Meeting a New Culture

Let's say you win a free trip to some exotic place and you get lost during a touring trip...some natives rescue you and take you to their village. But you have the desire to know more about them. Language isn't a problem. Hand signs work fine but not in detail. Just basic communication.

The only catch in this scenerio is this....

...The tribe hasn't been discovered by the outside world. You're the first outsider to visit them. What would you like to learn about them?

Think it carefully and discuss. 😉

First the language, then the culture then history after that the rest.

I would just want to get home and then find the right people to contact about the discovery. It would be a hard choice to make; the wrong people could ruin these people's lives.

History and politics but voted history.

Good, good...but what about food? What if they offer you a meal. And you don't know what it is? Should you go ahead and eat it or say no? If you reject it because you find it gross...that could offend them. You don't want to do that...right?

Originally posted by WrathfulDwarf
Hand signs work fine but not in detail. Just basic communication.

with that limitation you couldn't possibly learn half of that stuff off of them...

Originally posted by WrathfulDwarf
Good, good...but what about food? What if they offer you a meal. And you don't know what it is? Should you go ahead and eat it or say no? If you reject it because you find it gross...that could offend them. You don't want to do that...right?

Thats why I would want to learn the language first 😛

Otherwise I would just eat it. Ignorance is a bliss.

Politics. I dont want to make a mistake and insult the chief..

Originally posted by Grand Moff Gav
Politics. I dont want to make a mistake and insult the chief..

Learning something as complicated as politisc without the language is damned hard.

Btw: many of those options are the same, you can not learn the cutlure without the politics the religion the war the food the art...

I'd want to learn about them in general.

From the minor things like what they eat, how they hunt. To more critical aspects such as how they've survived undiscovered, what their mannerisms and customs are etc.

I'd not tell anyone.

-AC

Originally posted by WrathfulDwarf
Let's say you win a free trip to some exotic place and you get lost during a touring trip...some natives rescue you and take you to their village. But you have the desire to know more about them. Language isn't a problem. Hand signs work fine but not in detail. Just basic communication.

The only catch in this scenerio is this....

...The tribe hasn't been discovered by the outside world. You're the first outsider to visit them. What would you like to learn about them?

Think it carefully and discuss. 😉

Well, considering that no one knows anything about these people, I would hesitate to eat too many of their foods. It might insult them, but I would restrict my food intake at first. Different cultures eat different foods and have developed different resistences to chemicals in nature. I would restrict my intake to meats and start off eating only small portions of their vegitation based dishes...at least until I knew how it would effect me.

But, in all honesty, if this scenario were real, I would likely not want to learn too much. I'd likely just get them to help me find my way back to modern civilization and leave them be.

I'd be interested in their science and medicine

Originally posted by WrathfulDwarf
Let's say you win a free trip to some exotic place and you get lost during a touring trip...some natives rescue you and take you to their village. But you have the desire to know more about them. Language isn't a problem. Hand signs work fine but not in detail. Just basic communication.

The only catch in this scenerio is this....

...The tribe hasn't been discovered by the outside world. You're the first outsider to visit them. What would you like to learn about them?

Think it carefully and discuss. 😉

Language first, food second and behavior third

History

favorite sex positions...maybe we could learn something from them

I chose religion. In most 'undeveloped tribes' it is essential

I would teach them Spanish AND English, and want to learn about their religion.

I'd say language first - without that you'll not be able to learn anything else in any detail.

Do the women like doggy style?

Originally posted by BackFire
Do the women like doggy style?

😬 good point.