This week in class we talked about how Social Class and Culture Diversity can effect the family as a whole, and the family dynamic.
One thing that stood out to me, is how similar the family dynamic is between the "very poor" households, and the "very rich". We drew similarities between the fact that in both instances, the parent's aren't home all that often. In the "poor" household, the parent(s) are gone trying to find/keep a job to support the family. They may be gone from dawn to dusk, and may even have to walk to work. In the instance of the "rich" family, the parent(s) may be gone just as much as the "poor" family because they are CEO's or have some important job that requires many hours in an office, in meetings, or traveling. These kind of situations have an effect on children in the household as well. Children in these kind of households sometimes lack discipline, and the reinforcement of responsibility.
I grew up in a household that wasn't poor, or rich. My family was average. To begin, my dad went to work in the morning, and was home in time for dinner. He never worked on Saturdays or Sundays. I LOVED this. Saturday was a day to spend with dad. We never really went anywhere. I would watch him cook, work in the workshop, or sit on the couch and watch Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, or Star Trek (depending on what week it was). I never knew how lucky I was. Then, my parents got divorced, and my dad was gone. He moved away and I never saw him. Suddenly, my mom was in school, and working. I went from a household where my mom was always home, and I would spend the weekend playing with my dad, to my mom always being gone, and never seeing my dad. This effected all of us kids. Responsibilities grew, but rules were bent, and discipline wasn't there (to begin with).
When we talked about culture diversity, my mind immediately went to my brother-in-law Angelo. Angelo is from South America, and is currently working on getting a working visa here in the United States. My sister, Maija, went down to Chile a few years ago to study abroad through a program at BYU-I. There she met Angelo, and a few months after she came back, she announced that she was getting married to someone she met down there. Before I knew it, I was helping to plan a wedding for my sister, and I guy I had never met in person before. Then, my sister broke the news to me that she decided to not get married in Minnesota after all. . . she had decided to go down to Chile and get married and sealed in the Temple there. So she did. About 18 months later, Maija came back home 5 months pregnant, and a few weeks later, Angelo followed. They went back to Rexburg, Idaho so Maija could finish school. 8 months later, I came out to spend some time with them, and my baby niece Sakura before school started. Their home life was noting like back home. I thought I was going to have pizza, macaroni and cheese, and other very American meals there. I was in for a surprise when almost every single one of my meals was South American. Culture Diversity.
After spending 2 weeks with Maija and Angelo, I more appreciated the culture that they had in their home. I learned to really like rice since we had it with 2 meals a day, and I learned a lot about the Chilean/Peruvian culture. I think that it's important to learn what we can about the cultures around us. Then, we can appreciate it, and teach it to our families. Why only celebrate Independence Day for America? Why not celebrate Independence Day for Chile, Peru, Australia, France, and everyone? The more we learn about the different cultures around us, the more we can understand, and love our brothers and sisters.
