Emily Marbut
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I went to the country of Cuba this summer on a mission trip. In order to go to Cuba legally, I had to get a permit from the US Department of Treasury and then had to get a Religious Visa in Cuba. This is a picture of the real Havana that the government of Cuba hides from tourists. Cubans try to make the best out of what they have. The streets are clean and do not smell. The buildings in this part of Havana were built in the early 1900’s and are falling apart. The electricity often goes out, sometimes for hours. The people fear the government and do not talk to tourist (unless they work in the tourists industry) in fear they will go to jail or not receive rations. People do not go out much during the day unless they are working. All of these, and food shortages, are everyday life for Cubans and shape every aspect of culture (food, language, socializing). |
April Kinsey
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Culture has a multitude of different definitions. The way I feel culture is best described is the behaviors, beliefs, characteristics, and the overall way of living of any particular groups of human beings. Culture tends to distinguish a way of life for a community. In Roatàn, we encountered many native islanders throughout our stay. We were able to take short trips into towns on Roatàn, where there are no traffic laws and unpaved roads. Being an island, most of the towns on Roatàn are on the ocean. The ocean constitutes the islanders’ way of life; they live, thrive, and die by the sea. Two of the main resources of export and revenue are fishing and diving. There is a large fish shipping building in Flying Fish. Boats line the coasts. Every coastal town contains abundant dive shops lining the water. So the best view and representation of culture, or the way of life, in Roatàn is the view of the ocean with boats lining her shores. |
Ashley-Rose Scholl
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Taken in Mexico, this photograph symbolizes the immense pride these people have for their country, heritage, and culture. In the midst of a storm, these men are protecting the flag that their country has worked so hard to call their own. The green stripe symbolizes their hard won independence from Spain, the white stripe the purity of the Catholic Church, and the red stripe is a tribute to fallen heroes during the war for independence. |
Emily Caldwell
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I think that culture is defined by those who preceded us. History is the basis for our values, ideals, beliefs and understanding of how we live today. I took this in Paris, obviously. A city that believes in its history so much that most of the streets look just as they were a hundred years ago. The arch represents victory and fate, and how each plays into the history of the French people. Culture is about achievement, but it’s also about the interactions, ideologies, and history that defines a people. |
Emily Tedesco
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There are very few places that I have visited twice. Cinque Terre is like an escape from the rest of the world. The pace of life is slow; the objective is to enjoy oneself, and the locals carry themselves as if they fully and shamelessly understand this brilliant concept. To me, it seemed that life there is built around the sea, the sun, and the vineyards covering the steep and glorious cliffs. Forget the fact that Cinque Terre is a UNESCO World Heritage site, or that it attracts a bajillion tourists a year; it’s my favorite spot in the world and I am convinced that I will live longer as a direct result of having visited three times. This photo was taken on an evening in early July. The laundry hanging, the emptiness of the streets and the fishing boats that have been put up for the night all embody the calm, easy nature of a day on the coast in Italy. People are winding down, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re going to sleep. The restaurants are still populated and the waves are still colliding against the cliffs. |
Alyssa Hollingsworth
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We wandered among the people, pale foreigners in a crowd of glowing skin. Their language was lovely, like music—words impossible to understand, but striking me. We stopped beside some traveling Indians. Like us, they were strangers to the town. Their clothes were vibrantly colored, as if to contrast the dull landscape. Brown eyes did not attract me before. But when I spied a young brown-eyed girl, grinning back at me shyly, I thought of amber: an unexciting brown brought to life by flecks of gold. It reminded me of the first light in morning.
Durango, Mexico – community development project
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Jordyn Wagner
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A man in the streets of Mozart’s birthplace is playing… a didgeridoo? On a high school orchestra trip, I was surprised to find this street performer playing an Australian Aboriginal instrument, not on a street in Australia but Austria. In the city of Salzburg, a city whose veins run deep in the Baroque Period, a man was filling the street with the sound of a didgeridoo. What seemed comical to me at the time is actually an everyday experience for Austrians. They embrace the idea of multiculturalism. Street performing itself is a very European cultural aspect, but this Austrian is adding new forms of performances, even sharing from different cultures. Origins of the new “didge scene” in Austria began in 2000, and this year they celebrate the “Best of 10 Years Didgeridoo Festival,” a strange scene for those who think of Salzburg, Austria simply as the place where they filmed The Sound of Music. I think it speaks a lot about the Austrian people: they have a desire to embrace different forms of music while also preserving their own culture. By day you can walk the streets and hear the sounds of the didgeridoo and, by night, attend a classical concert by Mozarteumorchester Salzburg. This photo just represents how music has the capability of uniting all different cultures!
