Anthropologists have studied humankind all over the world for hundreds of years. Even before the scientific studies of humankind began people were curious about other peoples around them. Travel is quite an educator. Anthropologists' fieldwork has been instrumental in helping us see ourselves from worldwide perspectives.
Dr. Linda Davis-Stephens, Instructor
Student Digital Storytelling
Research topics, digital stories, and other projects posted by CCC students from instructions in course.
Digital Story student productions usually use iMovie for Mac or Moviemaker for PC that are free downloads. Three minutes is the typical length, personal voice over telling about a place of choice, music in the background. Student productions are published to youtube or vimeo then shared using embed code for future students to view too.
There are quides to digital storytelling online at places like
Your posted work here is a personal, virtual reflection, your sense of place in the world today and/or the past/future experiences of culture important to you. Your posted work will be public, indefinitely, on the internet.
Post your name(s) and video here, just above the previous student post.
Janea Dennis
Culture Shock
Hi, my name is Janea Dennis, I am a sophomore at Colby Community College. I am doing my topic on Cultural Shock. What is a culture shock exactly? Culture shock is the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone who is suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes. From where I come from I live in a bigger city compared to Colby, Kansas. I am from Tulsa, Oklahoma. In Tulsa, there are a lot of more things to do and more things to look at when just riding through the city. Unlike Colby, Kansas there isn’t a lot to do. I mean of course there is a grocery store, a couple gas stations, and even a bowling alley for fun. But in Tulsa there are multiple places you can visit. You can go to shopping malls, there’s a variety of food places, like Mexican, Chinese, Homemade restaurants. It is just more variety. So for me the food was a huge difference that I had to get used to. Some days I would have to adjust to eating the same foods every day, but on the other hand when I was at home I ate different things every day.
Even when walking around for a small community college of course there will be different students from all over. But the people from Colby, they are all the same somewhat. They were raised on a farm. The clothing compared to what we where is different compared to farm kids who wear their cowboy boots throughout the year as to us from bigger cities we wear different kinds of shoes. I also think us coming from a bigger city to where we can have a choice of the shoes and the things that we do we need multiple pairs of shoes. But I guess if you live in the middle of nowhere all you need are cowboy boots. I actually have a pair of my own. Not saying it’s a bad thing. I am just saying the cultural difference plays a big role especially when moving from something you’re so comfortable with every day to something you have to get used to.
Although the cultural difference was a huge difference for me I had to adjust. I actually love it here in Colby, the people in the community are really nice. I can stay focused unlike if I were at home or even in another big city. Living here I have met a lot of cool people who are different from me and were raised differently than me, but everyone I have come across are really good people. I think that the cultural shock is really beneficial to everyone. You can learn something from someone. You can appreciate where you come from and also where others come from.
Hi, my name is Dezyree Morales and I'm going to talk about how I was culturally shocked when I came to Colby, Kansas from Hartford, CT. Cultural shock is the disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country, or to a move between social environments. I grew up in an urban area of Connecticut called Hartford. It's very city-like so the homicide rate is higher. There are more things to do in Hartford that'll get you in trouble or just have a good time. There are also more restaurants, and in my opinion, I feel like the restaurants there are way better than the ones in Colby. Hartford also doesn't have a lot of farmland; it only exists in areas in Hartford nobody has even barely heard of. So that means I don't see a lot of people wearing cowboy boots, which I think are very fashionable in many ways by the way. That is why I had a huge cultural shock when I came to Colby because it's so different from where I'm from.
Usually, back at home I see people wearing Nike or Jordan sneakers. Almost everybody I know in Hartford play basketball so they have these brand sneakers. It's funny how I would pay attention to stuff like that but it just really surprised me because most people in Colby wear cowboy boots. The style is very unique. It's a style that I have never seen before. In Hartford people get made fun of if they wear cowboy boots because it's so rare. It's the city! Whereas in Colby, it's so common that nobody would even look twice at someone who is wearing because it's natural. It's something I see in Colby every single day.
