Deep Dive of Grandmother Washes Her Feet in the Sink

As the amount of people move to new locations and countries, the cultural differences become more apparent. The poem of the Grandmother Washes Her Feet in the Sink at Sears is a great example of the differences between various societies. I already went in to a general explanation and exploration of the poem but this time I would like to explore it a bit more. I think a reason for the cultural tension is the lack of understanding and acceptance between the various societies. A quote that shows this perfectly from the poem is, “My grandmother knows one culture — the right one.” This type of attitude is a great of example of why culture tension remains.

If you continue to read on the story we can continue to see examples of lack of acceptance of traditions and cultures. The Americans at sears chastize the Arab lady for her practicing of tradition but the Arab women thinks the Americans are silly for not practicing the tradition. She thinks them gross for not cleaning their feet more often. Neither group would stop for a moment just to think for a moment about the society of the other or the culture of the other. Instead they make snap judgments. If they were to just recognize the differences and accept them for what they are, we could eliminate many of the tensions and many of the fights between cultures.

This poem using a simple example to show the culture differences can act to remind all of us to be more accepting and less judgmental when we are faced with actions, practices, and traditions that are foreign to us. There is no reason to fret over someone washing their feet just as their is not reason for someone to be angry if we hang lights on our homes.