Blog-a-roo (can´t think of a clever title)

First of all, I´m feeling so much better! My cold is practically all gone- I just have a slight lingering cough left, but that´s it. Hooray!

Murilo took me to a vegetarian restaurant yesterday. I didn´t know that those even existed in Brasil. It´s mostly Asian food, but it´s an all you can eat buffet! They don´t weigh your food at this place. It´s wonderful. And they have all kinds of good tofu, vegetables, cakes, fake meats (which are so much better than they sound) and lots more. It provides a nice relief from the rice, beans and french fries that I´ve been living off of for the past week.

Anyways, enough about food. Today Pedro and I hiked up this big hill right outside of school. It was so steep it was practically vertical, but the view up at the top was worth it. I think we ended up in a little neighborhood on the top of the hill. I was afraid we were trespassing, but nobody ever came out to chase us away with broom sticks and shot guns, so I´m assuming we were OK. It was interesting to see that little community though. The road was too steep for cars to go up it, so I´m assuming that the people who live there hike up there every single day. It makes me wonder just how exactly they moved all their furniture and personal belongings up there...

So in class this morning, we talked about cultural imperialism and globalization and if the two are different or the same. The hand out that we read regarding these issues gave arguments for both. I personally think that they are both different. Cultural imperialism to me only exists if a country allows it to. Take France for example. The French absolutely refuse to let their culture be invaded by foreign ones (such as the U.S.) Globalization definitely exists, how can it not with the power of the internet at our fingertips? I don´t necessarily think that globalization is a bad thing. It´s something that has been happening for as long as humans have been nomads, which is basically for our whole existence. Cultures are bound to mix and intermingle no matter what anybody thinks about it. I think that the U.S. may try to be culturally imperial to other countries, but when you think about it, who would want their culture to be like ours? The cool thing about globalization is that it provides an outlet for people to get to know other cultures and perspectives and that leads to respecting othe people´s beliefs. Cultural imperialism to me is the same thing as missionaries going to other countries to shove their beliefs down people´s throats. So if you think about it in this respect, I don´t think that the two are the same.

Here in Brasil, you see some American things (such as McDonald´s and some TV shows and movies) but for the most part, they have kept their culture in tact and it is much different from that of the states. Even though they have some American things, that´s just part of globalization and it is not cultural imperialism. I don´t think that Brasilians will ever let other cultures dominate their own, because their culture is just too unique as it is and they seem to enjoy their way of life a lot. I know that I certainly enjoy their way of life.