After having been in classes for three weeks, I can safely say that there is a lot of curiosity amongst my classmates as to what exactly constitutes American culture. In classes, I always get asked several questions about US perspectives on various topics; the most discussion of US culture comes from my Gender and Society of South Asia course. While in this class, I am pushed to think critically about how the US/Western mindset is different than the Eastern mindset. Most of the time, I don't know how to answer. Culturally, there are numerous things that are different between the US and Southeast Asia; however, I have enjoyed every last bit of the learning process!
An example of a time where I was asked my perspective was when we had a discussion of the dowry in my Gender and Society class. In India, there used to be a custom where the groom asked the family of the bride to provide him with lavish gifts as somewhat of a price to get married. These gifts may include anything from money to a TV or even a car/motorcycle, and the groom apparently may ask for more items as the wedding date approaches. The other significance of the dowry, however, is to provide the bride with a means to have money if anything happened to the husband. Although dowry-giving is now illegal, many families still may practice unofficial forms of giving dowry out of tradition. My professor asked me if I would ever be forced to give a dowry or anything like it after having grown up in the US. I told my professor that I have never heard of any of my friends or family members that grew up in the states giving a dowry to their husbands when they got married, and I do not think I would either. She was impressed by my willingness to refuse to pay dowry upon marriage, which took me by surprise! It turns out that refusal to pay a dowry is not always as simple as just saying no. In the past, refusal to pay dowry could mean several things, such as the fact that it is inauspicious because it would break a fixed wedding date. I began to realize at this point that even though I am technically an Indian-American daughter, I have been fortunate enough not to face some of the trials and tribulations that some of the females of South Asia have dealt with.
After talking to several of the local students, I found out there are a lot of stereotypes that they have of the US. The most frequent types of questions I receive deal with relationships. It seems to me that they are interested in how relationships in the US work and what they entail. Additionally, they ask about parent-child relationships. They ask if American students rebel against their parents, or if that is something that the media exaggerates. Another question I get asked is, "How often do students party?" When I asked where their questions stem from, they simply tell me that these are observations that they've made of other students. Since we live in the same buildings as some of the local students, they sometimes see exchange students leaving to attend parties and other social events on weeknights. I personally enjoy answering all of their questions, and reciprocate by asking a few of my own!