There are a whole bunch of different restaurants in Hartford. So many of them fill up my city that I can't even count them all on both my hands. Not even three if I had a third hand!! There's Califronia Kitchen, Ruby Tuesday's, Jake's Wayback, Chipotle, Bombay Olive, Olive Garden, Dunkin Donuts, Taco Bell Denny's , IHop, etc. All of which that are not located in Colby. The food variety is different also. In Colby, the only dining restaurant that I've been to is the Mexican restaurant. In Hartford, there's restaurants with different foods from all over the world; such as Puerto Rican, Dominican, Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Honduran, Indian, Italian, and so on. My food options were limited to about only 3 places in Colby. That really shocked me because since I'm Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Spaniard I haven't gotten a chance to have my kind of food all this school year. I'm used to eating rice and beans, empanadillas, sorullos de maiz, and flan most of the time.
Another thing that is different is the crime rate. Everybody in Hartford calls it Homicide Hartford because it has the most homicides in CT. Hartford is more dangerous than Colby. In Colby, I feel more safe and less worried. I still have to watch my back but not as much as I had to in Hartford. There were 2 homicides on New Year's Eve. One of them was a close friend of mine. I'm not saying that it won't happen in Colby and I pray it doesn't but it happens more frequently in Hartford.
In conclusion, I learned that not every place is the same and some cultural differences could actually be super shocking. Especially if it's a place almost 2,000 miles away from home and a 25 hour driving distance.
In Puerto rice we greet by cheek to cheek kisses on each side. We say bendiuon to old people out of respect to your elders. In restaurants you greet by saying been prove Cho which means enjoy your meal” these are use a few ways that we greet another in Puerto rico.
Some of the foods and dishes that we eat in Puerto rico are arrow polo can hide Bichsel as which contains rico and beans with port. We eat farina what we call cream of wheat that we eat during breath fast time, mana dill as which is like a Jamaican beef patty but its ground beef and the patty is elevated with a forth we also grow fruits in the back yard manages pineapples oranges tomatoes etc.
Every Wednesday people dress up in dresses and dance in the street to celebrate something of just a traditional party. They bring drums cow bells horns other instruments and wear costumes to dance in the streets traffic is headed up from corner to corner during this time but drives don’t mind or get upset at all most of them come out of their vehicles and join the celebration. Everyone a year we hold a Puerto Parade day.
During this time, we all have red, white and blue representing our flag colors. Cars get lined up on park street waiting on the parade to pass so that they can honk their horns getting involved. We put the Puerto Rico flags on the hood of our cars while blasting Spanish Reggae ton music and if it happens to rain on this day the parade still goes on. We play in the rain in the streets.
The types of music that we mainly listen and dance to in Puerto Rico is Bachata, which is a slow four step dance with a partner that originally came from Dominicans. We listen to Salsa which is a fast, three step dance with a partner, Merengue a fast, two step dance with a partner and the cha-cha which is a six step dance what could be slow or fast with a partner.
These things are the most enjoyable to me about Puerto Rico. Greeting others, the food, the parties, Puerto Rican Parade day and the Music that we all listen to, play and enjoy.Where the whole family from Puerto rico gather, we make a beat with the pot a pans “EL Cate”, then we freestyle sing all around the room until every bout has a chance to sin a part. Any pots or pans are fine as long as it makes a sound its suitable then you use big utensils to hit the pots and pans you can make any beat you want.
We as humans are naturally born as social creatures. When we are born we are very dependent on other humans to nourish, protect, and give love to us. Growing up, we start to learn more about the world we live in, and realize that we need close people in our life. Having close connections with people in our life help us with survival, our happiness in life, and just our overall well-being.
Humans are biologically hardwired to be social. In our brains, we have a much larger neocortex than other mammals. The neocortex is where we process our thoughts, emotions, language, and behavior. Basically, this means that this part of our brain allows us to engage in different social interactions, and keep relationships with different people. When we are socially interacting with others, our brain as a very positive reaction which makes us happy when we are accepted by people. But it can also have a negative effect on us when we are rejected, or disliked by people. When this happens it is almost as if our brain thinks that we are being physically hurt.
Even though it seems like having a larger brain than other mammals seem amazing, it can also have some down sides. Researchers believe that our brain takes at least twenty one years to fully develop. So when we are adolescents, we are still pretty dependent on our parents/guardians. Parents have to teach us as we grow up about social skills, morals. Parents are usually the ones that set morals for us by telling us what you should do, and what you should not do. But the people that we surround ourselves with also have a great deal of influence on what we think is right and wrong.
