Satisfied.

I have spent a large portion of the past two days learning about Vietnam. In fact, I will spend a large portion of this semester learning about Vietnam. It's not that I mind it...actually, I am really enjoying this study. It is an opportunity to delve into a world so very different from my own; full of people and ideas that I have never even considered.

Everyone in the US over the age of ten, knows about Vietnam--even if it's just the fact that we fought a war there. However, do they know anything about the smattering of identities that the people of Indo-China have been wading through all of their existence? Do they know that Vietnamese society functions like a large family, stemming from actual family life to the way political structure is facilitated? If they do, then good for them.

I guess, I am just amazed at all the things I am beginning to understand about cultural relativism (a great part of being an Anthropology major, is I get to throw around words like "cultural relativism," "ethnocentrism," and "enculturation"). For example, today in one of my literature classes, I connected the idea of schema to a debate about theory and opinion. Basically, a schema is a figurative map that anthropologists use to understand a culture. They take a specific event and then through observation and discussion with the people of that culture, they rank the connotative definitions of that event on this "map." In essence, it's alot like getting into the heads of the natives concerning things like family life and subsistence. Anyways, I figured that a theory must be culturally relative for it to have significance.

i.e: The theory that women would make good voters is a conquered subject. Beating a dead "cultural" horse gets us nowhere in the advancement of society through theory.

So, these epiphanies, if you will, are really reaffirming my choice in a double major. Even if I don't keep the Anth...I am still excited for the potential!

Also, today, I decided that I'd like to try to work abroad this summer. I am thinking about a job as an Au Pair, or something in Sweden with my friend Jenny. I am very ecstatic!

P.S. The next post I make will be about a woman. And readers...if you're out there in the void of cyberspace, feel free to make suggestions!