Essay On Mini Ethnograph: Analyze Your Observations

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Culture
Culture means the characteristics of a particular group of individuals, and it is defined by many aspects including language, music, religion, morals among others. In a simpler way, culture can be seen as the way of life of a particular group of individuals over a given period. People who have the same culture share a common view of the world, and they are socially connected. Culture has five characteristics. The first one is that is it learned. Culture is acquired through active teaching, and it is transferable from one generation to another. In any society, the practices they perform were passed over to them by their ancestors. Learning allows culture to continue in a given society. Secondly, culture is shared. It is not a product of an individual rather it defines a group. People share a culture, and it meets their needs. That is why culture sets out a whole group because people identify with it. Thirdly, it is patterned. There is a recourse of similar ideas in culture. Related cultural practices keep on showing up in different areas of social life. Fourthly, culture is adaptive, and it allows the adherents to meet their needs in the environment they are in. Culture enables individuals to survive in variable conditions. Lastly, culture is symbolic meaning that the signs represent something else deeper. Cultures have symbols that are meaningful to the people who share the given social world.
Observation
Last week, I got a call at around 4:00 am that my friend John had been involved in an accident. I was informed that he had been taken to St. Johns Hospital. I decided to rush and check on him since the hospital was near. It turned out that he had been hit by a car while going home and he needed immediate attention. I reached the hospital 30 minutes later and sat at the hospital’s Emergency Room. Other emergency patients were being brought to the hospital, and the nurses were quick to attend to them. As I sat there, I began to observe the activities around me and caught a glimpse of the area. Just like the other hospitals, the floor was white with tiles beautifully accessorized in squares of blue and red. The walls were clean and smooth to touch, and the tall ceilings were clearly visible from where I was sited. The emergency room was filled with white chairs and wooden coffee tables. I could see a fish tank on my left and several wheelchairs arranged on the far right. I sat on a comfortable leather chair which became a perfect place for me to rest as I had slept late into the night only for me to receive a call to come to the hospital. Dean and Kelly, my friends now joined me in the hospital. We all dozed off only to wake up in the early morning hours.
I decided to walk outside just to pass the time as we waited for a report from the doctors who were attending John. Outside, it was frigid and foggy on the outside. Sun’s rays were visible from afar and coldness persistent. The hospital was quite huge with a large wall enclosing it. There were plenty of trees in the ...