TatianaMenendez

URIWRT104
TascheBryant
October6,2015

ItsFiveOclockSomewhere
One of the best things about traveling is to learn a new culture: language, colorful traditional
outfits, and the ethnic food. The slow and soft Argentinean way of speaking is so differenttothefast
Dominican way of speaking. However, nothing helps you experience a country like its flavors.
Salvadorean hot pupusas with cheese oozing out thesides makesyouanxious toeatit.Mexicantequila
will burn your throat like a hot chile. The beautiful colorsthatyousee atanIndian weddingstimulate
yoursenses whenyoulookatthecolorfulgowns with gold accessories.Theculture is whatmakesyour
vacationspecial becausethatpeopletheliveinthecountryyouarevisitinghaveadifferentwayofdoing
and viewingthings.Manypeoplefeelproudof theirculture, traditions,food,andingeneral,theirwayof
life. Culture can shapea person'spersonalityas muchasfamily opinions, butfamily opinionsarebased
on culture so whatever you do or view as a positive or negative, is influenced by your culture. One
exampleofthisisthewaydifferentcountriesviewteendrinkingordrinkingingeneral.
Drinking may be influenced by where you come from. In somecountries, suchas the U.K,
U.S.,andAustralia, alcoholisassociatedwithviolentandantisocial behavior.InHispaniccultures,social
drinking is mostly peaceful and harmonious.(
Social and Cultural Aspects on Drinking) The way in
whichcultures eventalkabout drinkingdepends.However, ifafamilyfrom the U.SmovestoItalythey
havetoadapt tothecultureandbemoreacceptingtosocialdrinking.Theoldergenerationdon'tseeitthe
might not assimilate, but the new generations. who were born and raised intheir native country, have
veryentrenchedfeelingsonthesubject.

Italy
Many childreninEuropeancountriesarenotlookeddownuponfordrinkingsocially.Childrenin
France,Italy,andSpainareroutinelygivenwineaspartofamealorcelebration."(
Peele)
This doesn't occur in the U.S because they view teen drinking differently in America. Some
European countriesbelieve inconsumingalcoholas partof ameal so manychildrenlearn to appreciate
the taste of wine. This doesn'tmeanthatEuropeancountriesdonthave aproblemwithdrinking,butit
doesnt have negative outcome when people view drinking as a positive and harmonious tradition.
Research has found that it is a good thing toteachyour children aboutalcohol atanearlyage.Those
children allowed to drink alcohol with meals when growing up consumed less on their first drinking
occasion and were more likely to never drink 5+drinks orgetdrunkcomparedtothosenotallowedto
drink.(
Familial Drinking in Italy) Educatingchildrenat ayoung ageabout alcohol consumptioncan
prevent alcoholism when they get older.My point is drinkingislooked atdifferentlyaroundthe world,
forexample, Children learn todrinkearly in Zambia bydrinkingsmallquantities,whentheyaresentto
buyabeerchildreninFrance,ItalyandSpainaregivenwineaspartofamealorcelebration(
Peele)
A cultural change in drinking can make a change in the percentage of people that become
alcoholics. Educating children from a young age about alcohol is not only a parental subject, but also
cultural. Makingsure children andpreadolescenceunderstanddrinkingalcoholisnotpleasantwhenyou
abuseitwillhelp,notonlythisgeneration,butfuturegenerationstorespecttheconsumptionofalcohol.

SouthKorea
South Koreahas many traditions people inotherforeign countriesareunawareof. Forexample,
Upon the new year, Korean ancestors consumed
Soju to drive out disease and bad spirits. The word
'Soju'meansthewelcomingofspring.Onetypeof
Soju is called
Dosoju made with medicinal herbs
and refined rice wine.(Drinking Cultureof Korea)
For SouthKoreans drinkingonNewYearsisaday
thatbringsgoodhealthandwealthforthenextyear.
Insomecountriestechnologyisadvancingandsome
societies are starting to change the way they view
manyaspectsoflife.
(CorporateKoreaCorkstheBottleasWomenRise.SeokyongLee.June10,2007.NewYorkTimes)
The problem with this is that drinking alcohol inSouthKoreaisnot alwaysfor fun. Keeping
traditions alive is one of the things that make South Korea so special today. Unfortunately, some
traditions in South Korea are special butcan alsobeharmful.For apersonthatistryingtobealcohol
free its difficult because in South Korea it is impolite to leave your friends glass empty. Its also
impolite to refuse a drink because its seen as turning down generosity and denying someone who is
trying to help you have a good time. (Margaret) This is a clear example of how culture can affect
drinking. In some countries havingmore than two drinksisdisrespectful, but in Korea itistheopposite.
Koreansnotonlyhave thepleasureofhavingafewdrinkswiththeboss,butalsoarejusttryingtofitinto

theirsociety.AnotheraspectoftheSouthKoreansocietyistheirfacilitytoobtainalcoholic beverages.A
bottle of soju packs a respectable 20% alcohol and costs less than $2.(Margaret) In other countries
alcoholmaycosttwiceasmuchasinSouthKorea.