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Katie McSpadden
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Totem poles can be found throughout British Columbia, Canada. A form of aboriginal art, totem poles are a way of preserving the history of a tribe. This totem pole found in British’s Columbia’s capital, Victoria, is known as the Knowledge Totem. It stands in front of Victoria’s parliament building and was a gift from the Cowichan tribes to commemorate Victoria’s role as the host of the Commonwealth games in 1994. The fisherman and the frog depicted in the totem represent the lessons of the past and hope for the future. |
Marissa Archie
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This photo encapsulates my unforgettable experiences in Egypt. Taken only one week into my study abroad semester, several angles of the Egyptian culture are depicted in this single snap shot of a Cairo street. On the left, a woman dressed in a niqab expresses the Muslim religious beliefs of over 90% of the country. In the background it is worthy to note the contrast in ancient Islamic architecture, displaying the rich history and beautiful architecture adjacent the modern concrete apartment buildings, which were built to meet the needs of the population swell, doubling in the last 50 years. Moving to the center of the photo, colorful tapestries and scarves are showcased to visitors indicating the importance of tourism in Egypt’s economy. At the center of the photo you see a taxi, a white taxi, representing the influence of the western culture, as they are reliable, air-conditioned, and more luxurious than the dilapidated black and white taxicabs. The general scene of congestion in the street illustrates how populated and crowded Cairo truly is, yet demonstrates how well the Cairenes function in harmony. Though I was not aware of it at the time I took this photo, I believe this single snap shot genuinely captures what culture is in Cairo, Egypt. |
Rebecca Sokolove
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While the medical experience was amazing, the Zambians had the largest impact on my time at the Zimba Mission Hospital. As people traveled for days to receive their HIV/AIDS medications, undergo surgery, or to see the eye doctors who came once every 3-4 months, the hospital was as rich in culture as its patients were poor. At a hospital, you see people at their worst; when they are sick, scared, and have nowhere else to turn. Whole families moved to the hospital (living outside under trees) while their loves ones received care, expressing the importance of family and relationships in the Zambian culture. Children, like those pictured, waited alongside their families, taking care of younger siblings and making nshima to eat. These children brought life, joy, and their own aspects culture to that which is the Zimba Mission Hospital. |
Sagar Mody
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The culture of India is one of the oldest and unique cultures. There is hardly any culture in the world that is as varied and unique as India. This photo was taken in a city called Himatnagar (which resides in Gujarat state) and it shows how poor people are in India (of course not all, but many are) and their culture. And a lot of children in these similar areas don't get to go to a good school where they can get good education and that's why they end up being the same as their parents (without good education background). In India lots of people sell things like flowers (as in this photo), fruits, vegetables, slippers, cow feed, and handmade trinkets. Lots of families own a cow or a buffalo as their pet because their milk provides nourishment for them. There are eight key symbols of India’s culture: 1) Om, 2) Wheel, 3) Swastika, 4) Bow and Arrow, 5) Snake, 6) Turtle, 7) Sun, and 8) Cow. I will say a little about cow, since I think that’s the most important and also in the picture it’s shown (and also, it really reminds me of India here at Berry looking at these cows we have! In India, we worship cows. The cow represents the giving nature of life to every Hindu. It is the symbol of motherhood, and fertility. The cow is so generous, taking nothing but water, grass and grain. More often than not, India is associated with cows roaming the roads of India (like this in the photo), sitting idly in the middle of a traffic jam, chewing waste. Cows were a measure of good fortune and wealth. |
Sarah Grimes
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This picture was taken while traveling down one of the neighborhood streets in Guaimaca, Honduras during a warm December afternoon. I passed by the window and door to this makeshift house and began to speak with a woman perched in the window. Through talking with her, I found out that the woman in the picture, her mother, lived with her and her family of ten and was terminally ill. The older woman wore beautiful wrinkles and well-calloused hands from her years. I also found out that the grandmother had over fifty (50) grandchildren. This is their culture, many generations living under the same roof, the well taking care of the sick, the grandmother being the head of a large family, and poverty striking them all. This was a beautiful moment in time, stopping and capturing the ill yet humble grandmother with four of her grandchildren in a poverty stricken town that lacks the resources to help her, yet her calm nature still emits a radiance of grandmotherhood that can be understood across cultures. |
Shanna Landers
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The Maasai Tribe of Kenya is internationally known for everything from spearing lions as a “right of passage” practice into manhood to their eye-catching, traditional wardrobe of bright blue and red hues. Located in the most rural areas of East Africa, the Maasai culture is drastically different from the urban American lifestyle. The Maasai simplistic way of living includes mud homes, family farms, and their own feet as their sole form of transportation. However, with the rapid advancements made in technology, even the most remote parts of our world have been affected. Cellular phones, an almost essential asset to nearly every American, have made their way across the African plains into the rough hands of the most rural of Maasai warriors. |
Keiko Stobaeus
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This photograph is of a sadhu in the holy Hindu city of Tiruvannamalai, India. Sadhus renounce all of their possessions, and their survival is dependent on support from the local temples and donations from people who pass by them. In return for their kindness, the traveler receives a blessing from the sadhu. Sadhus are considered by many Hindus to be "living embodiments of the divine," and because they are so highly respected, a blessing from one is a great honor. |
Taylor Johnson
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Tokyo is the metropolis of fashion, electronics, anime, the most expensive cup of coffee, and the most inventive and mind-blowing culture. This picture I took as I crossed the crowded street is of the district Shinjuku. There are 23 different districts that make up Tokyo. Shinjuku is known for its large entertainment, business and shopping areas surrounding the world’s busiest station-Shinjuku station. The bright colored and kanji covered signs become more alluring at night when the streets are filled with tourist and Japanese looking for a restaurant or a karaoke bar. But hidden between the train tracks and a department store called Odakyu, is an alley called Shomben Yokocho. Here is where one can experience authentic Japanese food and drink with the locals. I loved the colors, the noise, and the sounds of Japanese filled conversations. Shinjuku is a world in itself |
Trinity Shipley
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Silent Destruction This picture was taken on a highway in Italy.
No fire trucks, no people stopping to help.
With one police car, and the driver of the truck to the side,
People passing do not even take a second look.
There is no traffic, no reporters with their cameras,
People are too busy with their own lives to worry about the safety of others.
Only the strong smell of smoke and destruction consumed the air.
Our cultures are changing,
Our world is never stopping,
What will become of us if we refuse to take a second glance?
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