Culture and Traditions

CULTURE AND TRADITION

Culture exists in all human communities, its what separates us from lower mammals. it's basically the ways in which we show we're different and have a superior intellect/ sets of skills.

In the earliest human communities, this took the form of gradually developing ways of using the environment constructively , for example - hunt animal, kill and skin animal, cook animals flesh, feed family, then - clean and wear animal skins, use animal bones to make needles, arrowheads, etc.
 Then - paint images of hunt - scenes on cave walls, fashion pots from clay, find rare stones and shells, give them to wisest leader person, etc etc 




Tradition is  passing down of elements of a culture from generation to generation, especially by oral communication. 


why is tradition important?? 

Actual traditions aren't important, but it's why you make them a tradition that matters. They are a trigger, a reason to get together, they get you in the right mind set. 

You can fall back on traditions, they bring back happy memories. Without traditions life would not be as fulfilled. Without traditions it'ss not necessarily worse, but it's better with them. It is human nature to make traditions you'll always end up with them. Traditions can be anonymous to rituals. In traditions, you can share in other peoples lives.







PANAMÁ IS VERY RICH IN CULTURE AND TRADITIONS

The Embera–Wounaan is a semi-nomadic indigenous people in Panama, living in the province of Darien at the shores of theChucunaque, Sambu, Tuira Rivers and its water ways. The Embera-Wounaan were formerly and widely known by the nameChocó, and they speak the Embera and Wounaan languages, part of the Chocoan language family.

The Chocó, or Embera people live in small villages of 5 to 20 houses along the banks of the rivers throughout the Chucunaque/Tuira/Balsas River watersheds in the Darien Province of Panama. There are generally three villages on each tributary that branches off from the main river system. Each village is about a half day's walk apart. The villages are built on a small rise, set approximately 100 feet in from the river. 

The calabash tree is important to the Embera, who scoop out the tree's gourds for cups and bowls, as well as spoons. Apart from wild fish and game, still hunted with snares, blow guns, bows and arrows, as well as firearms, an essential part of their diet is manioc, a poisonous root which must be pressed before cooking into a flatbread that stores well and can be used to absorb fluids during a meal.

Idioms

IDIOMS

An idiom, or idiomatic expression, is a phrase or term whose meaning cannot be guessed from a literal definition of the words. The phrase seems to make sense if you look up the individual words, but other people seem to mean something totally different when they say it, or the phrase makes no sense along with the rest of the conversation. 

Idioms are words, phrases, or expressions that cannot be taken literally.  In other words, when used in everyday language, they have a meaning other than the basic one you would find in the dictionary.  Every language has its own idioms.  Learning them makes understanding and using a language a lot easier and more fun!

Why Idioms Are Confusing?


In the English language expression 'to kick the bucket', for example, a listener knowing only the meaning of kick and bucket would be unable to deduce the expression's actual meaning, which is to die.

 
Although it can refer literally to the act of striking a specific bucket with a foot, native speakers rarely use it that way. It cannot be directly translated to other languages - for example, the same expression in Polish is to kick the calendar, with the calendar being as detached from its usual meaning as the bucket in the English phrase is. The same expression in Dutch is het loodje leggen (to lay the piece of lead), which is entirely different from the English expression, too. 






There are many idioms:


I like to kill two birds with one stone = I like to do two things at the same time.  

Her heart's in the right place = She has good intentions.

His lights are on, but no-one's home = He's stupid or distracted.  

There are plenty more fish in the sea = There are many more  men/women for you to meet. 
  
When it rains it pours = When things are bad, they're extremely bad.
 
He's a cold fish = He has no strong emotions and can be unfriendly.
 
It’s better to take the road less travelled = It's better to do things  differently than to do the same things other people do. 
 
In school I learned history by heart = I memorised history very well.  
 
I'm the top dog in my company = I'm the boss of my company.  
 
We’re on the same wavelength = We have the same thoughts and opinions

Everything about me

HELLO

My name is Débora, but my friends just call me Debbie, this is my nickname.
I´m 22 years old and I still live with my parents together and I´m single.

I´m a Christian girl, I like singing in my church I´m part of the chorus of my Church.
 I have two pets their names are Little girl and Little boy they are so cute and I love them soo much!
I have three brothers and a sister, my old sister is married, she has two children, their names are Karolaine ande Jonathan. Karolaine is 8 years and Jonatha is 10 years old. They are like my sunshine, the light of my eyes, because they are the only nephews that I have, my other brothers are single like me.




My parents  were born in Chiriquí but they live here in this beautiful province of Darién.
My parents are like the reason of my life, without them I don´t know if I would be here.
I have a very special and lovely family, I feel so blessed with my GOD for everything. Iwas born in a very good family and I know that I´m not a lucky girl, I´m a blessed girl.

´m stdying English. I really like the English language, but sincerely study another language is very hard, because I´m not a native speaker, but every day, every time I try to do the best.
 In those years I have had  good teachers and I´ll never forget them, we lived special moments.
 I'm about to graduate and I am very excited.

And in few Words I can describe all my life;

"WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSIBLE"  

Informal letter to my sister

December 5, 2014.

Dear sister

How are you my sister? I hope you are okay.
Don´t worry about me, I´m fine as always you know.