Australia
Drinkingcan beusedformanyreasons, family gatherings, birthdaysorcelebrations. Inallthese
events the one purposeistosocialize.Australiansaremorepronetodrinkwineandbeeraswellas have
conversations while drinking.(
Drinking Culture in Australia
) Some people in Australia believe,
drinking isalmosta culturalright.Thetasteofthebeveragesandbeingsociallyacceptableplaysavital
rolein drinkingforAustralians. This is apatternthatwillbepasseddownandthistraditionswillbecome
partoftheirculture. Insocieties with an ambivalent,morallychargedrelationship with alcohol such as
theUK,U.S.,Scandinavia,Australia,celebrationisusedasanexcusefordrinking.(
SocialandCultural
Aspects onDrinking
)Some people inAustralia viewdrinkingas negative.Usuallytheoldergeneration
has thisview.Ontheotherhand,JoshuaBalke,a19yearoldsufferingfromalcoholism,talksabouthow
drinking became part of the Australian culture. Many are surprised that I drink, not toget drunk, but
because I actuallyenjoy the tasteof certaindrinks(Balke) Australiahas ahuge problem intheirculture
due to teens trying to be socially acceptable. Not drinking in Australia means you are an outcast in
society.
India
India is different from every country by the way theirsociety is set up.For example, the caste
systemismadeupofgroupsofpeoplewithdifferentworkstatus.Theplacewhereyouwork defineswhat
caste you belong to. Thecaste systemisstillgoing onin India.Thistraditionshapesthewaytheythink
aboutalcoholbecause,inspiteof alcoholicbeveragesbeingcommerciallyavailable, theyneverbecome

a staple, largely due to the caste system. Brahmin's, the highestcaste,were forbidden to drink, and the
other castes were only allowed to consume alcohol on certain occasions.(
Amuthiah7)
. After
colonization, Indiasviewsondrinking changed.Today itsisalarmingto saythat, peoplewhohaveat
least tried alcohol was gone from1outof300, to1 outof 5,(
Amuthiah7) duetothefermentationand
distillation methods they use. Their colonization shapes their culture and the way they view different
subjectsintheircountry.

Mexico
The ancient Aztecs, before any contact with white settlers had their use of alcohol heavily
regulated and was used only for ceremonial purposes. Nonceremonial use of alcohol was strictly
forbiddenunder penalty ofdeath.(
Chase) Alcohol isanimportantpartinMexicantradition.Alcoholhas
been part of their culture beforecolonizationand isnormal forMexicanstobesurroundedby alcoholic
beveragesandareknown fortheirtequila,beautifulcities,andcolorfulviews.InMexico,tequilaismost
often consumed straight up.(
Traditional Mexican Drinks)
some Mexicans might say, Tequila is a
mans drink and a man doesnt need salt to lessen theburn.(
TraditionalMexican Drinks)Drinkingin
Mexico is for social events with family or friends. On the other hand, Mexican culture is shifting.
Research has found Mexican woman who have migrated totheUnitedStatesdrink asmuch as young
Hispanicmen.(
Alcohol and the Hispanic Community)
Culture hasa major impactonthewaypeople
viewdrinkingandcanaffectthewayyouareviewedandacceptedinyournativecountry.
ElSalvador
My experience as a child has had a major influence on the way I view different subjects, especially
drinking. In ElSalvadoryouare not allowedtodrinkuntilyouare21,butusuallyteensdrinkwhenthey
are 18 is quite common. Me personally, Im against drinking no matter what age you are. Drinking
doesnt benefit a person in any aspect. I strongly believe this because my grandfather started drinking

whenhewas 15and that affected him whenhegotolderandalsoaffected thefamily.Seeingalovedone

hurtby drinkingalcoholmademeviewalcoholin anegativeway.NowthatIdidthisresearchIstrongly
disagreeabout drinking.Irealizedrinking inmany countriesisduetorebelliousacts,toaclimbinsocial
status, or just to have fun and mycountryis no different. Even thoughIdontagreewithmy country's
views on drinking, I still respect their views and the views that other countries share about the
consumptionofalcohol.

WorkCited

"AlcoholandtheHispanicCommunity."
NationalInstituteonAlcoholAbuseand
Alcoholism
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Amuthiah7."DrinkinginIndia."Weblogpost.
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Balke,Joshua. "The AgeItpro."
MyNameIsAustraliaandI'manAlcoholic26Aug.2012:
n.pag.Print.

Chase, Duane, and Patrick Abbott. "Cultural and Substance Abuse."

Psychiatric Times
.
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"DrinkingCultureinAustralia."
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"DrinkingCultureofKorea."
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"FamilialDrinkinginItaly:HarmfulorProtectiveFactors?"
Taylor&Francis
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Margaret."DrinkingCultureinSouthKoreaandWhyIt'sImportant."Weblog post.
Seoulistic
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Peele,Staton,andArchieBrodsky."AlcoholandSociety."
TheStantonPeele
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"SocialandCulturalAspectsonDrinking."
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"Traditional Mexican Drinks."

Traditionalmexicanculture.com
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