Journal #28

In our sociology class, we have actually been studying different cultures and societies etc. We just switched from psychology, which is more individualized behaviors, and now in sociology, we observe groups of people, like a culture. For a project, we had to research a different culture and create a power point and then present it in front of the class. This included the group's culture, geography, ethnocentric view, and their cultural relativism. The group of people, my project group was assigned, was the San. The San is also known as the Bushmen. The San and their culture are completely different than ours. One of the differences is that they live in a desert climate. Because of their climate, they have to wear very little clothing in order to stay cool. Also living in the desert, water can sometimes be quite hard to find. When the San people are faced with a drought, they do whatever they can in order to keep themselves hydrated. This could involve sucking the moisture out of plant or creating a sip well. A sip well is a method that uses straws and an empty ostrich egg to gather water out of the ground. I could not imagine getting my water this way. But in their situation, you do what you got to do. The San people are a hunter and gathering society, much different than ours. Yes, we do have farmers, but most people go to the grocery store when they need food or one of the thousands of restaurants we have. Another different between our societies is the roles that the people play. In our society, children are expected to go to school and get an education. In the San society, they see the kids job is to simply play and be happy. One of the major differences I found with the San society and ours, was the role that the women played. In our society, women have the same freedoms as men, but men are still seen superior. This is the opposite. The San people believe the women is superior and serves as the leader of the household and makes all important decisions. I found it very interesting learning about the San culture and it made me very appreciative for my own.