Culture to Culture

For this assignment I spent my Sunday afternoon walking to Chinatown. While I waited for a friend on 11th and Market street, it was interesting to see all the different type of people walking around. I noticed a lot of children walking with their parents or grandparents, people either walking alone or in couples. The streets were fairly busy with pedestrians, partly because I was on a street right across the street from the Burlington Coat Factory and other popular chain stores. And also because it was finally a gorgeous day out, it was sunny and over thirty five degrees out. Once I met up with my friend we continued our walk down to Chinatown.

Once entering Chinatown it was very busy there. Probably because Chinese New Year had just occurred a few days ago. While sitting at a restaurant for lunch, the waitress and waiter, probably the owners of the restaurant were very hospitable, even though English wasn't there first language. As we were seated I noticed a lot of Caucasian people were eating at the restaurant which shows food can cross mix different cultures. There were families who were only Caucasian, a couple diagonal from me with a white father and an asian wife and their son and a table across from me with white grandparents, white children and an asian man. I did not see any other ethnicities at the restaurant. Obviously when you're in Chinatown, the majority of the people you will see communicating with one another are speaking Chinese. Although there may be language barriers between the owners of these stores and some of their customers, everyone was friendly.

Today after my yoga class I went to Whole Foods for lunch. As I was sitting and eating I noticed the other people sitting around me. Most of them were women. I don't know if that is an important fact, but it's just something I noticed. One woman was dressed very professionally in a button down, red sweater vest and pearl necklace. My guess was that she was on a lunch break. Another women was sitting at the table next to her, dressed in a t-shirt and sweats. A man with an overly large sized beanie hat and glasses sat alone. Two other women sat together, sharing a cookie, one women's head rested on the other, looking very cozy. In the corner were two latino men dressed similarly in slacks and sweaters. Besides myself and the two men in sweaters, everyone else was white.

It was interesting to "people watch" in two very different locations. In Chinatown, everyone was very loud and chatty. At Whole Foods, everyone kept to themselves, immersed in their own energy drinks and pre-made lunches. The ambiance in both locations were very different, not to say one was better than the other.

Culture is a very broad topic. It can be interpreted in a number of ways. I believe culture enriches our lives. The more we explore, interact and experiment, the better. With our environment, the food we eat, the people we meet, all enables us to broaden our cultural experience.