We will watch a bit of the movie "God Grew Tired of Us." Anyway, in the movie we see numerous cultural differences. 
Here is a website dedicated to the Lost Boys of Sudan in Chicago.
To speak about culture in a more measured way, think in terms of the way sociologists might break down culture. Culture is made up of material culture as well as the nonmaterial: gestures, language, norms, values. Did you see aspects of these cultural components in the movie? Have you ever met anyone from a different country? Did you notice or discuss any cultural differences? What component of culture (from the terms above) did those differences fall under?
To speak about culture in a more measured way, think in terms of the way sociologists might break down culture. Culture is made up of material culture as well as the nonmaterial: gestures, language, norms, values. Did you see aspects of these cultural components in the movie? Have you ever met anyone from a different country? Did you notice or discuss any cultural differences? What component of culture (from the terms above) did those differences fall under?
What is aTaboo?-
A taboo is commonly defined as something that is forbidden by a specific society. There are many taboo topics in America that are not normally discussed. For example, a bride who is noticeably pregnant on her wedding day was historically considered a taboo topic that was quietly whispered about but not officially acknowledged.
American taboos are numerous, and many of them involve the American flag and American soldiers! One of the biggest American taboos is the taboo of never letting the American flag touch the ground. If it does, then it must be properly disposed of, and there are specific instructions as to how to dispose of it. American soldiers are also to be highly respected for what they do in this country. Never, ever disrespect a soldier!
How did the chicken Cross the road? Watch these videos of how to cross the road in foreign countries. Would you be worried?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynEEShKnAfI-crossing the street in Cairo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-NjYMyTbOc-crossing the street in India
When traveling to different cultures, 'how' the chicken crossed the road seems to be more relevant than 'why'. This knowledge of how to cross the street is an important norm, what sociologists call a more. Mores are important to the order of a society. If you violate them, it will cause a disruption in the social setting. Other norms that are less important are called folkways. Folkways are not crucial to the order of society and if you were to violate a folkway people would not necessarily judge you. The more of how to cross a street can be found in lots of videos on youtube. Watch this video from India. Note how the person crossing the street is aware of the norms of traffic and so the pedestrian successfully crosses without getting hit. 
It is worth noting that these mores, although very important to the society, are not necessarily laws. Similar to the ideas of time being a social construct, they are just the way that people operate and even though they are not written into laws, they are important to the function of society. Watch this video of an intersection in India and think about who has the right of way? There may not be a law about it, but those drivers know what they are doing, but would an American?
Something else that you might want to blog about is google another culture where you would like to travel. Findout what unique norms exist in their culture. Here is a link to cultural etiquette around the world.
It's funny because we are ethnocentric!
Norms vary around the world. One example of this is the norms centered around time. How do people from different cultures think about time differently? What do they consider late or early? These are norms. This article helps us see how time is socially constructed. It is important to recognize these norms in cross-cultural communication. If we fail to acknowledge these differences we run the risk of offending someone or worse, a whole culture of people. This video is set to music for comic effect, but it is funny because in America, the norm is that men do not hold hands or kiss in public. However, this is expected in many Middle Eastern cultures. In order to show solidarity The President must hold the hand of the King of Saudi Arabia.
Okay? You called me a what?!
We have been examining the components of culture. The non-material aspects of culture are often the most important but we are often unaware of them. One type of non-material culture is symbolic culture, or gestures and language. Here is a link to a list of some single hand gestures from around the world.
Our culture is in the toilet
When understanding culture, sociologists examine material culture (things) and non-material culture (gestures, language, norms, values). Material culture often reflects non-material culture. An example of this might be to analyze a Japanese toilet. At first, the experience can be a culture shock as the traditional Japanese toilet is very different from ours. As we examine this toilet as well as other cultural components we must remember to be culturally relative. In other words, try not to be ethnocentric, but in stead understand each culture from its own perspective. In the case of the Japanese toilet, not only does it look and function differently from ours, but it also represents fundamentally different non-material culture. The Japanese are very germ conscious and they try hard not to spread germs. They also do not have a lot of furniture - they do not sit on furniture in their houses, why would they in a bathroom? And finally, they are used to sitting and squatting in positions difficult for westerners.
Culture can be tricky...
When we are exposed to other cultures and we see such different rules, we are sometimes in shock of how different the other culture is (culture shock). If this shock results in our judging a culture based on the rules we have learned that is called ethnocentrism. Instead, sociologists try to use cultural relativity when examining a culture.
For example, it is normal for Danish parents to leave their babies in a buggy while they eat inside a restaurant. American culture does not accept this. Could you imagine leaving your baby outside a New York restaurant? But this is very accepted in many Scandanavian cultures. So when a Danish mom left her child outside in a baby buggy for over an hour while she ate dinner in a restaurant, it created quite a stir among New Yorkers Could sociology have helped all of the participants to be more understanding of each other? Have you ever been to a foreign culture and experienced culture shock? One metaphor for culture that Sociologists use is a fishbowl. All of the stuff in the fishbowl is material culture. But what you can't see (the water) is just as important (if not more so): the ph value of the water, the temperature, whether it is salty or not, etc... This is called nonmaterial culture. Additionally, the fish has never known life out of water just like we have been surrounded by culture from the moment we are born. And lastly, the fish must look through the water to see the world just as we always look through our culture to understand the world. We are limited and shaped by our cultural experiences. If the water in the bowl is blue then the whole world looks blue to the fish. 
For example, it is normal for Danish parents to leave their babies in a buggy while they eat inside a restaurant. American culture does not accept this. Could you imagine leaving your baby outside a New York restaurant? But this is very accepted in many Scandanavian cultures. So when a Danish mom left her child outside in a baby buggy for over an hour while she ate dinner in a restaurant, it created quite a stir among New Yorkers Could sociology have helped all of the participants to be more understanding of each other? Have you ever been to a foreign culture and experienced culture shock? One metaphor for culture that Sociologists use is a fishbowl. All of the stuff in the fishbowl is material culture. But what you can't see (the water) is just as important (if not more so): the ph value of the water, the temperature, whether it is salty or not, etc... This is called nonmaterial culture. Additionally, the fish has never known life out of water just like we have been surrounded by culture from the moment we are born. And lastly, the fish must look through the water to see the world just as we always look through our culture to understand the world. We are limited and shaped by our cultural experiences. If the water in the bowl is blue then the whole world looks blue to the fish. Watch this short video. Understand how behaviors that would be considered norms for American culture would be deemed taboo in others or vice-versa for each of the10 examples.
And what about these words in other cultures
