another brother. He also informed me that it was customary for the oldest son of every family to care for his parents until their death. If the oldest son does not have the ways and means to do this, then the parents can choose which child to support them. Anthropology defines culture shock as a severe psychological reaction that results from adjusting to the realities of a society radically different from ones own. Though this definition makes culture shock sound like something negative, it can also be positive or mixed, like it was for Moe. He experienced a plethora of feelings he first came to this country, some were good and some were bad. Coming from a Hispanic and Catholic background I tend to agree with Moes more traditional values and beliefs. Some of the negative things that strongly shocked him when he came to this country included the family values of this society. Moe did not like or agree with the way that the state of family values were in this country, he did not like the idea of the independent nuclear family , and he was shocked at the concept of retirement homes because as I indicated earlier, his culture demanded that oldest son take care of his parents until their death. Moe also shared with me how he was shocked that this country lacked respect for the elderly. I felt inclined to disagree with this because my familys culture always taught me to respect people for their accomplishments, not their age. This does not mean that I will purposely disrespect elders, but there are many people who are three or four time older than I, and have not accomplished half of the things I have in my short twenty years. Another thing that Moe does not like about this country is how we are such materialistic society; he feels that it is better to find happiness among friends and family than among material possessions. In theory and in heart I do agree with my friend Moe on this, even though I do receive great pleasure from the newest ...