 How are my parents? give them my greetins, they´re always in my heart.

I received you later yesterday, thanks for writing me you´re my favorite sister you know.

I want you know, that I will return on Christmas, please don´t tell my parents I want to make a surprise for them.

My aunt Mary is still sick and I have to support her. I´m praying because I know God can make miracle for her.

Ohh!! Congratulations for being mother again!!!! I want to know my new nephew, thanks for being like a mother for me too and for your support. Keep going

Finally my dear, I´d like to wish you  all the best in your busissness and as a mother and wife.

Don´t forget God. I love you and miss you a lot. 
Can´t wait see you again.

God bless you my dear.



Take care

Debbie

Formal letter "My best friends"

 MY BEST FRIENDS

I really believe that if you have  great best friends you can accomplish anything. My best friends believe in me and all my dreams and I love them so much for giving me the support I needed.

This is a letter to my best friend.

I just wanted to write you and tell you that I am so glad that you and I became friends. I haven’t ever had friends that I could tell ANYTHING and not be judged about it. 

You are my brothers, maybe not by blood but definitely by destiny. You love me for me, and I love you for you.

You are truly the best friends I have ever had.

I just don’t feel that I’ve thanked you enough for all that you do for me, and all the support you’ve given me.

I don’t know what I would do without you, TRULY.

You, guys are like family to me, and I truly want to keep it like that..

Also you  are the most significant persons in my life. You are my dearest friend.

We aren´t always able to spend as much time together as we would like to, but when we are together, it´s as if we had never been apart.

Being you make me laugh, and it gives me a safe place to cry.

I don’t want to get all personal and make you cry (like I always do when I write you) but I just felt like you are a total inspiration in my life and I wanted to let you know so.

Thanks for all the great memories, long talks, and laughs.

 Thanks for being there through my ups and downs.

 Thanks for being the best friend a girl could have. 

Thanks for being true, and thanks for being YOU.

I love you so much, thanks for being my bestie…

Every day I give thanks my LORD for having you in my life.

Communication in the Family (Debate)

COMMUNICATION IN THE FAMILY

Why communication in families is important

Communication is essential so that family members respect each other’s
needs and wants. Without it, they will not know what each other thinks or
feels, which can make family life more difficult.
Expressing yourself as part of communication
Sometimes we assume that other people know our needs, feelings and
opinions without telling them. But relying on mindreading can lead to feelings of loneliness, disappointment, frustration, resentment or hurt.

Examine your feelings. You need to examine how you feel before talking with someone else. Ask yourself, “What am I really feeling right now?” or
“How do I really feel about this issue?” Thinking before you speak will help you understand how you truly feel.
• Share your feelings. State your feelings clearly and honestly and be specific.
For example, “I had a discouraging talk with my boss today,” says
more than, “Today was a terrible day.”

• Focus on how something affects you. Sometimes it can be easy to
blame or point out what another person has done or said. Remember that the other person’s feelings are involved, too. Disrespecting that person— and yourself—leads to communication breakdowns. 

Good communication takes focus and serious effort. 
Working on our communication skills and patterns can help us be better fathers and build stronger family relationships.

Communicating together involves a two-way sharing of information and helps
to develop a common understanding, meaning it is easier for parents, carers

and staff to support one another.

It is important for families and staff to feel comfortable with each other in order to initiate communication.

 Families and staff might have different ways of communicating with each other and continuing to be flexible helps families feel
comfortable.


And the most important thing is to let God be the center of our family!

Communication in an organization

IMPORTANT OF A GOOD COMMUNICATION IN AN ORGANIZATION

Effective Communication is significant for managers in the organizations so as to perform the basic functions of management, i.e., Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling. Communication helps managers to perform their jobs and responsibilities. Communication serves as a foundation for planning. All the essential information must be communicated to the managers who in-turn must communicate the plans so as to implement them. Organizing also requires effective communication with others about their job task. Similarly leaders as managers must communicate effectively with their subordinates so as to achieve the team goals. Controlling is not possible without written and oral communication.

The importance of communication in an organization can be summarized as follows:

1. Communication promotes motivation by informing and clarifying the employees about the task to be done, the manner they are performing the task, and how to improve their performance if it is not up to the mark.

1. Communication is a source of information to the organizational members for decision-making process as it helps identifying and assessing alternative course of actions.

1. Communication also plays a crucial role in altering individual’s attitudes, i.e., a well informed individual will have better attitude than a less-informed individual. Organizational magazines, journals, meetings and various other forms of oral and written communication help in moulding employee’s attitudes.

1. Communication also helps in socializing. In todays life the only presence of another individual fosters communication. It is also said that one cannot survive without communication.

1. As discussed earlier, communication also assists in controlling process. It helps controlling organizational member’s behaviour in various ways. There are various levels of hierarchy and certain principles and guidelines that employees must follow in an organization. They must comply with organizational policies, perform their job role efficiently and communicate any work problem and grievance to their superiors. Thus, communication helps in controlling function of management.

An effective and efficient communication system requires managerial proficiency in delivering and receiving messages. 

A manager must discover various barriers to communication, analyze the reasons for their occurrence and take preventive steps to avoid those barriers. Thus, the primary responsibility of a manager is to develop and maintain an effective communication system in the organization.