out in the wild. There are many differences in many cultures, what I truly believe is that any culture that is not your own has the tendency to surprise you of how unusual they are
ReplyDelete~Kirill
Two Kenyan Guys was an amazing video for me to watch because I have always wondered about Africa in particular and how they live. Throughout this movie I realized how different it really is there and how crazy Americans must seem to other cultures! One thing that I never thought about was how people from other cultures think that everyone in America is wealthy. This was crazy to me because seeing people living on the street in big cities such as New York is sadly a normal thing. The Kenyan guys said that they do not have that in Kenya, which is amazing to think about. I liked the idea that the Kenyan guys said that the man sleeping in the park was lucky because he has the whole park to himself. The Kenyan guys had a totally different prospective on life than most Americans. This made me want to go to Kenya and live there for a week to see what it is like. Where they live is beautiful and peaceful which would be a good change from the suffocating amount of people and things here in America.
ReplyDelete-2
In my opinion I thought that it was a great video. The video showed how America was different from other countries and compared how people in our society lived and how people in other societies lived. One of the things that surprised me the most in the video was that the Kenyans said that in their tribe no one is considered homeless and everyone is considered to be on the same kind of level. Another thing that surprised me was that the little things that we do everyday may seem normal to us but strange to other people in different societies. This video showed me the cultural differences between each society.
ReplyDelete#5
The two Kenyan guys video was interesting. The cultural differences were cool to see. The Kenyans didn’t really bring up that Americans are supposed to be fat, they said that there’s always someone eating but they didn’t say the stereotype of us all being obese. The video was interesting but I really see anything I didn’t know. I knew cultures are different, from countries to countries even from region to region.
ReplyDelete-Stephanie
The two Kenyan guys video was interesting. The cultural differences were cool to see. The Kenyans didn’t really bring up that Americans are supposed to be fat, they said that there’s always someone eating but they didn’t say the stereotype of us all being obese. The video was interesting but I really see anything I didn’t know. I knew cultures are different, from countries to countries even from region to region.
ReplyDeleteIt was a pleasure and intriguing to watch two Kenyan guys. I loved seeing their reactions to the dramatic difference of the Western world compared to their small African village. For example, they were astonished to see money coming out of the ATM machine because they described in Kenya in order to get money they must capture and sell a goat. They were also surprised how much a small puppy costs where in compared to a large cow in Africa which can produce milk. The social norms of finding a mate in their country compares to America is very different. A woman from their area must take care of children(not even married yet), fetch water 10 miles away from their village, and even to shave her head. They said no one is homeless from where they come from where in America, an industrialized first world society, many are homeless. These two men have what I call "pure eyes". They have not been fully exposed to the greed and selfishness of Western society. Although, they come what America interprets a "poor society" in many other ways they are richer than us. They viewed a man sleeping in a park as lucky because he has the whole park to himself! They treat people in their village as family where in America it's hard to communicate with others without an electronic device. It's uplifting to see guys like this exist in our world. In the Western world we are exposed to so much negative energy so seeing a change of culture is refreshing. People may view their culture as strange and weird, but these differences makes the world a better and interesting place to live.
ReplyDelete13
Something I find absolutely fascinating about this video and about foreign cultures is the fact that people from all over the world view marriage so differently. Here, polygamy is seen as something abnormal and disgusting, whereas in other cultures it is completely acceptable. People in America expect complete and total monogamy and see "cheating", either emotionally or physically, as something only undesirable people do. Americans have this fantasy that there is one person "made for them" and that two people (and two people only) are supposed to be "together forever," when really that's not how the entire world works. Getting married and having children is viewed in a very different way in other countries. Although a majority of cultures widely practice marriage, the system of finding a mate and the role of a husband/wife are contrasting.
ReplyDelete15