Learning About New Cultures

“Two things Eliot learned, made Mrs. Sean happy,” shows that a young American boy is learning about another woman’s Indian culture. ( Lahiri 121) What I found interesting is that throughout the Mrs. Sem’s story, a boy is exposed to another culture that is completely different from his own. Through out the story, the boy is questioning his own customs and comparing them to Mrs. Sem’s. It is important for kids to be exposed to different cultures because when they are young, they do not judge harshly as if they were like a teenager or older.  Eliot did not say mean things or negatively question her religious practices but at the same time he did not understand them nor did the adults either. Perhaps if we have children exposed to different cultures, while they are growing up they will appreciate them and because they are so young and innocent, they will not stereotype foreign people because hate and prejudices are taught and exhibited throughout teenage years and into adult ears. But, when a child is young, they do not have any reason to racially judge and it isn’t in their mindset. For example, Eliot did not criticize Mrs. Sem for her customs of cutting the vegetables or her religious fasting though he did not understand them while the mother seemed to be concerned with Mrs. Sem's cultural behavior. If children are raised around other cultures, perhaps they will learn tolerance for them and understand them in later years. What I enjoyed about Eliot is that he asked questions to Mrs. Sem about the things she did that was different from his family. Because of his curiosity, he was learning about a new culture that he may never have learned about. Because he was so young, he knew that she did things differently but he did not attach those differences to race. Such as, all Indian woman love fish or are bad drivers. Eliot accepted these without question and he seemed to enjoy her company. I wonder if he was fascinated by the stories she told him from her country. I personally be. The boy was a curious and learning new thing, which should be encouraged. I have never really known someone from a different country that I could ask questions and learn about what life was like for them. Eliot had innocence to him because since he was a kid, he had no shame in asking questions about her life, which is something, adults do not do. Why do people not ask questions about foreigner’s customs? Is it because they do not care, are curious but do not want to seem nosey? Do they not know how to ask about a sensitive topic? If more people mingled with people of different cultures, would be able to understand different people? Would be able to appreciate our culture and make us rethink some of our customs? Would we be more accepting if we learned what it was like to live in their shoes? The only way to learn about people is to ask them about their lives changing our perspective that could help future generations be more tolerant and strive for co-operation.