Concluding Contemplation of my Expedition

Through this semester in class we have been making a series of blog post about different readings and activities done inside and outside the classroom in which I’ve learned a lot. In most instances my writing have dealt with the topics of identity, perception and travel. In this post the plan is to expose some of the things I’ve have learned and how my writing ability and organization have changed. In the first two posts mainly I wrote about how I see my self, a sort of autobiography, and my national pride. It’s my personal opinion that in order to be able to grasp the issues of identity, how other people see you and learn about the vast diversity that this world has to offer we must first be in touch with our inner and most truthful thoughts.  After this reflection of my inner journey I was prepared to embark on a venture of analysis. In class we discussed Carl Jung and my main focus here was his Eurocentric viewpoint of the Pueblo Indians. There’s a lot to be learned about other people by observing, but we must acknowledge that we are not in a position to make any judgment because all of our opinion of other peoples lifestyles are based on our context and individual experience.

When contemplating other cultures it’s very important to practice what in anthropology is called cultural relativism, which is basically being able to see people’s customs from their viewpoint in able to avoid generalizations and discrimination. When we do, we are able to learn a great deal more about our neighboring country and their inhabitants. I specially liked learning in my blog post about: Life is a Trip and The Geography of Bliss how in different parts of the world there are more forgiving people and those who search for happiness in a ways which never occurred to me. At the end I was able to apply all of this thinking in creative narrative techniques and even a little of role playing, learning about myself and other people, improving my writing and gaining creative techniques applicable to the rest of my life.