The sites of my cultural encounter are the towns that I visited for one week each during the summer and the families who lived in the homes I helped repair in the Central Appalachian region of the United States. This region regularly experiences extremely harsh weather conditions characterized by harsh winters and severe storms year around. Storms often get trapped in the mountains resulting in heavy precipitation, flooding, and damage. The communities where I repaired homes have poverty rates above the national average. In some cases, poverty rates are up to three times higher than the national average.
The people living in this region live in all kinds of homes varying from typical double floor homes to single floor homes, to trailers, all of which may be in good repair to those in need of much repair. In some cases families with three to four children may live in a single trailer in need of repair. Some homes lack adequate kitchens, foundations, roofs, electricity, plumbing, and other luxuries, which many people tend to take for granted. About 25% lives below the poverty level, including “…more than 50,000 children, 90,000 adults, and 15,000 elderly” (Appalachian Service Project.)
Despite the poverty and poor living conditions that some families lived with on a daily basis, they always expressed how blessed they felt for having what they had. I could not help but think of how easy and even likely it could be for someone in living with such extreme poverty might give up, but based on my experience and the people I interacted with they never gave up.
Appalachia Service Project. Electronic document, http://asphome.org/index.html, accessed October 27, 2007.
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I think there is a good combination of sources used in this entry. Your personal experiences really help complement the statistical information. I think having been able to see the culture of study has helped you to form an understanding about how it works. Without the personal experience you would not have been able to note how people were thankful for the little they had.
The personal accounts complement the data because it puts it into context. The fact that 25% of the population lies below the poverty line is better understood because you went there to repair homes. Especially the fact that many of these homes are damaged because of weather they experience in the region. An interesting detail is that the homes you helped repair were above the national poverty average.
I also thought it was good you chose to study a cultural group in the United States. It is sometimes hard to imagine how different the lives are of people living in this country. Rarely do you hear about the poorer communities. It seems that this lack of knowledge helps make the differences in life style even farther apart. I think it was a great idea to look at a subculture in the United States.
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