ethnocentrism: survival and preference

I often get asked the question of my nationality, if I ask the person to guess, I mostly get Hawaiin or some type of Pacific Islander, but once in awhile someone will think I am Hispanic or Portuguese or Korean. When I was in Indonesia two summers prior, a local who took me parasailing said he would guess Indonesian from my dark skin, and in the cafeteria just the other day, after being asked this by an exchange student from Brazil, he took his fingertips to his eyes and pulled the sides to slants, noting he recognized the oriental descent. I am, 1/2 chinese (from the daddy-o) and 1/2 filipino (mom's side). My parents were born in America, and I was born in America, so first and foremost, I am an American. I grew up with the culture, the government, the schools. Yet culture is passed on from generation to generation, it runs in my blood, and it defines my familiarites and my preferences. A huge part of me stems off my asian descent, and I am proud of it.

I learned in Sociology class, that the main objective and purpose of culture is survival. And in Anthropology class, we watched a video stating different views and definitions of certain general topics. One topic was art. And this made my heart dance. It said, in American or European culture, art is viewed as some painting or sculpture made by someone long ago in history, now hanging cold in a museum or gallery. In contrast, in asian cultures, like Indonesia, art is a means of everyday life. As the narrator said this, a man carved a mask, put it on, and then proceeded to dance a cultural dance to gongs and drums. From visiting the Philippines or Singapore, I realized so much more about myself and why the way I am. In the same video, it said, that on average, an oriental person will laugh in an uncomfortable or embarassing situation, as a European person will act mad or annoyed. Also, when I was in the Philippines, I noticed that filipino's sing at the top of their lungs just walking down the street. While these are minor details, I do happen to do all of these things, preferring art as a daily outlet of expression, laughing at everything, both joy and discomfort, and singing at high volumes no matter the location. I understand now, the psychological theory of the strength of genetics. We have the power to create our own environment, and our genetics shape our preferences. This shapes our culture. I love who I am and where I came from.