Hello again, friends!

I thought it would be a good idea to introduce you to a fun and exciting anthropology term that I may use throughout this blog, or may be useful to know for next time you travel. It will help you have the best experience you can and also understand wherever it is you’re going a little better.

SO. Without further ado… I want to introduce my fav term, Ethnocentrism! Yayyyyy! For those who don’t know and aren’t anthro-nerds like me, ethnocentrism is the idea of judging other cultures’ customs, practices, beliefs, etc. based on your own culture. For example, this would be like if an American went to England and said “In America, we drive on the right side and you guys are driving on the left, ew, that’s wrong and you guys are weird.” Or to use another example, it’s like going to Pakistan and thinking that women there are weird or their culture is wrong because it’s the custom to dress modestly and keep covered.

Basically, the idea is, judging other cultures for things based on your own customs and upbringing, even though there is nothing inherently “wrong” with how that culture does things, it just might seem that way because it’s different from what you do. It’s extremely difficult to get out of this habit, because we all have our second-nature biases, and to become self-aware enough to remember not to judge other cultures too quickly is nearly impossible. So that’s why just knowing that the concept of ethnocentrism at all exists is great. Taking anthropology courses and traveling has made me much more aware of how I view the world and made me really think through why I might react to something a certain way. It’s easy to blow off another culture’s practice as weird or wrong or stupid if you don’t know anything about their background.

This is why it’s important to know this concept when we travel. Asking why a culture does something or learning the historical context of why they do something can tell you a lot about people and the fact that if you had been raised in another place, maybe you would do that too! Just like I’m from Kentucky, so I celebrate the Derby and expect everyone to be as hyped about it as I am. But in Colorado, where I live now, tons of people don’t even know what the Derby is and think it’s totally absurd that school in Louisville is always out the day before Derby. So while it’s tempting to want to tell everyone they are stupid because Derby is the best, instead, I throw a big Derby party to show everyone why it’s important to me and how it represents Kentucky culture and I’m about to do it again in just 2 weeks!!!

So, I know this post isn’t super fun and there are no exciting pictures, but here is a photo of my Derby party shenanigans and all my new transplanted friends learning about and enjoying Kentucky Derby culture. See? Anthropology is fun!! You can drink with your friends and call it learning! :) Anyways, now that this is out of the way, we can move forward and start expanding our understanding of new cultures, travel, and people in a more open, curious way. Keep this idea in mind next time you visit a new state or new country or even a new restaurant and I guarantee, instead of feeling defensive or uncomfortable, you’ll feel more at ease and interested.

Thanks for reading!

-Sami

The mint Julep bar is essential to a good Derby party.