Back in the day the way people would have to relay messages to each other was through the mail. But now a days we have so many different options on how to communicate, or get a hold of other people. Ways we can contact each other is through phone calls, text messaging, E-mail, and various social media websites. There is even ways that you can communicate to other people face to face with technology by using face time, or Skype. With all these different ways to communicate with each other, it has made humans more social than ever before. Thanks to the internet we could get a hold of someone that is on the other side of the planet in just a couple seconds.
Even though technology is very convenient on communicating to people, there is nothing like communicating to people face to face. When talking to people face to face it is easier to read their body language, and see how they react to what you are saying. When you are texting a person it is easy to misinterpret what they are actually saying, and you might take what they say in a different way than what they actually meant. Since we as humans are social animals, it is best for us to interact with each other face to face, rather than through technology.
Growing up with animals I have learned so many things from discipline to have responsibility. Having to take care of them morning and night and making sure they are healthy and taken care of. Have two sets of parents to guide me through life is excited as well. With my dad we go to cattle shows, he has thought me that hard work always pays off weather it is a good sale or we win at the cattle shows. As well as nothing is handed to you, you need to work for what you have to accomplish what you want in life and also succeed to the best of my ability.
My mom is who I have always lived with, she has made a difference in how I value life. We show horses together, by showing horses you learn to take care of the health and also the perpetration. My grandma has always made my show cloths to help me succeed. By also knowing I can share a win with them is a good feeling at the end of the day.
Now I have 80 head of cattle that I take care of with the help of my dad. Knowing that they need feed every morning and making sure they water. My step parents have made a huge impact and have tough me that even know we are not blood that they mean just as much as anyone and they want the best for me in my life. http://www.offincome.com/makaylahoffman/ https://kansasstatefair.com/
Xavier Smith
A picture of the greatest basketball player of all time Michael Jordan.
My life has always had its ups and downs, but basketball has never left my corner. Even without a big family support system or friends by my side basketball has always been there. I have traveled to places that I never thought I would have traveled too, and I have met people that turned into long life friends. Basketball has also helped me throughout my career in school and still is helping me to this day.in all honesty, I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for the game of basketball. Family support system has never been a big thing in my life. For about 11 years of my life it was only my mother and I, and she tried to support me as much as she could. There were plenty of times when I had to go to practices by myself, or attend games and my mother wasn’t there. Seeing players on the team with their support system in attendance hurt me a lot when I was younger. Since a little guy the friends I’ve had always chose a much more different route than me, the guys I grew up with always wanted to do things that weren’t right. At first, it took me a while to shake the habit of hanging with them and doing the wrong things, but at the time they were my friends and I thought it was cool. After a while I learned that hanging with them would get me nowhere in life, and that’s when basketball and I became closer. Once I got my things together and put more time into basketball new experiences came my way, and I was able to travel to different states to play the game of basketball. I was able to travel outside of Kansas City and go to states like California, Texas, Las Vegas, Georgia and many more states all because of the game of basketball. In addition, I was able to see how people and things were different outside of Kansas City; it was like being in a new world because these other states were so much different from Kansas City. The people, the land, the buildings, the way people talk, how they dress, the weather changes, everything was different. All because of the game of basketball, I was able to experience new places and different people. One of the most important things about the game of basketball is how its helped me throughout my years in school. High school and college, basketball has helped me because in order to play your grades have to be good. In my four years of high school, I didn’t miss a single game due to grades. My grades were always on point when it was time for grade checks. I am now a freshman in college and I’m looking to end the first semester with a 3.4 GPA. I give a lot of credit to the game of basketball. Last but not least, I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for the game of basketball in all honesty. It has taken me places I never thought of going to, I’ve met people from different areas outside of Kansas City, basketball has helped me in school, basketball is my everything. I hate to think about what my life would be like or where I would be if I didn’t have basketball, because it puts scary images in my head. I’m very thankful for having the talent to be able to play the game of basketball. All because of the game of basketball it put me where I am and it has made me who I am today!
