World Culture: Pre-Trip Statement
It used to take many days to travel from Maine to Florida. Culture is never something stationary until it has died.
Today, it only takes about six hours to get from Chicago It is ever changing with the generations. The fall of
to London. With such short travel times, it seems governments, wars, changes in technology have always
possible that the world no longer needs to be divided up altered culture. The only difference now is that there are
into countries with separate governments. With such a changes on the global scale.
quick commute between countries there could easily be
one world government that served as the governments There are still people, however, that have never left
of individual countries have in the past. To some extent, there hometown, never owned a telephone, let alone a
this has occurred. There has become a world culture computer, and couldn't tell you where Chicago is located.
and a United Nations world government. People traveling Some of these people live in the United States. With so
around the globe can find something familiar in pretty much many people like these, how can there truly be world
every major city. Technology doesn't advance country by culture? Culture of a country is not defined by the elite,
country, it grows worldwide. it is defined by the common population who are not
neccesarily of the world culture. Countries, states, cities,
The world culture, however, is most definitely not something neighborhoods, all have separate identities because of
yet universal and the UN does not yet hold much influence. the people living there.
Over the past century, the world has not just decrease its
size by travel time, but increased its size population wise. Countries do not even share evenly in the world culture as it
So although there is a world culture that had developed, has influenced some countries more than others. The UN
there are too many people for it to actually envelope the cannot manage many countries, even though it has the
entire planet. capability to communicate with the entire world better than
the founders of the United States could from city to city.
There is now simply another layer to culture in most Although there is a world culture, each country maintains
countries; the culture of the world. Modernizations of its identity. Until everyone, including pickpockets, farm
such countries as Japan are not necessarily infiltration wives, African tribes, Romanian children, can actually
of a Western Culture, as it has been called, but a new access every part of the globe in under an hour, we will
development that builds upon an older culture. not have a comprehensive world culture.
World Culture: February 12th
Before traveling, I was quite aware that there was a world
culture. I was prepared to see Mc Donald’s and Coca Cola,
hear American pop music, and speak English in the big cities I
would travel to around the world. I was not prepared, however,
to see exactly how strongly the adoption of “westernized”
culture has effected all layers of a country’s culture.
Before this trip, I viewed the world culture as just another
layer to the complex social interactions of any country. I
didn’t realize the depths in which this culture grounds itself in
countries around the world. Although it only directly applies to
a small group of people, it changes everything from the top
down. Even though I’d expected to see the changes, because
all cultures change with time, I hadn’t foreseen the damages
that the accommodation of this culture could cause. Some of
the most poignant experiences of this have been in recent
countries that depend heavily upon tourist’s dollars. Tours revolve around frequent stops at ‘factories’ where the
tourist can buy ‘authentic souvenirs.’ The nicest buildings
Egypt, for example, builds it’s framework around tourists. With in Cairo were hotels and banks. Local apartment buildings
so many people coming through at all times, the way people had undecorated, uncelebrated, poured concrete facades.
act changes, the way they interact is different. The streets are Cairo didn’t even have a nice downtown area, just big hotels
neglected while hundreds of cruise ships travel down the Nile and residential squalor. Where only the highly educated and
daily. The educated become tour guides and probably get paid immigrants in our country seem to know multiple languages,
more than teachers and possibly doctors. Money is seems to the very poor in Egypt relied upon a basic knowledge of
be spent on the tourist in stead of the citizen. Everything is several languages to gain their income. There were people
catered to the tourists, designed to get as much of their money who attempted try all the languages I might speak by asking
in the shortest time possible. for money in English, Spanish, and German.
