cul·tur·alAdjective/ˈkəlCHərəl/
1. Of or relating to the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a society.
2. Of or relating to the arts and to intellectual achievements.You may not know this, but my husband is Costa Rican...
Well, he was born there & came here at 3 months old. Technically, he's American (though a naturalized citizen), but he is bi-lingual & bi-cultural, which is very cool.
I guess I never paid much attention to that kind of stuff when I was younger, and no matter what our decent is - most of us here in America are American and our traditions are more native to our geographical areas and not as much to our heritage.
I'm of Dutch & German decent. Growing up, my mother wasn't
http://www.hollandamericanbakery.com/store/
To Boonstra's (home made ice cream shop owned by Dutchies), and also Dunkin' Donuts, to show his "Americanization", every Sunday and then come to see us. When I went to visit Pop Pop, he taught me to cook "good Dutch food" & when I went to visit my mother's parents, my grandmother (a fantastic cook) taught me how to cook German foods.
But I digress....
My husband's heritage is Hispanic - Costa Rican all the way. He learned to speak English in school & was only allowed to speak Spanish in the household. They had traditional family values.
When I first met my husband's family, it was really very shocking to me. It was New Years Eve & we stopped off at his parent's house to get something & he said he wanted me to meet his family. Little did I know that they were ALL there! Easily 25 people - aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters, in-laws - OMG! And then he left me alone - with all of them. Talk about being a nervous wreck (baptism by fire, perhaps??) Looking back now, it's kind of funny - because I love each and every one of them.
That was something I was definitely NOT used to & where our cultural differences come into play.
I had this dis-functional little existence. Divorced family, which became a blended family once my mother remarried. Step siblings, who always seemed to get more. We never ate together, we never watched TV together, we never even sat around talking - we all just co-existed. Sort of sad, really.
Back to my husband's family, the Spanish version of the Cleaver's. Happily married parents, church going, kind wonderful people who loved each other & others. Extended family gathering together just to see each other. Dad is in charge (or thinks he is) & mom takes care of everyone. She cooks for an army (and really good, I might add) She loves everyone and is just happy just to have her family around. I love that!
I know that there are plenty of families who have similar situations - but for me - cultural doesn't necessarily define heritage - but family traits & values.
I strive to give my own family unit the traditional family values that my husband grew up with; the example of faith, love & togetherness.
Thank you for reading my blog!
~Jenn
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