Cultural Differences

So I was writing my prior blog about how addicted I am to coffee, and I started going off on quite the tangent. Rather than going off on the biggest tangent ever, I thought I'd just make it it's own entry. But I'll pick it up where the last one was going...

Before you say how lame it is [giving up coffee for lent]: I live for coffee. Since I was little. No joke. (Warning: going on a tangent). I think it's a cultural thing, but I clearly remember drinking coffee when I was little, like five years old. In Guatemala you have a "refaccion" in the afternoon: around 4 or 5pm, you make coffee and have a little snack, usually sweet bread or champurradas. I loved that time of day. My grandma would stop working for a bit (she worked at home), and we would sit in her kitchen, drink our coffee, and eat our champurradas. Sometimes her friends would come over, and I would listen in to all the neighborhood/church gossip. Best afternoons ever. I never knew it was weird to drink coffee until I moved back to the States in Junior High, where I found out that everyone freaks out about children having coffee. Well, it certainly didn't stunt my growth.

Another funny cultural thing I didn't realize was pierced ears. I've had mine pierced since I was three months old or so, and plan on doing the same to my little girl if God ever decides to lift the Armstrong male dominance. I remember being in junior high and a girl told me: "You're so lucky you have your ears pierced! I've been begging my dad to let me get my ears pierced forever." I was shocked. I mean, why wouldn't your parents want you to have your ears pierced? As a girl, you're SUPPOSED to have your ears pierced, right?

It's so interesting to see how culture shapes your opinion and outlook on things. What seems so incredibly normal to one girl can be completely crazy to another.