Rags to Riches: Mind the Gap
Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the UAE were affected in a different That is not to say that western culture is the creator of this
way that was quite striking after our visit to Cairo. Basically an classist system. Especially in Egypt the gap between the
entire oasis of western skyscrapers, parks, and people was wealthy and the impoverished has always been great. World
being created in the middle of the desert. Currently, about culture does, however, encourage this kind of a system.
eighty percent of the population of Abu Dhabi is not native The same people are exploited just by the rich from other
born. Granted, the country is only fifty years old, but that is still countries as well as those from their own. I think of those who
quite an enormous percentage of immigrants. Everything is constructed the ski slope in the Abu Dhabi mall and wonder if
new, buildings, people, land masses. Yes, land masses. The they ever enjoyed that manmade winter. I can hear the thick
waterfront was extended to accommodate for a large river accent of the Egyptian in Luxor chanting “cigarette,” and the
walk and islands are being creating to house large, expensive yells of “hello lady” from the street peddlers in Cairo. Money
apartment complexes. This area has adopted the commercial is the universal language and those who travel through world
ideals of indulgence and excess. Most of the workers hired culture speak it perfectly.
to create this architectural playground can’t afford to live in
it and are bussed in to work from slum districts outside the
cities. Dubai was being built like a subdivision of towers. Build
before there are buyers and sell before it’s built. The faster it
all goes up, the better.
Looking at theses wonders of the UAE next to Cairo, it is
difficult at first glance to see a correlation between the two.
Cairo is a cesspool surrounding the attraction of the ancient
pyramids and Abu Dhabi and Dubai are wonderlands, or will
be once they’ve been constructed. Besides the fact that Coca
Cola is sold in both cities, there is something else similar that
has been created with the influence of western culture. There
is a capitalistic system that neglects the poor and encourages
excess. The poverty around the pyramids is a lot more apparent
than that surrounding the cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. In the
UAE it’s just hidden in the countryside.
World Culture: Post-Trip Conclusion
I woke up from a fever induced nap in the courtyard of our that compose the world culture that blankets every big city
Christian hostel in Amsterdam to a conversation between two across the globe, we are very separated from the rest of the
Europeans and an American. English was the language and world. Asia as well seemed to have this same sort of façade
language was the topic. The two Europeans compared, while for the tourists.
speaking mostly in English, the similarities of their dialects
and then compared those similarities to another language Europe has the tourist traps as well, but European countries are
they shared, none of which were English. They were both designed to swap food, people, ideas. Transit systems cross
from Northern Europe, but I was unable to distinguish specific the continent and are relatively inexpensive making it easy for
nationalities. While one European listed off the six languages almost anyone to travel almost anywhere in it. The countries
he knew, the American shrugged and said he hadn’t had to are close together making travel time short so that weekend
take language classes at his college. I’m fairly sure that the trips across the border are quite possible. As I claimed in my
European’s knowledge of six languages had little to do with pre-trip position statement, it is this kind of travel that truly
schooling and more to do with the culture he lived in. facilitates a one world type culture.
Thoughts on culture in my pre-trip position statement I Having a cross-boarders language and currency facilitated
admitted the existence of a world culture, but attested that the multi-country culture that is Europe. English seemed to be
individual cultures remained intact. I claimed that although the standard mode of communication in Europe. More than
there is a world culture it is simply another layer to culture once I witnessed people who spoke two different languages
of individual countries. Throughout the trip, I questioned how find a middle ground with English. Easy travel is again
much unique cultures had maintained their identities and accommodated for with the Euro eliminating the need for
thought that perhaps the invasive world culture was causing currency exchanges.
more damage than I’d suspected. On returning to Europe,
the invasiveness seemed much less and everything seemed The system of the European Union are definitely a step
much more culturally comfortable. towards a one world culture. There is definitely something to
be said that so many countries with their own histories and
Upon return to the United States, I realized that in Europe backgrounds have arrived at such a synchronized way of
a multi-country culture at least seems to be intrinsically living. I believe that there will not be a truly global culture,
entwined in the local culture. In America, aside from the thin however, until all the countries of the world can communicate
façade of fastfood, souvenirs, hotels, and tourist attractions quickly and fluidly across borders as the Europeans seem to.