(Picture above- James Naismith, the founder and create of the sport of basketball)
Basketball is a sport, generally played by two teams of five players on a rectangular court. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter and mounted at a height of 10 feet (3.048 m) to backboards at each end of the court. The game was created by James Naismith in 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Massachusetts had cold winters, and people wanted a game that could be played inside. At Springfield YMCA, Naismith struggled with a rowdy class that was confined to indoor games throughout the harsh New England winter and thus was perpetually short-tempered. Under orders from Dr. Luther Gulick, head of Springfield YMCA Physical Education, Naismith was given 14 days to create an indoor game that would provide an "athletic distraction": Gulick demanded that it would not take up much room, could help its track athletes to keep in shape. A team can score a field goal by shooting the ball through the basket being defended by the opposition team during regular play. A field goal scores three points for the shooting team if the player shoots from behind the three-point line, and two points if shot from in front of the line. A team can also score via free throws, which are worth one point, after the other team is assessed with certain fouls. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but additional time (overtime) is issued when the score is tied at the end of regulation. There are many techniques for ball-handling—shooting, passing, dribbling, and rebounding. There are five positions in basketball each player on the team can play. The much stronger and taller players are called a centers and a power forward. A small forward is just slightly shorter than a center and a power forward. Generally, the position that handling the basketball the majority of the time are the point guards and the shooting guards. They are considered to have the best ball handling skills. The point guard is like the coach on the court. The point guard directs his teammates where to be on the floor and tries to his teammates in the best possible position to score. In our modern day today, basketball is very popular and is viewed worldwide. There are many professional leagues around the world. There is the NBA, which is considered to be the most popular and the highest level of basketball in the world with the highest paying athletes. In Europe they have the Euro league and the FIBA America league that national team can have a chance to win a championship for their country, which is called the FIBA Americas Championship. It takes place every two years and is sometimes schedule the same time as the Summer Olympic Games. Basketball is my favorite sport and I started getting active in it at a very young age. It doesn’t define who I am, but it’s something that I love doing very much. I have made tremendous sacrifices to be where I am today. The game of basketball has always taught me work hard in everything that I do and good results will come forward. I have made many lifelong friendships and met people that encourage me to do better and have a positive impact on my life, and I thank them for that. Hopefully one day, I can live my dream and play basketball at the professional level.
Student Reflection Activity for Service Learning Projects
Alexsis Dennis
Thomas County was organized on October 8th of 1885. The county was named after General George Hentry Thomas who was a hero in the Battle of Chickamauga. Townships in the county were named after other soldiers that died in the battle. The county cover 1,080 square miles; it is 30x36 miles. Thomas County contains the towns of Colby, Gem, Mingo, Menlo, Rexford, Brewster, and part of Oakley. When Thomas County was first organized, there were many railroad lines that went through it. These included three lines of Union Pacific Railroad and Rock Island. Because of these railroad lines the population grew from 161 to 1900 from the year of 1887 to 1888. According the the Kansas Historical Society, the Colby Christian Church was the first church that was founded in Thomas County in 1882. The first county fair was hosted in 1917, and was later voted to be an annual event in 1926. There is one community college located in Colby, obviously Colby Community College that was started in 1963. Other schools located in the county are in Colby, Rexford, and Brewster; plus multiple private and home schools. The first school district in Thomas County was organized in 1882, located 5 miles south of colby. There are many medical locations located in the county these are Citizens Medical Center Inc. which is a non profit hospital in Colby, that started off of donations in 1982. Other places include Family Center for Health Care, Colby Health and Rehab, Prairie Senior Living Complex, and Fairview, many chiropractors, dentists, and physical therapy locations. The Thomas County courthouse was built in Colby in 1906. The county commissioners were issued a bond of $50,000 to build this building. The courthouse is a building that is a Romanesque style, including lots of detailing and limestone. There was an addition to the courthouse in 1975, during this time they added a bell tower and a clock. This addition costs $1,200.I was born and raised in Colby KS. Thomas County will always be my home. I’m proud to have grown up here. The history is something that has always been interesting to me. Also the Prairie Museum of Art and History is always a great place to learn about local history.
A picture of the greatest basketball player of all time Michael Jordan.
(Picture above- James Naismith, the founder and create of the sport of basketball)